I love these earrings. The transparent red and clear glass flowed in a way that reminded me of the flame used to create them. And while I am a silver girl most of the time, these just said gold. The lampwork beads are made by me in my home studio. These are currently on sale in the 20% off section in my studio on Artfire.
Showing posts with label hand crafted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hand crafted. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Jewelry Item of the Week
I love these earrings. The transparent red and clear glass flowed in a way that reminded me of the flame used to create them. And while I am a silver girl most of the time, these just said gold. The lampwork beads are made by me in my home studio. These are currently on sale in the 20% off section in my studio on Artfire.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
SilverRiverRocks Is Here!
I have started a basic members shop on Artfire for destash. This will be mostly cabochons that I have cut myself and possibly some fused glass cabs also that I have made and possibly some destash beads. But its really hard for me to g
ive any up lol! I have enough cabs to make something every day for at least two years but I JUST CAN"T STOP MAKING THEM lol! Its so relaxing and they are all so pretty lol! Anyway if things go well I will upgrade this shop to verified soon and start listing more than twelve at a time. I have some beautiful Ohio flint, which is found only in Ohio and is relatively rare. One of my favorite stones and I go and 
dig it up, slab and finish it myself so you will be purchasing true hand made by me cabochons. Come check it out!SilverRiverRocks.Artfire.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Easter Egg Hunt on Artfire
Go check it out there is an Easter Egg hunt on Artfire! Here is how it works.
Win some spending money !! Anyone can play ...it's free ! Starts on April 1st 2009 !
Easter egg hunt on Artfire.com !
(the entry form is at the bottom of his text)
What is this ?
Well hopefully it will be a very fun event that will benefit everyone in a different way.
Lots of Artfire studio's are participating and the Eatser Bunny is hiding an Easter egg in each of their shops. It's up to you to find them and fill your "basket".
How do you play?
You will find (on this blog) a form for this contest. This contains tips to help you navigate Artfire.com and find all the Easter Eggs.
When you find them all you will find that each egg has a letter on it ( or the word "space" ) !
Use all the letters to make a sentence.
The sentence has to be in exact order to score all points.
Even if you manage to assemble a sentence different from mine ( always a possibility I guess) with all those letters it will not be counted as correct.
When you start assembling the sentence you will see when it is correct :) ....( now that is a seriously big tip )
Fill in the answer form and submit.
When?
The Easter Egg hunt starts on April 1st 2009 and will run for 3 weeks ! You have plenty of time to find the answer.
The participating studio's will be hiding their eggs in fun locations around their shop...you will receive a hint to find them.
Don't start looking now :) The eggs won't appear until April 1st !
What can you win ?
highest score : 50$ giftvoucher
second highest : 20$ giftvoucher
third highest : 10$ giftvoucher
These vouchers can be spent in all the participating studio's ! So plenty of choice .
So while you're looking for the eggs you might as well look around for goodies you might want to purchase with your vouchers should you win one !
All participating studio's are looking forward to your visit and will welcome you with open arms ..and an egg !
Each studio has a "contact" button should you have any questions about the products they sell.
If you are not a member of Artfire you can make purchases without the need to register. It makes things a bit easier for you.
PS's
ps1 : if you find an egg with the word "space" on it ...use it ! ..it's helpful when you are assembling your sentence...you'll know how many words you have to find then.
ps2 : It's a bit like wheel of fortune... you can guess if you don't find all the letters ..but you get a higher score if you fill in the answer form correctly :)
ps3 : the answer form will be available on this blog on APRIL 1st ...no joke :)
ps4 : a list of participating studio's will be available when the hunt is finished, as well as the results. All answers will be submitted in a google document at the time you hit "submit" on the answer form. They will be date and time stamped . This document can be shared with anyone after the contest is finished, if you feel the need to check the answers and scores.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
New Shop
So I have opened a new shop on etsy named Silver River Metal 
(silverrivermetal.etsy.com). I struggled with this a little bit since I already have two shops on etsy, silverriverjewelry.etsy.com
and silverriverstitches.etsy.com. I am expanding my skills in the metal smithing area and truth be told I love it! It meshes better with my addiction to lapidary (rocks) than the wire wrapping does and broadens my horizans by leaps and bounds. The lapidary addiction comes from taking and ugly rock out of the ground and turning it into something gorgeous and wearable. 
It's like a treasure hunt and you never 
know what you are going to get when you open that rock up, slab it, trim, grind it and polish it. Plus I find the whole process very relaxing. Weird I know lol! The metal work just compliments the stone work. I don't have to stress about finding the perfect setting, I can make my own. (I haven't achieved perfection yet lol, in fact I am perfecting melting bezels into small balls of silver more than I am anything but it is improving.) Plus I really like playing with fire, at least this way I am using that for a useful purpose! While I am not giving up the wire wrapping and beading, I will be shifting my purpose more toward the metal work at this point. As you can see there is a big difference in the two styles. Should be interesting to see where it will go.
