I can make metal stamped jewelry

Tag: designer spotlight

  • Artist Spotlight: Adrianne Surian

    Artist Spotlight Adrianne Surian

    This week, we’re shining the spotlight on the lovely and talented Adrianne Surian of Happy Hour Projects. Adrianne is a prolific lifestyle blogger with a large and loyal following. She shares easy to DIY tutorials all focused on projects you can make in under an hour, which is terrific for the short attention span crafter. She’s an avid metal stamping enthusiast and her tutorials are fabulous with detailed step by step photos, videos and lots of inspiring new techniques. Adrianne took some time to answer our five easy questions and she shares some great tips for success making metal stamped jewelry and DIY projects!

    1. When did you start making jewelry and why?

    Forever and ever ago – truly. Like, macaroni necklace age. I really began to realize my interest in jewelry around age 8 when I learned to make paper beads, and when I made dozens and dozens of friendship bracelets. I played around with design concepts when I was about 10… not that the average 10-year-old oozes style, of course. I still remember a particularly interesting pair of earrings I made from a pair of miniature rubber frogs I talked my mom into buying me on a science museum trip. I’ve always leaned toward crafty, but jewelry is especially satisfying to make, because you can bring it with you, by wearing it!

    1. What is your favorite source for jewelry making inspiration?

    It’s usually the components themselves! A lot of times, I’ll get my hands on a specific piece – a bead, a charm, a certain shape – and I’ll get an idea to evolve it. Though I’m not going to lie, every time I’m out shopping, I have to take a peek at the new trends!

    1. What advice do you have for folks just starting out?

    Regarding design itself – if you enjoy it, then push your limits. Not every piece has to be perfect, allow yourself a learning curve. And put your own spin on any design that inspires you. You don’t ever have to make exactly what someone else does. Adding your own touch makes your piece truly one of a kind and that much more special.

    If you do enjoy it… well, it’s like any hobby. You will end up with an enormous stash. So get organized early, and keep tabs on what you’ve got. It will save you money when you’re eyeing something fabulous… and can’t remember if you already bought it or not, haha. Not that that has happened, of course… ahem.

    1. What tips or tricks can you share for successful metal stamping?

    If you’re just starting out, then practice, practice, practice. Seriously. Keep with it. You’ll improve. In the early days, I was all over the place. I wrecked a lot of blanks. In fact, I still have them. I save my bad blanks for practice if it’s been a while since I’ve gotten the hammer out! It’s a great way to brush up my spacing and consistency before wasting a new blank – and it shows if it’s been a while since I stamped.

    My other advice for beginners is: you won’t hit your hand. So don’t worry about it! Early on, my hesitation showed in the final product, and it’s because I was worried about exactly that.

    If you’ve conquered the beginners’ hurdles, then my next advice is to step it up. Think outside your letter set. Think textures, shapes, and the other things that metal is, and what it can do. Once I started stamping spoons, I crossed over into a different way of thinking about stamping. The next thing I stamped was a copper sheet roof for a birdhouse. I’m starting to believe that there’s anything that can’t be stamped. Seriously. I will find a way.

    1. Where can our readers find you?

    I blog at Happy Hour Projects. My focus is tutorials and inspiration geared toward beginners, and I’ve been talking about my experience since I was a beginner myself!

    You can visit Adrianne Surian at her website Happy Hour Projects and her social pages. You can find the links below! We’ll be back on Wednesday with more metal stamping inspiration!

    Happy Hour ProjectsWebsite

    Happy Hour Projects Website Stamping Tutorials

    Facebook

    YouTube

    Twitter

    Pinterest

    Instagram

    Cheers,
    Margot and Avalon

  • Metal Stamping Artist Spotlight: Erin Prais-Hintz

    summer2014_shadow box_eph

    Today we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on one of our favorite jewelry designers, Erin Prais-Hintz.  We’ll be introducing you to more jewelry artists over the coming months and they’ve all got their own spin on metal stamping and design.  Erin was kind enough to agree to answer our “Five Easy Questions” and share some of her stunning jewelry designs with us.  Without further ado, here’s Erin!

    1. When did you start making jewelry and why?

    I like to say that I started with my first macaroni necklace. But truthfully I dabbled in it from college on. I didn’t discover the joy of designing jewelry until my college roommate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. I had a vision of a charm bracelet with healing gemstones, each telling a story. I did the research and bought the best stones I could find, then I proceeded to wire wrap each stone to that bracelet chain. By the end I had wrapped about 120 gemstones and the last was far superior to the first! It was then that I realized that I loved to tell the unique story of the wearer through my artisan designs. I believe that life is too short to eat cheap chocolate, drink bad wine or wear department store jewelry. When you can tell your story through your adornments, you create a style all your own.

    Be Brave - ImpressArt

    2. What is your favorite source for jewelry making inspiration?

    Inspiration is everywhere! It might be the swirls on my bedspread, the frost on my windows, the colors of a sunset, or the turn of phrase in a poem. I was plodding along making pretty things that really didn’t have a connection to a story, until I found the Art Bead Scene. That site introduced me to the idea that you can make jewelry inspired by a master work of art. I was introduced to art beads through this as well and I have been hooked ever since! In fact, I have been an editor at the Art Bead Scene since 2010. I also write for other blogs like Earrings Everyday, and my own blog, Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. I love to share stories of inspiration and connect people to their innate creativity.

