custom design finished!

Ok, so it’s finished! And it’s so gorgeous!!

I’ve always enjoyed custom design but I really enjoyed this one in particular. I rally love this design but probably never came to life without custom order. She first contacted me with her vision and gave me freedom to design what I want based on her vision. I also enjoy communicating with her for every step of the way! It was great!!

I love this necklace so much, I’m thinking about making some for my Etsy shop…

custom design

I’m working on very special design for custom order right now! I just finished drawing & it’s a go!! I’m so excited to start to make them. This is going to be a one gorgeous necklace!! I’ll post when I finish it so be sure to check back here:)

夢~Dream

When I’m happy I create.
When I’m sad, I create.

I create in the morning, day and the night.

Spring, summer, fall, winter, I create.

I created when I was little.
I’ll be creating when I get old.

作る人。
それだけが子供のころからの夢だった。

I create in my dreams.
I dream to create.

夏子~Natsuko

here is little poem from me! I made this while I was worlikng. what a joy!!

August giveaway

I’m hosting a giveaway in my facebook page! Became a fan of page http://www.facebook.com/natsuko3#/pages/Jewelry-by-Natsuko/135087897424 & go to “discussions” tab, click on “August giveaway” tread & enter your favorite color poppy! You can be winner of “poppies hook earrings” in your favorite color!!

Please visit my Etsy shop for all available colors!
http://www.jewelrybynatsuko.etsy.com/

Lily pads with enamel gem

I post these pictures on my Flickr page and got many lovely feedbacks! And here, I would like to share some excitement of how I made these. It’s new pendant design of “lily pads with enamel gem” and pictures are taking to look like lily pads in the pond. I love these end result of it too but I must say, I love love love making these! I got “2001 Opal jewel effect” from Thompson Enamel out of curiosity. (hey, if I see something interesting I have to try it!) They look like rough rocks before firing. Then when you fire, it would look like real opal cabochons! I made bezel with fine silver wire and fused on to “pad” part. Kind of like when you do cloisonné. Cloisonné usually requires so many firing to build up enamel but because I put the “Opal gem” in the bezel doesn’t have to fire so many times! And you can see the beautiful milky opals glow through the color!
Maybe it wasn’t so much of brilliant new idea but it was so exciting to me! The enamels in the bezel look like “real gem” and that’s what I love most about enameling and reminds me why they are call “七宝” (seven gems) in Japan.

Copper enameling with torch-fire

So you like to try your hands in enameling but don’t have a kiln? Lets start torch enameling!

Easy to setup, fairly inexpensive and so much fun!

Before I got my own kiln, my only access to kiln was when I go to my enameling class. It’s only once a week and as I start to get more orders, I start to needing to work more than once (three hours) a week. But kiln is large investment & very intimidating… so I start to enamel with torch.

But I must say, if you want to work with large pieces, torch enameling probably wouldn’t work. Maybe you can do special setup but in my experience 1’ and under works the best.
Setup
I put Cement backer board on kitchen counter. On the cement backer board, I put tripod, square mesh firing screen.

Torch
I use “MAP GASS”. I was told that “MAP GASS” gets hot and burn cleaner. Others would work too but I never tried before.

I’ll skip preparing metal and shift enamel, as they are already excellent tuto out there.

Firing
I always fire form underneath. Light the torch and open the nozzle all the way to get highest heat. Then move the flame underneath of the piece and heat metal’s edge in circular motion. You’ll see the metal slowly heats up. When they get red the enamel start to melt. Most nice thing about torch enameling is you can see the process of how enamel melts, flow and fuse. So you can stop when they get to your desire stage. How long to fire the piece is depending on the color.

Here is my tip for firing different colors
For opaque colors, never put direct heat! It will turn gray. There for you’ll always counter first with selecting dark color as your counter enamel. Reds are easy to burn. So don’t fire too long not less you want “burnt” look.

For transparent colors, I usually fire golden clear as base. Golden clear gets clearer as you fire longer. So when I see the enamel melts, I start counting 25 or so. About this time golden clear will become nice and clear. If you fire too long it gets greenish. Then fire counter enamel with golden clear side facing down. After golden clear and counter, you can fire any colors you wish on the golden clear.

