Free Jewelry Giveaway (Expired) - Silver & Gold Maple Leaf Earrings

Fine Silver and Gold Maple Leaf Earrings by York Avenue Studio

Enter now for a chance to win the earrings shown above!  The details on how to enter are below.

Fine silver tiny Maple leaf earrings with 14K gold filled ear wires. I used real Maple leaves as the mold for the fine silver to capture the tiny detail. The silver and gold contrast adds to the organic look of these nature inspired earrings.  These are delicate, lightweight and very comfortable.

Tiny Maple Leaves Silver and Gold by York Avenue Studio

I used Art Clay Silver overlay paste and literally painted the leaves with silver. After firing at 1200 degrees, the leaves are now .999 fine silver. I soldered the 14K gold filled wire with gold solder to the silver leaves. These have been tumbled with steel shot for over an hour and are sturdy, yet light and dangle so sweetly with a very nice shine.

Fine Silver Maple Leaves with 14K Gold Filled Ear Wires

Before I list the ways to enter the drawing for the Silver and Gold earrings, I'd like to introduce you to my favorite item that I offer in my shop:  The Silver Love Wrap Ring with Custom Words Names and Special Meaning.

$15 Little Love Wrap Ring by York Avenue Studio

Above is the smaller version of the Love Wrap Ring without custom words.  I use heavy 12 gauge sterling silver to create these handstamped rings one by one.  Perfect to say I Love You to someone special. 

Below, is the Original Love Wrap Ring:




Silver Love Wrap Ring by York Avenue Studio

 Sterling Love bypass ring, the perfect gift as a Friendship ring, Promise ring, birthday or anniversary. Personalized for your special reminder or meaning.
This ring can be customized with any name, word, initial, date, etc.  Any message can be stamped on the outside and inside of the band. Upper case as well as cute lower case letters. I also have Greek Uppercase. Perfect for Sorority sisters. You can also request symbols like hearts and stars.

This everyday band looks chic, a little rustic and heartfelt. This is a very comfortable ring that will not catch on clothing and won't ever need to be taken off! The band is slightly adjustable, too




Latitude Longitude Coordinates Ring by York Avenue Studio


This ring is also perfect for Latitude and Longitude, perhaps the location of your first kiss, a special location with friends or family or a vacation spot or maybe an engagement proposal.

I find it so amazing how many ways this ring has been personalized. That is why I love making these rings!

Could you think of something special to have written on a ring?  A gift for someone close and special or a treasure to keep for yourself?  I'd love to hear your ideas.  Here is the link to my shop where you can read more and order a ring with your ideas:  Love Wrap Ring


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Here is how to enter the drawing for the Free Jewelry Giveaway:

1.  Follow my blog and comment below that you are a follower.  You will be entered if you leave a comment.  Current blog followers need to leave a comment to be entered, too.
2.  Anyone that mentions the giveaway at checkout when placing an order will be entered again for more chances to win.
3.  Like my Facebook Page and you will be entered if you leave a comment below.  Here is the link:

York Avenue Studio's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/York-Avenue-Studio-Handcrafted-Gemstone-Jewelry/138653009529987

4.  Post on your Facebook about York Avenue Studio, maybe mention the Giveaway or let others know about the Custom Love Wrap Ring.  Leave a comment below and you will be entered.

5.  If someone mentions you in their comment below, you both will be entered again!

Details of the Giveaway:
This drawing will be done by random.org and is for US residents over the age of 18.  Unlimited times a person may enter.  I will hold the drawing on July 23rd which means the last entries must be in before midnight on 7/22/2012.  One winner will be randomly selected and I will contact the winner and announce them on my blog. Please be sure that your email contact info is available, either in your comment or privately emailed to me.  I must be able to reach the winner by email and confirm that the delivery address is US.  The earrings in the photos are the exact pair that will be sent.  The retail value of the earrings is $50.00.

