I belong to a group—Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) https://bainbridgebarn.org.
Its facility houses ten studios, jewelry being one. I learned how to fabricate jewelry from an excellent teacher, Jane Martin. She had a great eye, fabulous hearing (could tell from the sound whether you were sawing metal correctly), and beaucoup tips drawn from vast experience. Anyway, here was where I developed a love for jewelry-making. When my husband and I downsized, I even created a space for a bench and soldering.
Let’s do something easy—make silver bangle bracelets.
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Supplies:
Sterling silver round wire (8 or 10 gauge, depending on how thick you want your bracelets) (for 9 bracelets, I used 76.5 inches or 6.375 feet total, 8.5 inches for each bracelet)
some tools are mentioned in the process
a bracelet mandrel (wooden or steel)
hard solder, a torch, pickle, and setup materials for soldering
Process:
1. Using your round wire, measure and mark 9 lengths of 8.5” (what I needed). Using a jeweler’s saw, cut at each mark. File the ends flat. You can further smooth the ends with sandpaper.
2. For this next step, use fingers (a great tool) or half-round pliers. Bend a length of silver wire into a circle. At this point, your bracelet does not need to be perfectly round but the ends must touch. File or sand ends if not a perfect fit. Repeat for each length.
3. Flux the joint and apply hard solder.
4. Quench and pickle the bangle. Since pickling may take a bit of time, repeat the process for each length of silver round wire until all bangles are in the pickle. While you wait for the pickling to work, read a chapter in a paranormal romance book. I recommend The Firebrand, the first book in my Blood Coven Series. When the pickle has done its work, put down your book.Clean each bangle joint with sandpaper.
5. Place one silver bangle on your mandrel and hammer until it is round. This is when I also give it texture—a few hammer dents. I like mine to look rough. Do the same for each bangle.
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6. You can polish the bangles as much as you like—with a Foredom, with a polishing cloth, or with jewelry cleaner.
7. Wear and enjoy.
Blood Coven Series
Book 2
T. M. Smith
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Date of Publication: May 26, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-3695-0823-2
ASIN: B0C5S5RCS3
Number of pages: 437
Word Count: 117,584
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Tagline: When fire meets ice, romance sizzles.
Book Description:
He’s not her type at all…
The commander is a barbarian. Despite a sexy smile and hot body, nothing can smooth the brute’s ragged edges. Besides, demons need a daily dose of sex. Skyler Maxwell has no intention of becoming a food source.
She’s not his type at all…
The chief legal officer of the Alliance is a buttoned-up, prissy human with frost in her veins. But Kole is stuck playing tour guide for her while she’s on his realm. He was ordered to “play nice.”
Together, Skyler and Kole are fire and ice…
She has a bullseye on her back, and the animus demon is her best chance to stay out of the line of fire. Trapped in a hostile environment, they survive mystical monsters and treacherous attacks. Despite the perils and their differences, their romance ignites, proving fire and ice sizzle.
Excerpt
Kole sheathed his blade, turned, and offered Skyler his hand. When she placed her pale, trembling fingers in his palm, he drew her close to his body. She raised her chin to stare into his fire-gold eyes.
Kole bent toward her, his lips drawing nearer. When his mouth brushed hers, rather than push him away, she opened to him. Kole’s lips pressed hard against hers, his tongue thrusting inside, his exploration wild, hungry.
Skyler gasped, shocked by either the kiss or her response. Her knees weakened, her hands resting on Kole’s warm chest for support. Short bursts of electricity flowed into her, eliciting soft moans as he pulled her tighter against him, his arousal a hard prod at her belly.
When he withdrew, he met her gaze with confusion. He cleared his throat.
“Choose, Chief Maxwell. Dermott or me?”
After retiring from my career as a teacher and principal, I settled in to write something more creative than lesson plans on split infinitives and inner-school memos on noise in the hallway.
Vampires, demons, elves, mages, and other magical beings keep me awake at night with their tales of love and adventure. Taking great interest in their lives, I began a paranormal romance series with alpha males who aren't always nice and females who have no problem keeping them in line. The Firebrand is the first book in the Blood Coven Series.
Here are more orts, scraps, and fragments from my life. (Thank you, Virginia Wolf and Shakespeare.) I moved from sunny Las Vegas to the less-than-sunny Pacific Northwest. Here I have adventures with my daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters who also moved to the area. I also enjoy my membership at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN), a local organization that supports the arts and offers classes and events in eleven different studios. It was at BARN where my critique group began. With equal time given to in-depth comments on each other's works, snarky remarks, and laughter, we have now been together over five years.
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Website: https://www.tmsmith.net
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Hi. Thanks so much for posting about my book, and I hope a few jewelers out there wil soon be wearing bangle bracelets.
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