Opaque colors on the golden clear would get you interesting result too. Play around and see what comes up!

*Fire in the open & well ventilated area*
*Wear protective eve glasses*
*Be careful handling the pieces & trivets, they are HOT!*

ok, I can’t think of anything else right now. If you have any question please leave a comment!

Happy enameling:)

EGA sale & weekend deal & new poppies!

I’m having Christmas in July Sale with EGA team through July 15th! All items in my shop are going to be 20% off!! (including already sale items & custom orders) Plus free first-class shipping to anywhere in the world!! AND for this weekend of July 10-12th, I’m offering extra $10 off on order more than $100! (deal apply after CIJ discount) I think this is the biggest sale I ever had… well, I just want you to really feel like Christmas! Thank you so much for those of you that already shopped! If you haven’t, please take a look at all these fabulous shops with great sales!!

EGA participant members
MyCabinCreationshttp://www.mycabincreations.etsy.com/ - 20% off EverythingJewelry by Natsuko http://www.jewelrybynatsuko.etsy.com/ - 20% off everythingRWillisglassartisthttp://www.rwillisglassartist.etsy.com/ - 20% off glass items onlytekaandzoehttp://www.tekaandzoe.etsy.com/ - 20% offPaulasstressarthttp://www.paulasstressart.etsy.com/ - 20% off everythingSusan Sheehanhttp://www.susansheehan.etsy.com/ - at least 20% off as priced in designated store sectionGlass Circushttp://www.glasscircus.etsy.com/ - 20% off everythingFire n Sand Glasshttp://www.giapet.etsy.com/ 20% off all glass itemsColor Shoppe Studiohttp://www.colorshoppestudio.etsy.com/ - 10% off all Stained Glass JewelryGlasscathttp://www.glasscat.etsy.com/ - 20% off fused and dichroic jewelry; 15% off any stained glass items.41designhttp://www.41design.etsy.com/ - 20% off

And here are the new poppies! I made this for custom order. As I blog the last time she wanted “bright red”. After few trial & error, I got something I LOVE! When I mixed little orange in the middle, they add so much life to poppies!! Now they are looking like the “real” poppies!!

"cadmium red" & "free shipping"

I recently received request to make “long stem poppy earrings” with bright poppy red. The red I usually use is “Victorian red” deep, almost maroon kind of red. So I looked on the shelves at enameling class. Then I found “cadmium red” I never seen before. I asked my teacher, and she said it is discontinue lead free Thompson enamel that some nice person donated to class. I was so sad that it’s discontinued color, because I just fell in love with the red when I fired! But she was so nice that let me buy off of her so I could take some home. Now I’m so looking forward to make some more poppies with it!!

BTW, I’m taking a part of Etsy’s July free shipping sale so every purchase in my shop is fee shipping from July 2nd through July 6th!

Enamel, Enameling, Enamelist

Basic enameling is shift powder glass to clean metal and fire to fuse. End of story……….
Just kidding! But really, it’s that easy and finished piece would look fabulous!

I began making jewelry over 10years ago. From bead stringing to pearl knotting, wire wrapping… I tried many different techniques. But it was always with beads that I bought from somewhere. I wanted make beads and focal my self. I wanted my jewelry to be truly *ME*

So I took polymer clay class at local art center. While it was fun to make stuff with polymer clay, I felt it really wasn’t for me. It’s just so heard to make them look nice & professional. So I moved onto enameling class and I was hooked! That was about 2 years ago. I’m still taking the same class every week. (it’s just so fun & I love be in there…) And I was using torch to enamel at home for long time but I finally got my own kiln!

Ok, enough about me… what is enameling? Enameling is ancient art of fusing glass to metal. I love how they say in Japanese. In Japanese, 七宝焼 (shippouyaki), 七宝 (shippou) meaning “seven gems” because with enamel, you can achieve beauty of the seven gems.

Enamel usually comes in powder. You can shift or mix it with water and paint onto metal such as copper, silver (fine silver) or gold. Copper is more popular but I love it on silver too. Especially transparent colors are great on silver. After you apply enamel on metal, make sure it’s all dried, and then you fire them so they will melt and fuse to the metal when it’s cooled off. In kiln 2-3 minutes around 1500-degree. With torch you can only fire small pieces but takes about same amount of times.
Enamel comes in so many different colors. Just to try some color combination is exciting! If you are familiar with metal work, you can prepare your metal with your own shape and texture but if you are not, don’t worry! There are all kinds of pre-cut metal shape that you can get!! And even with just a circle and basic techniques, you can get the most amazing result!