    3. What advice do you have for folks just starting out?

    Invest in the best tools and materials that you can afford. But don’t overlook that anything can be made into something delightful, often with nothing more than your own two hands! Practice, practice and practice! Once you learn a few basics you can be off and running with your new hobby, but there are a lot of really great things that you might want to achieve that can only be done through practice. Stamping is a prime example. I am still perfecting the art of stamping in a straight line (luckily, I like wonky!). Once you find the style that suits you, expect to keep perfecting it and pushing your creative boundaries. I started at the beginning just like you!

    One Mising Drop

    4. What tips or tricks can you share for successful metal stamping?

    Take your time and plan it out! I am very impatient and I frequently just barrel ahead. I am not so concerned if my stamped pieces are perfectly straight, but there is no excuse for grabbing your stamp the wrong way and striking the letter upside down, or the wrong letter altogether! Before I stamp I write it down, I take a deep breath, and I never, ever close my eyes when I am about to strike the hammer!

    5. Where can our readers find you?

    www.tesoritrovati.com – my web store that includes any jewelry I have for sale as well as my popular line of custom, made-to-order Simple Truths pendants and charms, most of which include messages that are stamped in clay
    www.tesoritrovati.etsy.com – my Etsy shop that is for one of a kind, one offs and samples of my Simple Truths line that are ready to ship
    http://treasures-found.blogspot.com – my blog where I write about finding inspiration everywhere.
    www.facebook.com/tesoritrovati – I am not the most active on Facebook, but I do share news about Tesori Trovati here.

    Erin Prais-Hintz

    Make sure you visit Erin Prais-Hintz at the links above and check out her amazing design work. Not only is she an inspiring designer, she’s an inspiring woman who lifts others up with her kind comments and positive outlook.  The world needs more people like Erin who signs her emails “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” ~ Anonymous

    Indeed!

  • Artist Spotlight: Amy Latta

    Amy Latta

    It’s time to shine our spotlight on another talented metal stamping artist! This week we’re thrilled to introduce you to Amy Latta of One Artsy Mama. This powerhouse of creativity dishes up a cornucopia of tempting DIY on her blog One Artsy Mama every week. She’s creative, she’s generous and she keeps it real. We think you’re going to adore her! Amy took some time out of her busy schedule to answer our Five Easy Questions about metal stamping.

    1. When did you start making jewelry and why?

    For years, I thought it would be awesome to be able to make my own jewelry, and I had even accumulated a few supplies to give it a try, but it wasn’t until my friend Jess who is a skilled jewelry maker sat down with me in April of 2011 and walked me through the basic steps of making wire loops that I really got started with the hobby. Once I got the hang of it, I wanted to try everything…every technique, every type of jewelry I could. I’d seen all kinds of gorgeous metal stamped jewelry on Pinterest and was really excited to give that a try, so for Christmas that year, I asked for a hammer, a block, some blanks, and some stamps. I started playing around with them on Christmas Day and haven’t stopped ever since! Besides the fact that it’s fun being able to create something that matches any outfit, I love being able to make very personal gifts {and pieces for myself}; things that represent families, favorite quotes, or anything meaningful.

    1. What is your favorite source for jewelry making inspiration?

    My go-to sources for inspiration are Pinterest, Craftgawker, and other blogs. There are so many beautiful things out there, and once I see a piece I love, I like to figure out what technique someone used and then take the basic idea and adapt it to be meaningful for me. I almost never just copy another design; instead I take what I like about the inspiration piece and then build my own version.

    1. What advice do you have for folks just starting out?

    My best advice would be to try as many techniques as you can because you never know which ones you’ll fall in love with. Also, don’t be put off by the initial investment for the tools you need because once you have them, you will use and reuse them for a very long time. Once they’re part of your stash, you can make new pieces for practically nothing, because you already have what you need. Oh, and don’t judge yourself by a standard of perfection. Those little imperfections are what give handmade pieces a beauty all their own that you won’t find in pieces that are mass-produced by machines.

    1. What tips or tricks can you share for successful metal stamping?

    Honestly, my best tip is to use Soft Strike blanks. ImpressArt makes them out of pewter and Alkemé, and they are a real game changer. They are SO much easier to stamp on and get a deep, clean impression. You will feel much more successful using them because when you stamp on harder metals, sometimes you’ll only get one part of your design to stamp clearly, which is a real pain. Trust me. My other top tip is to always tape your blank in place before stamping. You may not think so, but it will move. Just ask Margot…she can tell you how mine went flying right there on the show floor at CHA because I didn’t have tape. True {and embarrassing} story.

    1. Where can our readers find you?

    I would love for you to stop by my blog, One Artsy Mama, and visit me anytime! I share Honest Inspiration for Everyday Life, which includes all kinds of craft projects, kids’ projects, DIY jewelry, fashion tips, crochet tutorials, and more. I’m also on just about every social media channel out there, and I share tons of adorable photos of my five year old Little Crafter on Instagram, so you should totally follow along! I’m currently in the exciting process of designing a handbag with Galian Handbags in NYC, and I’m often asking for feedback on my Facebook page, so that would be a fun place to join the discussion too! Hope to see you there!

    Website

    Facebook

    Twitter @oneartmama

    Instagram: @oneartsymama

    Pinterest

    Thank you to Amy Latta for answering our five easy questions! Take a moment to visit her on the web, she’s a powerhouse. Thank you for visiting, make sure you come back Friday for a 10 Minute DIY project that is absolutely perfect for Mother’s Day!

    Cheers,
    Margot and Avalon