Charms for Charity Done Tickets Still Available - July 5, 2010

My Charms for Charity have been shipped... the hope is that they actually DO hit the PO Box they were sent to tomorrow as expected. The charm bracelet making party at Gage Design is tomorrow (6th) and I hope mine make it there in time.

Some where along the line I thought I read that a 'description' card w/ picture and name to help people identify the charms was required so I made these - I like how they came out so I'm posting them here ... the pics are a bit better than the ones I posted earlier.


This shows the first design with a bit of the second design added in. If you recall the ribbon was going to be plain silver. But you know me.. pretty things that are repeatable must be repeated! LOL So when I saw how lovely the hammered flake and the aquamarine translucent enamel looked I had to use it on these too. I sent 2 of this design in for the bracelets.

This one is the second design. Without the birth stones you can see the words clearer. I really liked how the enamel worked and I expect to do more of it in the near future! (IF ONLY the garage wasn't as hot as it is! ;o) Nothing like running a kiln in a 90 garage!!)

Now that the charms have shipped I simply have to finish selling some more tickets - $5 each or 5 for $20 people! ALL the money goes to the charity of your choice (The American Cancer Society or the Marrow Foundation) AND you get a chance to win a bracelet that has to be worth over $500!! Imagine owning a bracelet with a charm created by some of the best metal artists in the world!! I'm so excited to have a chance for my charms to be included with these great artisans!! You can bet I'm buying a bunch of tickets for me!!

Charms for Charity... Part Deux! 06/29/10

WE HAVE CHARMS!!!

(The good thing is, the charms look better than these not so great pics. I need to ship them on Wednesday and I'm going to try and re-shoot in the a.m. when I'm a little more alert.)

Charms...
PMC3 - Heart w/ Ribbon, Enamel, plus. I created two PPPs (Photo Polymer Plates) for these charms. The first was the base - the heart with the words in it and the second was the ribbon to go on top. The loop of ribbon forms the area for the jump ring to attach. The FIRST design (as shown on the previous post) was to have the ribbon all silver w/ words imprinted into the heart and birthstones: moon stone for a friend who is winning the battle w/ cancer and aquamarine for my great aunt who sadly lost her battle with cancer.

THEN I started working...
What looks great on paper didn't work so well in clay ... only because I don't feel you can see the words well enough with the birthstones added. SOOO... I adjusted. I added some flake (which I tapped down a bit) on one side of the ribbon to represent "moon stone" and then I added translucent enamel on the other half to represent aquamarine.

Enamel...
The enamel worked like a charm. I have to thank Pam East for her book "Enameling on Metal Clay"! I used it like a recipe book the whole way thru! While doing this I learned that when using the green glasses you aren't looking for COLOR so much as the look of the glass... granulated, orange peel, smooth. It was amazing that I could see the differences in the enamel as it heated. EVEN WITH my lousy eyes!! I have to say though that I FREAKED OUT... When I pulled the first charm off the Ultralite and took the glasses off I saw that the enamel looked LIGHT GREEN NOT LIGHT BLUE! OMG! What the heck?? Then POOF! the Enamel gods heard my dismay and as they cooled, the blue appeared! :o)

LOS...
I used a fine brush and added some LOS to the words that were imprinted in the hearts. The LOS spread a little more than I wanted... so I did something I wasn't sure I should, I re-tumbled them for about 30 minutes. My hope was that the LOS would come off a bit and that the enamel would NOT scratch. Luck of the charm gods were with me!! Everything came out of the tumbler OK!

All-In-All I'm very excited about the charms. I'm going to send all 7 to Holly and let her decide if she needs/wants the two w/ the stones in them. They aren't perfect, but they are pretty and who knows she may need 2 extras! I know these aren't the professional style, look and technique/quality of many of the other artists, but they represent my design, my friend, my great-aunt, me and my love of this cause!

My charms need to be in by July 6 but I still have tickets available and can sell them thru the 20th (need a couple days to get the money and tickets in before the conference) if you want tickets - please let me know!! :o)

Charms for Charity May 23, 2010

I'm excited to be participating in the 2010 Charms for Charity this year. Metal Clay artists gather to create charms and charm bracelets to be raffled with donations going to the American Cancer Society and The Marrow Foundation.

A little back ground - here's the press release:

Jewelry Artists Charming Their Way to the Cure

In memory of one of their own felled by cancer, jewelry artists who work with Precious Metal Clay and Art Clay Silver have banded together for the second biennial fundraiser for cancer research, Charms for Charity.

Inspired by metal clay artist Robin Whitmore’s uplifting spirit and love of life, the entire community of metal clay artists has banded together to raise money by doing what they do best, making jewelry.

Robin died in 2007 after a courageous battle with cancer, leaving a legacy of courage and charity among her friends and colleagues. Now Metal Clay artists from around the country have decided to honor Robin and their own loved ones who have succumbed to this disease by raising funds to benefit The American Cancer Society and The Marrow Foundation. Individuals and local guilds are donating charms or complete bracelets to be raffled off.

The bracelets will be raffled off at the Precious Metal Clay (PMC) Conference in Perdue, IN, July 30, 2010, but raffle ticket holders do not need to be present to win.

This year, the metal clay artists hope to top the 2008 Charms for Charity donation of $12,270. Raffle tickets are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00, and multiple winners will receive a sterling silver bracelet with many beautifully crafted charms made by artists from all over the world.

All checks will be made out directly to the organization, either The American Cancer Society or The Marrow Foundation.

Each ticket purchased brings with it the chance for a special piece of fine jewelry but it also brings us one step closer to a cure.

Bracelets & Charms...
The image of the bracelet is only one of many bracelets to be made. With so many charms coming in from so many different artist is it likely that there will be almost no two bracelets alike! :o)

I'm working on a charm that will be in remembrance of my Aunt Rita who passed away after her own struggle with Bone Cancer and in honor of my friend and co-worker Bryan who is currently fighting his own battle.

My hope is that the charms will come out as designed - I'll be working on them during the month of June so cross your fingers.

Any of you who are interested in buying tickets for the raffle can contact me!