(silverrivermetal.etsy.com). I struggled with this a little bit since I already have two shops on etsy, silverriverjewelry.etsy.com
and silverriverstitches.etsy.com. I am expanding my skills in the metal smithing area and truth be told I love it! It meshes better with my addiction to lapidary (rocks) than the wire wrapping does and broadens my horizans by leaps and bounds. The lapidary addiction comes from taking and ugly rock out of the ground and turning it into something gorgeous and wearable. 
It's like a treasure hunt and you never 
know what you are going to get when you open that rock up, slab it, trim, grind it and polish it. Plus I find the whole process very relaxing. Weird I know lol! The metal work just compliments the stone work. I don't have to stress about finding the perfect setting, I can make my own. (I haven't achieved perfection yet lol, in fact I am perfecting melting bezels into small balls of silver more than I am anything but it is improving.) Plus I really like playing with fire, at least this way I am using that for a useful purpose! While I am not giving up the wire wrapping and beading, I will be shifting my purpose more toward the metal work at this point. As you can see there is a big difference in the two styles. Should be interesting to see where it will go.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Expanding my selling horizons
So I have been gone for a bit figuratively speaking anyway. Nothing as exciting as a vacation or leaving town or anything lol, I 
have just been really busy. I have started several new avenues for selling and am pretty excited about it. I have always known that etsy was not the only area I needed to pursue to be successful although it will always hold a special place in my business heart. The direction at etsy seems to be changing and not for the better as far as hand made is concerned and while I took this into consideration it is not the only reason that I am expanding my market. The old adage to not put all of your eggs in one basket is a good one for many reasons.
So for those of you who don't know I also sell stitch markers for knitters and crocheters.
That started out as a way to use left over beads and has morphed into into a line of business that is a lot of fun. I find that when I bead shop now some beads say jewelry and some say stitch markers. Some 
of them say both lol! Anyway my shop on etsy silverriverstitches
is doing quite well. I was approached by a wonderful lady with and offer to sell my stitch markers on line in her shop that caters solely to people who use yarn to craft. Yarny-Goodness
She offered me a great deal, and excellent contract and with the extra advertising she is doing my product will hopefully become more well known. This is one of the ways I have expanded a bit as far as going beyond etsy as a source for customers. I feel this can only be a good thing and I did some serious research before I jumped in. I made sure that the contract that was offered had what I wanted in it before I committed or sent any product. Pam has been wonderful to work with and quite frankly if this works out as well as I hope I may end up sending them all to her since she is the one doing the hard stuff like photographing the pictures, and doing all of the packaging and shipping.
So I am doing several other things with the jewelry including a local farmers market
(which has turned out to be surprisingly successful), I have place a good portion of my higher end items in a fabulous gallery and I am building my own website from scratch with a web building program that will allow me to sell directly off my own site. (this is turning out to not be as difficult as I thought it would be, just very time consuming). Considering the amount of money I am saving building it myself, it will be worth the time it takes. And I like to do as much as I can myself anyway. I have designed a logo and applied it to my business cards, earring cards, price tags etc so that I have a "brand" that people will recognize. I will be showing those off in another post. I am also looking to possibly do several craft shows before Christmas.
Hopefully I will be posting a little more regularly in the future as summer winds down and we all spend more time indoors. For those of you who knit, crochet, and felt make sure you check out the artists on Yarny-Goodness for some great yarn and yarn accessories.
have just been really busy. I have started several new avenues for selling and am pretty excited about it. I have always known that etsy was not the only area I needed to pursue to be successful although it will always hold a special place in my business heart. The direction at etsy seems to be changing and not for the better as far as hand made is concerned and while I took this into consideration it is not the only reason that I am expanding my market. The old adage to not put all of your eggs in one basket is a good one for many reasons.So for those of you who don't know I also sell stitch markers for knitters and crocheters.
That started out as a way to use left over beads and has morphed into into a line of business that is a lot of fun. I find that when I bead shop now some beads say jewelry and some say stitch markers. Some 
of them say both lol! Anyway my shop on etsy silverriverstitches is doing quite well. I was approached by a wonderful lady with and offer to sell my stitch markers on line in her shop that caters solely to people who use yarn to craft. Yarny-Goodness
She offered me a great deal, and excellent contract and with the extra advertising she is doing my product will hopefully become more well known. This is one of the ways I have expanded a bit as far as going beyond etsy as a source for customers. I feel this can only be a good thing and I did some serious research before I jumped in. I made sure that the contract that was offered had what I wanted in it before I committed or sent any product. Pam has been wonderful to work with and quite frankly if this works out as well as I hope I may end up sending them all to her since she is the one doing the hard stuff like photographing the pictures, and doing all of the packaging and shipping.
