Elizabeth Hall is a Saul Bell Finalist!

The Etsy MetalClay Team is happy to report that Elizabeth Hall of Lizard's Jewelry is a finalist in the 2010 Saul Bell Awards! The presentation of the winners will take place during JCK Las Vegas, so keep your fingers crossed for Liz. She entered her Ocean Depths Belt Buckle into the PMC category.


Liz described her Ocean Depths Belt Buckle, as a one of a kind art piece made with fine silver/metal clay, Sterling silver hardware, inlaid and carved polymer clay. Liz describes the Ocean Depths belt buckle as a "fun piece that reminds her of the bottom of the sea and all the unusual creatures, some elements even "glow in the dark", like the creatures luminosity who live there. " Congratulations Liz the EMC team is rooting for you!

Welcome New Members to EMC Team

A big welcome to our two newest team members Kristi Bowman of Dream Some Designs and Tiffany Zadi of Heist Jewelry . Kristi has been working with metal clay for the last three months. She is inspired by nature and is experimenting with bronze and copper clays. I like the very deep textures in her pieces like the waves pendant pictured below.

Waves Pendant by Dream Some

Tiffany of Heist Jewelry has a very edge style that was recently found in the 2009 American Music Awards gift suite. Those lucky celebrities! I really like her bat wing pendant shown below. Check out Tiffany's blog at http://www.heistjewelry.blogspot.com/

Wing of the Bat by Heist Jewelry

Sue of Lulu Bug Jewelry featured in Etsy "Quit your Day Job Article"

I huge Congratulations to Sue of Lulu Bug Jewelry for being featured in Etsy "Quit your day job" article. Check out the article here. I have always been in awe of the fine detail in Sue's jewelry. Also I love Sue's unique use of tinted inlaid concrete in her pieces. Check out Sue's blog to see her latest tips on PMC fabrication. Congrats again to Sue.

Tiny Green Apple

Welcome Rachel's Things to EMC Team and Don't Forget the EMC Team Challenge!

Rachel Miller of Rachel's Things is the newest member of the EMC Team! Rachel received a BFA from Boston University and later graduated from FIT in New York. With her degrees she started her career in fashion design and painting. Rachel's interest in jewelry design started with intricate wire work design. She was a successful wire work artist before she discovered metal clay. Rachel meet Kate McKinnon (who later won the Saul Bell award from Rio) at a local art fair and the rest is history. Rachel spends her days caring for her two daughters and creating her unique pieces that include Judaic stars and mezuzahs. Check out Rachel's blog at www.rachelmiller-artist.blogspot.com.

Rachel's Heart n' Star Necklace

Everyone give Rachel a warm welcome. Also just a reminder to the my fellow EMC team members the EMC Team Challenge Hinges is due Wednesday November 18Th. All entries must incorporate a hinge in their jewelry design.

November 2009 Art Jewelry Magazine

The November '09 issue of Art Jewelry Magazine could also be referred to as 'home of the Etsy Metal Clay Team' - I flipped the first page to find the Metal Clay Guru ad featuring the work and names of team members Janice Doner, Sue Urquhart, Lorena Angulo, Teresa Swanson, Celie Fago, Lora Hart, Liz Hall and Jane Font!  I flipped six more pages and there was the ad for Whole Lotta Whismy featuring our own Jen Kahn!

And to top off the EMC Team Art Jewelry takeover - on page 62 is an article called 5 under 10 (five pieces under 10 grams of metal clay) featuring FIVE our our team members: Natasha Bouey, Liz Hall (again!), Ruth Baillie, Lis-El Crowley and Alina Gridley.

That's lucky 13 Etsy Metal Clay members featured in Art Jewelry magazine. That is one hot team!

Lots of Good News for The EMC Team

The Etsy Metal Clay Team message boards have been buzzing with good news lately. Several team members have been included in the PMC Guild Annual Volume. Congrats to Jennifer Smith Righter, Liz Hall, Lorena Angulo, Ruth Baille, CelieFago and Lora Hart for having their work included in Volume #3.

There is new website that is aimed at sharing tips and tricks on precious metal clay called Metal Clay Guru. This is wonderful website that shares insight on working with metal clay. I love the links to the video tutorials and the gallery of talented artists. If you look at that gallery of artists you will see EMC very own, Bev Gallerani, Celie Fago, Jane Font, Janice Doner, Jennifer Smith-Righter, Liz Hall, Lora Hart, Lorena Angulo, Sue Urquhart, Teresa Swanson

Lisel Crowley, of Heart of the Fire, had a lovely article written about her Studio in Windsor, CT on the online magazine Connecticut Creative. Congrats Lisel!

