An Expert Guide by Elaine Luther

There are a number of different ways to bend tubing without crushing it. One of them is to use the spring type benders. Here’s where to buy them: http://www.micromark.com.

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Here’s one of those heartwarming jewelry stories: http://www.stltoday.com

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Lee Marshall, creator of the original Bonny Doon Hydraulic Press, just can’t retire, he’s still making great tools for metalsmiths, including the Knew Concepts Precision Hand Saws in three sizes.

Read about the development of the saw over at the blog of Cynthia Eid, here: http://ceid.ganoksin.com.

and see what James Binnon thinks of the saw, here: http://binnion.ganoksin.com.

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I was talking to a friend the other day, an avid quilter, and she described her system for getting quilting done. She not only schedules quilting time in a calendar dedicated to just crafting — but she also writes in what she’s going to work on.

She says it helps her stay focused on finishing projects and not just drifting from one fun activity to another.

What a great idea!

If you missed my post on how I manage deadlines for shows, it’s here:
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

How about you?

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Charles Lewton-Brain has assembled an exhaustive list of web resources on gemology, here: http://www.brainpress.com/gemlinks.html

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Placeblogger is a site where you can search for blogs based on location. If you have a blog, you may want to register yourself there. (I plan to…)

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Beth Wicker shot some photos of the process as she made a repoussé broach, if you’ve ever wondered how it’s done, this is a nice explanation, and she also discusses which pitch she uses. Here’s that first blog post:

http://bethwicker.ganoksin.com/blogs

Here it is finished:

http://bethwicker.ganoksin.com/blogs

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Now showing at the BenchTube at Ganoksin:

Beads Baubles & Jewels
Parts 1-13
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01 – Bench Setup
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/397
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02 – Riviting
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/398
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03 – Hammers
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/399
……………………………………………..

04 – Glass Casting
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/400
……………………………………………..

05 – Pliers and Cutters
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/401
……………………………………………..

06 – Flexshafts
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/402
……………………………………………..

07 – Torches
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/403
……………………………………………..

08 – Patination
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/404
……………………………………………..

09 – Jump Rings
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/405
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10 – Finishing Techniques
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/406
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11 – Copper clay Techniques
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/407
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12 – Soldering
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/408
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13 – Forging Metal
http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/409

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2009 was another great year for guest posts, including this one from Linda Kaye-Moses, Indoor Craft Show/Trade Show Booth Advice, from January.

In 2009, I also started the category Free Tutorials and Videos, you can check out the many posts in that category here.

My own guide through the web, this post, called Learn to use Metal Clay, FREE, online! proved to be a handy and well liked guide.

March brought my review of the web based software, basecamp, in How I Manage my Deadlines for Shows

In May, I talked about closing down my e-commerce tools shop in this post, What Now?

In June, I wrote In Defense of Indie Crafts, after being inspired by a conversation on Metal Clay Gallery. That’s a really good post.

June also included a number of Marketing Mondays, with guest posts from Dr. David Weiman, start with this one, The Art of “Upselling” Artisan Jewelry.

For Father’s Day, I wrote a how-to on making BronzClay keychains for gifts.

I continued to share my enthusiasm for blogging, in the post, Why YOU need a blog, and what’s with all this social media stuff? (See more from 2008, starting with Elaine’s Rules for Blogging.)

In July, we found the Design-o-matic tool from Tim McCrieght.

July also brought the Metal Clay World Conference to the Chicago suburbs, and with it, my multi-part series on What To Do in Chicago, with guest posts from the mysterious and inimitable Lynn.

Part I
Part II — Oak Park, IL
Part III – Old Town

I was thrilled to attend MCWC, my first metal clay conference in years, where I met lots of folks in real life that I’d only known online. And the lectures and shopping were terrific.

Also in July, we had a guest post from Teamac on What You Need to Know About PCI Compliance.0

In August, I jumped into the fray with Why Not Wax?

I got personal in, Not Inspired by Nature, part of the Blog Carnival Series. That was a post that actually helped me write an artist’s statement.

In October, I profiled talented artist Lorena Angula, in what must be my longest artist profile yet.

And Robin Ragsdale posted her Top Ten Display Tips.

In November I wrote, Intro to Wax Carving.

In December, guest poster Barbara Rozgonyi shared, Ten Branding Methods: Butterflies and Rainbows Optional.

And here’s one from December 2008, but it’s a favorite of mine: How to Hide a T-shirt in a Cake.

It looks like I didn’t write a blog year in review for 2008, but I did for 2007, here, if you’d like to see the overview of my first year blogging.

And all year long, I reviewed books and sourced tools we can’t live without! Find them in the Reviews category and the Sources category.

The monthly Blog Carnival posts are usually filed under My Jewelry/My Studio.

Those are just some of the highlights from 2009, there are lots more posts including Calls for Entries, and my highlighting the best of the web that’s of interest to those of us who make and sell jewelry, particularly in metal clay.

For me personally, I posted some of my personal goals, including Summer Goals, which I admit I have yet to achieve.

In 2009, this article was published: Art Jewelry Magazine January 2009, Project Article Splat! Pendant. I get tons of compliments whenever I wear that necklace.

In December 2008, I posted about where you can see images of my jewelry online, in this post, Where Can You See My Work?, and apparently, I still have mixed feelings about posting images on line, since I haven’t made a lot of progress in that category.

To get me off on a good foot, here’s a picture of a little something I made in BronzClay, with a polymer clay image transfer.

BronzClay pendant by Elaine Luther (c) 2009

Look for more published articles from me next year (don’t worry, I’ll point them out!).
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Do you have a favorite post from this past year?

What do you hope I’ll cover next year?

Anything you wish I’d talk about less?

Post a comment, below, and thanks!

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me! And here’s to another great year of blogging and jewelry making.

~Elaine

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