Here is excellent online totorial by Copperheart http://copperheartdesigns.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-intro-to-enameling.html

If you are more like book preson, I recommend this awesome book
The art of enameling by Linda Darty

And some online resorce for enameling material
Thompson Enamel http://www.thompsonenamel.com/
METALLIFEROUS http://www.metalliferous.com/

Enjoy:)

Importance of Display

I work very closely with local gift shop “ZODIAC” where I do wholesale on custom pieces & some consignment. On my consignment pieces I sale average about 5 items in one week. But when I re-do display on my consignment section, it sold 12 items in one week! I couldn’t believe it!! And then I realized how important to have fresh new look sometimes. Here are some pictures I took. I was going for “bright” & “classy”.

Etsy Glass Artists Spring Bling Sale

I’m having a "Spring Bling" Sale with Etsy Glass Artists (EGA) from April 18th through the 24th. I’m offering BOGO 1/2off sale but for blog special, you’ll get 25% off even on one item! Please use “blog” along with “BLING” in “note to seller” section at checkout.

See each shop's Announcement and the list below for their particular offerings! Please use the code "BLING" in your notes to buyer upon checking out so you can get the sale price. This is a great time to purchase that perfect gift for Mother's Day or a little treasure for yourself.

And here is little something perfect for your mother’s day from my shop

KANJI pendant -MOTHER-HAHA

Etsy Glass Artists "Spring Bling" SaleApril 18th through April 24thParticipating Members:
http://jewelrybynatsuko.etsy.com/ - BOGO 1/2 off, BUT! You’ll get 25% off on just one item mentioning “blog” along with “BLING” at checkout!!
http://glasscat.etsy.com/ - Dichroic and Fused Glass BOGO 1/2 off, All stained glass 10% offhttp://groovyglassgirl.etsy.com/ - Free Shippinghttp://susansheehan.etsy.com/ - Glass 10 to 25% off as marked in sale section of storehttp://chickadeebeads.etsy.com/ - BOGO 1/2 Off http://mycabincreations.etsy.com/ - 20% off everythinghttp://rwillisglassartist.etsy.com/ - 20% off all glass itemshttp://paulasstressart.etsy.com/ - 20% off entire purchasehttp://colorshoppestudio.etsy.com/ - 20% off all stained glass jewelryhttp://giapet.etsy.com/ - BOGO 1/2 Offhttp://glasscircus.etsy.com/ - 20% off on all my glass*BOGO = Buy One Get One 1/2 offCome check out our new EGA website http://www.etsyglass.com/.Use the word egateam in the search box on the Etsy front page to find a listing of all of our members creations.Thanks so much for your past business and support of our shops!

fun shopping spree!

I like to decorate my jewelry boxes with beautiful Chiyogami papers. And I love shopping for them! I buy from wonderful shop on Etsy (WashiPaper.etsy.com) and when I shop there, I feel like a kid in the candy store! So many pretty papers to choose from and just about $20, I can get so many beautiful things!! Here are the goods from my recent shopping spree!!

March 12th-SALE item of the day-Drop of ocean-color splash enamel pendant

Today’s item is personal favorite of mine the drop of the ocean pendant! This little thing has gradation of colors, golden/yellow to dark teal green. Just like you’ll find in the real ocean! And you can shift pendant with light to enjoy texture on copper through the enamel. $20 plus free shipping at my Etsy store today!!

Tokyo Spring - Etsy Glass Challenge Entry

Etsy Glass Artists team members decided to creatively challenge one another to come up with their interpretation of Spring and or Easter. Between now and Easter we will share some of these creations with you here on our blog. Let us know how you feel about our art by leaving a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a random drawing to win some handmade glass goodness from several of our shops. We will have several winners too! (one entry per person per post. In other words you can enter once every time we post a new product!!!) Be sure to check back on the blog on April 10th as we will announce the winner that day. Entries will be accepted until midnight April 9th.