Ancient Echoes Pendant

The Finished Bracelet

So, it's finished....and what a beauty. Catherine's bracelet and the gorgeous charms just make this have a wonderful sound. Enjoy the beauty. Cheers Girls!

Thanks Catherine

Thanks so much for donating this beautiful handmade bracelet to the charm swap. It will surely help raise more money for our charity. -- Dina

Catherine's Donation

Today I received the most incredible handmade bracelet for our charm swap bracelet which will go to a charitable organization to hopefully raise lots of funds. So I needed to share this beautiful bracelet before it is adorned with the beautiful charms that our group has made.

EMC Charm Swap Update No. II

Well in case you were not aware the charms for the EMC Team Charm Swap were due today! Teresa sent me the above picture this afternoon. While the pile of goodies is larger than last week there are a few missing packages. Teresa reported the following:

Charms are still coming in from everyone, and the boxes are mounting. Everyone on the team is so talented and creative, and we are all going to end up with some REALLY fantastic charms! We are still missing a few, but just as soon as I get them, I'll get sets back to you all so you can see the wonderful pieces.

Countdown to EMC Charm Bracelet Exchange.

Teresa Boland was generous enough to organize the EMC Team Charm Bracelet Exchange. Teresa shared the following delicious picture and motivating speech to get the procrastinators working.

With the deadline for the charm swap swiftly approaching -- who would believe that time would pass so quickly and Sept. 10th be upon us in the blink of an eye! -- charms have started arriving and the excitement is building. It’s like Christmas around here every time the mailman comes, and believe me, I am anxiously waiting for him to see if any goodies come! I promise to repackage them up and get them back out to you all as quickly as I can (once I receive them all, of course – so you slow-pokes, get busy) so everyone can share in the excitement. Stay tuned for updates!

Welcome New Members to the Etsy MetalClay Team

We have two new members this month, they are Heidi Stinson of Water Hawks Metalwork and Lisa Woinarski of Lillipilli Designs.

Heidi is a busy Mother of four and a former Marine. She has been creating jewelry for 17 years. She started creating jewelry made of hemp, bone, seed/glass beads and leather, while on her wilderness/desert survival excursions. Unfortunately Heidi became disabled in 2003 but has utilized her extra time into creating beautiful jewelry. She is inspired by nature and loves to use natural elements such as wood, leaves, leather, pearls, and gemstones into her work. Heidi has another Etsy shop called www.emeraldwaterhawk.etsy.com. I love Heidi's Last Leaf of Summer Ring listed below. I can't believe summer is over, I noticed today the trees in my area were already starting to change color!

Heidi's Last Leaf of Summer Ring

A native to Australia, Lisa's designs are inspired by nature. Lisa named her Etsy Store Lillipilli after a tree found in Australia, that has the ability of create bright pink fruit. Lisa's talents include textile arts to painting, sculpture, pottery, papermaking, and printmaking. When she moved to California, Lisa discovered metalclay and she has been creating beautiful jewelry ever since. You can see Lisa' jewelry on her Etsy store or on her website http://www.lillipillidesigns.com/

Lisa's Art Deco Flower Pendant

Please everyone give a warm welcome to our newest team members. I hope you enjoy our friendly little group!

Welcome New Members to the EMC Team

The Etsy Metal Clay Team has welcomed four new members to the team. These new members are Lorena Angulo of Pueblo Folk Art, Carrie Benvenuti of Uranium Cafe, Mieko Takahashi of Shizen Designs and Lucia Gulino of Gulino Art Jewelry.

I first spotted Lorena's work through Flickr and have been a big fan ever since. Lorena's highly detailed, hand crafted pieces reflect her Mexican heritage. Her folk art jewelry style is inspired by the traditional jewelry wore by the native Indians in South Mexico, Chiapas and Oaxacaamerican. One of my favorites is the pendant listed below called Arbol De Vida

Lorena's "Arbol de Vida" Pendant

Carrie of Uranium Cafe considers New Mexico her home. She find the diverse culture and history of the southwest to be the driving inspirational force behind her jewelry. Carrie enjoys creating items composed of silver, leather, polymer clay and mixed metals. She has a website http://www.uraniumcafe.com/ that has virtual tours of the famous Route 66 and toys and collectibles from the 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's.

Carrie's Sun God Pendant

Mieko Takahashi of Shizen Designs was born in Tokyo, Japan and came to the United States in 1992 to study accounting at a Boston College. The name of her store Shizen is really a Japanese word meaning nature. Mieko launched Shizen Designs in 2006 and has been working on her jewelry as a full time endeavor since then. I love Mieko nature inspired/ minimalist designs. My favorite are her Lotus Flower Earrings listed below.