Tiny Maple Silver and Gold Earrings by York Avenue Studio

Good Luck!  I look forward to reading the comments and selecting the winner!
Regards,
Kathy

Silver Overlay Paste - This stuff is Magic

Silver Overlay Paste has so many uses and I haven’t explored them all yet.  I have had the chance to use it for embedding sterling in metal clay as well as use it for “soldering” pieces together.  Here are my notes.

Embedding Sterling in Metal Clay

I have been successful at embedding sterling silver in Art Clay Silver using the slow dry low fire clay formula.  Using a torch, carefully watching the color of the orange glow in the sterling, it is possible to incorporate sterling into metal clay designs.   Now, I’ve discovered Silver Overlay Paste which gives even better results with such a strong bond allowing me to make the most complex designs yet.

Overlay paste is not regular paste and it is not oil paste.
Regular paste can be mixed at home by adding water to fresh clay (or dried clay that has been crushed) to dilute the clay to a paste, thick or thin.
Oil paste can also be mixed at home by adding essential oil (like lavender) to regular paste.

Here are only some uses for these pastes:

Regular Paste - use it on fresh or dried clay, not yet fired.  Paint leaves, fill molds, many uses.
Oil Paste - use it to join fired clay to fresh or fired clay.  Must be fired at full temp for full time.
Overlay Paste - specifically formulated to fire at lower temp, 1200 degrees.  Great on ceramic, porcelain, and the first point of contact between any objects embedded in clay.  Very friendly to torch users.

I use two different methods for embedding sterling depending on if I am using the overlay paste or not.

Without Overlay Paste:
The sterling will need to be “gripped” by the clay so I make sure the part that is going into the clay has a bend, a loop, or I hack it up a little with a file or cutters.  This gives the clay something to grab onto as it fires and shrinks around the sterling.  I also torch the sterling to get it to a deep gray black color, then pickle the piece back to silvery color.  I use a little regular paste on the part that is going into the clay and push it into the clay and let it dry.

With Overlay Paste:
I torch the sterling, pickle.  Paint or dab the overlay paste on the sterling that will be attached and press it in place. Both methods might require a little filing or sanding before firing.  Both methods can be torched, and watching the color in the sterling has been key.  Sterling has a melting point somewhere around 1650 degrees.  If you have ever balled the end of a wire, for an earring perhaps, you’ve seen the salmon color turn to bright orange as the end balls.  That color will assist you when torching, as you do not want to get to the bright orange color and melt your sterling.  You also want to keep the temperature hot enough to properly sinter the metal clay.  If careful, it can be done!

Here is an example of sterling embedded without overlay paste.  This is my Bird Nest Mothers Ring.  I embed the prong settings and the ring band into the fresh clay, let it dry and torch.

Here is an example of sterling embedded with overlay paste.  This ring has 8 joins which means 8 places that needed two parts to join together.  I used a metal clay heart for the ring top that was fired alone first.  I then made a bezel with sterling gallery wire, not joining the seam.  I used overlay paste to attached the heart to the top of the gallery wire, overlay paste on the bezel seam, overlay paste on the bottom of the gallery wire and embedded that into a rolled out piece of clay.  I trimmed the clay around the bezel, outside and inside, let it dry and fired it all together.  From this point, no solder was used.  I was free to solder the ring band and prong settings, as well as resize the ring band using solder, no worries that it would collapse from the heat.

Overlay Paste Can Be Used Like Solder and Unlike Solder

This overlay paste is very much like soldering, because it joins pieces together.  It has a bright silver color, better than silver solder. 

It is very different in that is has to dry first, but it can fill gaps, it holds pieces together as they join like glue, no worries about undoing previous joins.  No flux used and the pieces don’t have to be perfectly flush to join.  The list goes on.  The overlay paste works best with joining larger surfaces and may not work well on tiny spots.  For example, resizing a ring only requires the tiniest join, best done with solder.  My heart ring top had a continuous line of overlay paste which bonded perfectly to the sterling bezel wire.
For anyone that is learning to solder, this overlay paste is something that I recommend you consider to learn, too!

Overlay paste is amazing, strong, and versatile.  I am hoping that this post will give other metal clay artists a fresh look at something that might have been overlooked before as “just another paste”.