As I grew up in Japan, I cannot think about spring time without blooming cherry blossom. Every year, when spring comes, the town in Japan is dyed to one cherry blossoms color. We have picnic and party under the cherry blossom tree! How cherry blossoms are blooming is on every news!! And this year, some reason I’m just drawn to yellow. So I picked yellow as base color. Then I stamped cherry blossom branch image and shift glass enamel & fired it. And I paint (in enamel term called “wet pack”) some white and pink for flower. Then I suspend it from fine silver circle. As spring will come every year. I embellished with single “sakura poppy” disk. Finally, this necklace has matching earrings that available in my Etsy shop!

Find it in the Etsy Finds

I had exciting news today! My “Aqua feather earrings” were featured in Etsy Finds”!! Wow, how honor to be featured! That brought me few sales, many nice convo and lots & lots of hearts!! Then, I was thinking, if I had more of the earrings ready perhaps I would sold few more. But its really a lot goes into those pieces. Each piece is hands cut from copper sheet, then textured and go into tumbler for few hours. And enamel at least three firing. I hand make ear wires too. So, that said, I’m working on them right now! I would re-list in my Etsy shop in couple of days!!

SALE item of the day-Enamel-SeaHorse-Pendant

This weekend, my sale item of the day is adorable seahorse! I have two colors for you to pick from. One is deep rich teal green that reminds me of Deep Ocean. And the other one is blush orange/pink that reminds me of coral reef. No matter witch ones you pick, I’m sure they will quickly become your favorite pendant! This weekend only, they are $30 plus free shipping in my Etsy shop!

SALE item of the day -Cute little heart color splash earrings -spring yellow

Spring is right around a corner from us! Even though, it’s still little cold out (at lest here it is…) let’s wear sunny yellow to cerebrate upcoming spring! These earrings are so bright, cheery and stylish!! And for today (March 5th) only, it’s $5 off plus free shipping!! Check out my listing in my Etsy shop!!

Patina Fun!

Oh my! What a fun this was!! I’ve always admire beautiful heat patina colors on copper. I’ve tried time to time, never get result that I wanted. BUT! I finally did it!! It was kind of accident and I still have to practice to get better control. But I don’t mind. Because I’m totally hooked!! How the colors turning is fascinating to watch. And colors I can make with using only torch is amazing! On the poppy stud earrings, it is intense blue with little pink & green. On tanzaku earrings I made color more pastel. It’s so light reflective too! I’m so excited about my success in these earrings, I already have so many designs I can make! And I’ll report my progress on here so stay tuned!!

Organic Sunday

I love organic look in jewelry. I think that’s something you can only get it with handmade. Each piece might not look “perfect” but there is lots of character and warmth of “hand”.
Lately, these poppies are my choice of jewelry to wear. These organic poppies are so easy to coordinate with everything! No matter what you wearing, these would add just a right touch of modern style. To make these poppies, I begin from hammering a copper disk. Then solder handmade fine silver balls for stamens. And I’d finished in earrings or necklace, sometimes ring. After I finished into jewelry piece, they are going into my nosy tumbler for polishing. Then, depend on the piece, I’d oxidized. This is my latest piece listed in my Etsy shop. “organic poppy solitaire ring” and you can coordinate with any of my “organic poppy” collection but they are perfect with “organic poppy-on-the-circle necklace” and “organic poppies-on-the-circle earrings”!

SALE item of the day-OCEAN color splash tanzaku earrings

Tanzaku is small piece of paper you write wishes on and hanging them on bamboo for Tanabata festival. And this is my wish, “ocean”. Where I live right now is so far away from ocean & I miss them so much! Here is little more about romantic Tanabata festival...It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. Since the stars come out at night, the celebration is held at night.These earrings are available at my Etsy shop!

Sale item of the day!

Ok, so this is my very-first blog post! And I'm going to offer "sale item of the day" every Thursdays & weekends. For today, I offer "Delightful poppy hook earrings" for $5 off plus free shipping! So today it's only $25!! These earrings were on the front page of Etsy yesterday & couple other times. Colors are so springish! And so easy & light weight to wear!! please check more detail (and maybe to purchase...:) here=== http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21040482