Mieko's Lotus Flower Earrings

Lucia Gulino of Gulino Art Jewelry was originally a photographer and a ceramic artist before she was introduced to metal clay. Lucia is interested in all arts that use chemical changes, particularly fire. Lucia loves the fact that metal clay has a tactile quality that was similar to her ceramic clay but she was able to form metal objects from her new medium metal clay. Below is Lucia's Alligator Skin Necklace.

Lucia's Alligator Skin Necklace

Splash of Color Challenge - Gold and Polymer Entries

Jane Font of Daisy Jane Designs sent me this lovely Floral Pendant. Jane uses gemstones in most of her pieces so to challenge herself she added gold paste to accent her handmade flowers. The vines, leaves, and flowers were all done using a syringe. Once it was fired Jane applied the gold paste in two coats. Jane then fired the gold with a butane torch and then polished, applied a patina and polished again.

Jane's Gold Floral Pendant

Teresa Swanson of T's Studio Jewelry sent me her Banana Leaf Fine Silver ladybug ring. This fine silver leaf ring is adorned with a polymer clay ladybug. Teresa handcrafted the ring's leaf-like texture and shape.

Teresa's Ladybug Ring

Ruth Baillie of Bird Land Creations she sent me her "You Raise Me Up Pendant". This piece was Ruth's first attempt of incorporating liquid polymer into her silver jewelry. She found that liquid polymer peeled of the silver after it was cooked but when she added a thin layer of colorless resin the liquid polymer stuck to her silver balloon permanently. She felt that the liquid polymer gave her balloon a rubbery appearance she was trying to achieve. The idea of the necklace is that the wearer can remember those people in her life who have "raised her up".

Ruth's You Raise Me Up Pendant

So I, Christine Childress of Clever Endeavor, finally finished my first enamel piece last night. I achieved the simple star shapes by using photo polymer plates. I then added two layers of Prussian blue enamel using my ultra light kiln. I am pleased with my result for my first try.

Christine's Blue Enamel Star Pendant

Beverly Gallerani of Mango Tango Designs sent me her Bronzclay Seashell Arched Window Necklace and Earrings set. The bronzclay pieces were fired in the activated carbon and were held under a torched to bring out the very rich patina colors.

Beverly's Bronzclay Seashell Arched Window Earrings and Pendant

Penelope Dunham of Penelopes Passion sent me her 24K Gold Leaf Square Pendant. Penelope used the ancient Korean technique of Keum-boo, to bond the 24 Karat gold foil to the fine silver jewelry surface.

Penelope's 24K Gold Leaf Pendant

Splash of Color Challenge - Resin and Enamel Entries

This is the second set of entries for our Color Splash EMC Team Challenge. As you read on last Friday's blog, the Etsy MetalClay Team agreed to a friendly Team Challenge. The Challenge called Color Splash, encouraged the group to create piece of silver jewelry that incorporated color using gemstones, glass, resin, enamel, polymer, etc. I am very excited to see what everyone came up with. Last Friday we showcased all of the entries that utilized gemstones and glass. Today all of the items presented below incorporated color into their design by adding resin or enamel.

Teresa Boland of Teresa Boland Designs send me this wonderful resin piece called Blooming Catmint Pendant with resin. Teresa was able in capture a natural blooming catmint bud from her garden and seal it with resin inside this lovely silver pendant.

Teresa's Blooming Catmint Pendant

Beverly of Mango Tango Designs sent me this lovely enamel piece. The pendant features Bev's silver seashells with a transparent green enameled background.

Bev's Seashell and Green Enamel Pendant

Lora Hart of Lora Hart Jewels sent me this green enamel pendant. The pendant features a silver stamped pattern with a green enamel background, Lora finishes this necklace with a silk ribbon and a vintage button as a clasp.

Lora's Green Enamel Pendant

Janice Doner of Destinys Creations sent me this lovely Fire Fly pendant.This pendant features green and black enamel over silver that has been stamped with a organic texture design of a firefly and flowers.

Jaince's Fire Fly Pendant

Nicola Callow of Murano Silver sent me this colorful resin piece called "Thoth." Thoth is the Egyptian God associated with writing and learning and was Nicola's inspiration for creating this elaborate line drawing. From her lining drawings, Nicola was able to create a photo polymer plate. The color resins and dichroic cabochon make Thoth a big, bold, colorful pendant. Check out Nicola blog where she talks about creating this piece in detail. www.muranosilver.blogspot.com

Nicola's Thoth Pendant

Lori Magno of Moda di Magno sent me these cute silver heart. The silver heart has a small circle cutout that is filled with red Ferido epoxy resin.
Lori's Silver Heart Pendant

Linda Gielen of Clayology sent me her Green Leaves Medallion that features light green resin with her silver leaves design. Linda added easycast resin with green pearl ex powered pigments to the large recessed areas of the piece to make this medallion.

