Embossing Metal With My Sizzix Bigshot. I must admit up until a few weeks ago I was vaguely familiar with the name Sizzix but as to what you actually did with a "Sizzix" I was completely in the dark!
That was until I stumbled across a video from Vintaj showing how you could use their embossing folders with a Bigshot to create designs on metal ("metal" - my favourite word after chocolate!) I was really impressed and itching to have a go, I just needed a Bigshot........ I waited a few weeks then when the urge to possess one overcame me I went out debit card at the ready..............and the shop had sold out! So I trundled off to The Range on the off chance and came home clutching my own surprisingly heavy pink and black wonder machine. It sat on the dining room table for a couple of days while I waited for the embossing folders I'd ordered online to arrive then the time came to start playing! I started with some pre-cut 24g copper hearts and the Wildflower Vines and the Butterfly Swirls Deco Embossing folders.
More examples! Home page. Embossing Metal With a Letter Press or Pasta Machine. Modern necklace. Component of the Month - The Making of "Pie" Beads. Remember these?
Tomorrow is the Component of the Month Reveal of designs using my "Pie" beads ... meanwhile, I thought you might like a little peak into how I made these little hollow beads... First I roll out a thin slab of porcelain. Then after cutting out ruffle-edged disc shapes, I form each into a dome shape using a copper form. Each of these domed discs will be one half (side) of a Pie bead. I tap down and flatten the edges to form a rim for joining the halves later. Once they have dried a little bit on the dome form, I use my own handmade porcelain stamps to create the pattern on each side. Then, when the porcelain has reached "leather hard" state, I remove the halves from the copper form.
I use scraps of porcelain to create a creamy white slip (watery mud). Looks kinda yummy but I'm certain it isn't edible! I carefully roughen (scratch) the surface areas of the rims to prepare them for joining. Then I paint on some slip and stick the two halves together. Voila! Free Beading Tutorials. Free Bead Patterns, Tutorials and Handmade Accessories. Beaded Jewelry Diva. Finishing Viking Knit Chain. Finishing viking knit chain, to turn it into a necklace or bracelet, can be daunting at first.
You have this beautiful chain you've carefully knitted and sent through the drawplate...but what do you do next? (Don't forget, I have posts on directions for viking knit, using a draw plate, choosing wire and the relationship between dowels and petals.) Not to mention my new tutorial Introduction to Viking Knit! Deciding on Embellishments First you need to decide if you want any embellishments on your chain.
If you want to put on a pendant that is a close fit to the chain, you probably want to put it on (or at least put the bail on) before finishing the ends. Of course, you might want no additional embellishments; the chain alone is beautiful, just as it is! Finishing the Ends The ends of the viking knit present somewhat of a dilemma. The answer is with an end cap. For your average viking knit chain, you want an end cap or cone that is at least 6mm in diameter on the large end. Making End Caps.