Announcing Monday Metal and Linky Love

If  you're a regular reader, you know I've been working with a rolling mill lately.  I've always had in the back of my mind, to make beads of all kinds and metal is a part of that. So, I've decided to add a regular post called Metal Monday when I'll talk about all things metal.  I've made a little logo to go along with it using my latest rolling mill/metal creation....

Did you know that you can put all kinds of media through a rolling mill to impress a design?  That notion sent me to the craft store looking for all kinds of crafty things to use.  I came up with ribbon and paper borders for scrapbooking.  Here's a sampling......

I picked up all of these ribbons and paper borders at my local Michael's store. Of these patterns, I liked the off-center flowers created by the brown floral ribbon.  Which is your favorite?

Speaking of favorites, here are my favorite bead bloggers with some beady love.....

A Bead A Day
Artists who create using found objects or materials from nature are awe inspiring! Lisa is showcasing one artist who uses birch bark to create beads!

About.com Jewelrymaking
Get twisting with your beads and learn to make a very cool twisted strand necklace with this bead weaving technique. 

Art Bead Scene
Come check out the August challenge! 

Beading Arts
Cyndi is celebrating bead embroidery month on Beading Arts! Come find out how you can get started.

Beads and Books
Share the name of your favorite glass beadmaker for a chance to win a copy of the book Creating Glass Beads. 

Carmi's Art Life/World
Carmi is experimenting with Apoxie Sculpt and rubber stamps to make pendants! 

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy's got a new tool on her workbench, a rolling mill. Check out the jewelry pieces that have rolled out onto her bench! 

Resin Crafts!
Carmi shows off a sweet resin heart pendant made in a candy mold.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is getting verrrry excited, anticipating Michelle Mach's Mostly Metal Challenge! Come read about it! 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
In an effort to help launch Allegory Gallery, Andrew announces the Allegory Gallery Fundraiser! Make a donation and receive a prize for your support!

Rolling Mill Coffee Talk: Secrets Shared

I had so many comments and questions yesterday about the rolling mill, I thought I'd pour a cup of coffee and share more about how I made those lovely disks.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, wanting a rolling mill started with the January 2011 issue of Art Jewelry where Lillian Jones wrote an article entitled "Adapt a Polymer Technique to Texture Metal Sheet." In that article, she describes a way to create your own texture pattern/sheet to use with the rolling mill. If you're a subscriber to Art Jewelry or even if you buy the single issue, you can download the copyright free images they have on their website to use in the project in the magazine.

When you use the rolling mill, you have to be sure that the metal is annealed or you buy it dead soft. I buy my metal mostly from Metalliferous in NYC or Contenti because I'm on the East coast and impatient when it comes to waiting for an order to arrive! You want dead soft or annealed metal so it can take an imprint. Aluminum and sterling/fine silver doesn't have to be annealed because they're soft enough without any additional annealing.

One of the things I didn't do that you should do when you use a rolling mill, is to bolt it down to your table or a piece of plywood or if you're flush, buy one of the stands available for some models.  My tables don't lend themselves to having things bolted or clamped to them. I thought, where is this heavy thing going?  But when you're turning the handle of a mill and compressing the metal, it will move believe me!  I'm on the look out for a clamp or a piece of plywood to bolt the rolling mill onto.

Follow this link to Etsy where you'll see examples of beautifully textured jewelry and a great seller, the Rolling Mill Resource who has lovely patterns to use in a rolling mill.

There you go - secrets shared! Happy rolling!

Tuesday Tangle: Rolled Metal!

I unveiled my new rolling mill last week so today I'm unveiling what I've done with it! Below are the first few disks of copper and brass I made. You can see one is a little bit more oval than round - it was really hard to roll that one through the mill!

Here's a little closer up....

I used 22 and 24 gauge copper and brass disks. I polished them up and used my Euro-Power-Punch to make holes after I'd rolled the disks. Making these is seriously addictive!

Tweet