Linda Green Leaves Medallion

Cherylyn Bredemann of C-Lyn Studio sent me her Terra Cotta Dream Pool Pendant. This pendant is composed of several different materials. Cherylyn PMC pendant contains handmade mixed-media papers enveloped in resin and a blue paua shell.

Cherylyn Terra Cotta Dream Pool Pendant

Splash of Color Challenge - Gemstone Entries

With so many talented artists within the Etsy MetalClay Group, I thought it would be fun to incorporate a Monthly Challenge. Nothing too competitive mind you, more of a opportunity to learn new techniques and trying something new. The Challenge for this month was called "Splash of Color" All jewelry pieces had to incorporate color into the pieces via gemstones, enamel, resin, polymer. I had a huge response from the team (16 entries) so I will present our different Splash of Color Entries by category. This first set of entries utilized glass and gemstones to bring a pop of color to their silver pieces.

Lisel Crowley of Heart of the Fire sent me this dichroic glass butterfly with textured silver wings. I wonder if this beautiful butterfly is traveling with Lisel to the Philly Show this weekend?

Lisel's Dichroic Butterfly Pendant

Penelope Dunham of Penelopes Passion sent me her Silk Fire Pendant. This pendant also incorporates the use of dichroic glass and silver. I love how the glass seems to be bursting from the silver.

Penelope's Silk Fire Pendant

Alina of Silver Garden submitted her Artist Palette Pendant. This cute pendant is formed from Fine Silver with three cubic zirconia stones, a peridot and a lab grown blue spinel. The palette has leaf textured surface and is suspended off an 18" sterling silver snake chain.

Alina's Artist Palette Pendant

Oshrat Ben-Isaac of Terra Firma Studios sent me her Party of Five Pendant. This gemstone pendant contains five diffrent colored cubic zirconia.

Oshrat Party of Five Pendant

Catherine Witherell of Happy Day Art submitted her Amethyst Drop Flower Pendant. The PMC Flower pendant is decorated with three amethyst drops and fused fine silver connection rings.

Catherine's Amethyst Drop Flower Pendant

Karen West of Eggtooth Originals submitted her Night Forest Pendant. Karen's Pendant features a moonstone against her organic silver design.

Karen's Night Forest Pendant

You're Going Where to do What with Whom?

Hey it's me - Lori Magno, cross-posting from my personal blog. On Friday I will head to Philadelphia for the Buyers Market of American Craft wholesale show. This is a first for me and I am so fortunate to go on this adventure with four of the most talented, funniest, kindest and amazing artists from the Etsy Metal Clay Team. The EMC Team is a juried group of artists that host their shops on Etsy and when I look at their incredible work I kind of gasp and wonder aloud who accidentally clicked "accept" when my work was in front of the group. Nevertheless, the team was invited to apply for the Buyers Market and given a most favorable rate on a booth. (Buyers, come see us in booth #827!) I believe this is what author/adventurer Tilar Mazzeo was referring to when she gave my my new favorite phrase "The serendipity of brazenness." This event and weekend and entire hoopty do is my definition of that phrase.

I'll be traveling with, in alphabetical order, Dina Alexander (2008 Saul Bell Award winner Dina Alexander!) Lis-el Crowley - you should totally visit the Art & Soul Gallery in Windsor, Connecticut and take a class. Janice Doner of Destiny's Creations - a girl after my own heart with a blog and a day job and a passion for silver. The fifth member of our group is Christine Street of Chocolate and Steel (another blogging girl!)

We are totally off on a craft camp-pick up the tequila-where are my garterbelts-kind of long weekend as we show our wares to top jewelry and gift store buyers as well as gallery owners. Who knows what will happen (don't 'tase me bro!) this weekend - but one thing I know is that it will be fabulous to spend a weekend with artists that I admire so much.

Here are a few new designs I'm bringing with me to Philly - appearing in my Etsy shop soon!

The Om Heart Pendant

The India Dot Ring
Two Paisley Pendants
The India Earrings (freshly made - but on the site for a few weeks now!)
The Good Twin/Evil Twin two-sided pendant. You know who you are EVIL TWINS!
From my brand new Woof-Purr-Tweet collection; hand-carved designs made this week!