So I am doing several other things with the jewelry including a local farmers market
(which has turned out to be surprisingly successful), I have place a good portion of my higher end items in a fabulous gallery and I am building my own website from scratch with a web building program that will allow me to sell directly off my own site. (this is turning out to not be as difficult as I thought it would be, just very time consuming). Considering the amount of money I am saving building it myself, it will be worth the time it takes. And I like to do as much as I can myself anyway. I have designed a logo and applied it to my business cards, earring cards, price tags etc so that I have a "brand" that people will recognize. I will be showing those off in another post. I am also looking to possibly do several craft shows before Christmas.Hopefully I will be posting a little more regularly in the future as summer winds down and we all spend more time indoors. For those of you who knit, crochet, and felt make sure you check out the artists on Yarny-Goodness for some great yarn and yarn accessories.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Featured on The Indiego
So I woke up to a convo on etsy this morning stating that I was the featured artist of the week
on The Indiego. This is an advertising network for creative professional. Needless to say I was thrilled and excited. What a nice way to start the day. Go check out the site it has lots of interesting information and many opportunities for indie artists to advertise and be seen. Don't forget about the Christmas in July sale in my etsy shop it ends at midnight tonite!
on The Indiego. This is an advertising network for creative professional. Needless to say I was thrilled and excited. What a nice way to start the day. Go check out the site it has lots of interesting information and many opportunities for indie artists to advertise and be seen. Don't forget about the Christmas in July sale in my etsy shop it ends at midnight tonite!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Things That People Say Part 2
So I am back with more interesting things that people say to vendors at craft fairs/shows. It is always amazing to me that people do not understand the time and effort it takes to make
things. Not just the amount of time physically spent making items but the time we spend online and in person hunting down reputable, affordable dealers for supplies, and the amount of time that we spend perfecting what we do. I also know from personal experience and know this to be true of 
many other artists as well, we never stop learning new things, and trying to perfect the techniques that we already know. For most of us it is never good enough and this drives us to continue pushing our personal envelope. This is one of the reasons that many of us are unwilling to divulge the source of our materials and many of the techniques that we use just for the asking. We want you to learn by doing just like we did. It tends to make you a better artist than if someone just hands you all of the information. Most of us are more than willing to point you in the right direction to get you started but please, don't expect us to give up all of our secrets we worked so hard to acquire.
Examples
A friend said to me (chatting online): "Maybe you can show me how to make jewelry. I will never have to buy jewelry again!"
My comeback: Logged off.
LOL
I had one of these too!
But then I got really evasive, saying that I buy my wire from the States (via internet), thinking that she might understand my subtleness.. and then she asked me if I could buy the wire for her!
wow, I should think about this a bit more but I did have someone grab my button machine and ask me how it works without asking to touch it. Never touch an artists tools without asking! Don't touch musical instruments, tools that seem like they could be in a tool box like pliers or those fancy artists pens, just don't do it.
Also, every couple of months I get an e-mail from some local person I don't even know who wants to borrow my button machine. They tell me that they want to make buttons and not have to pay my prices!? I usually answers by saying "My button machine is my tool of my trade. I don't think you would ask a random carpenter you didn't know if you could borrow their table saw."
Customer: "where do you get all your supplies?"
Me: *thinking to myself "that is the rudest question to EVER ask a designer"....i said to her w/flat-pan grin "...i get all of it from planet earth." ~ which is a true statement.
"Will you teach me to do that?" (Subtext: "...because I don't want to pay you for something you can teach me for free to make myself...")
"I wonder where she got her supplies"
It's usually "How did you make those?"
To which I usually answer "One at a time."
(One young man of about 13 replied to that, in his best Robert DiNero "So, you ain't gonna tell me?")
I had one guy ask me if I had gold items so he could melt them down. Then he asked me where I got all my stuff.
Ummm... :/
Most often overheard at my booth: a all too common scene:
Nice Lady: "Oh my daughter makes jewelry"
Me: "Yes, I think about 20% of the population does it for a hobby or proffession, it is the sewing of yesterday"
Nice Lady: "My daughter needs to come over here! (calls on cell- "OH daughter- come check this stuff out! You should totally come make this designs and charge so much more!" While looking directly at me)
Me: Is she coming over?
Nice LAdy: Yes, she is, she was just over by the handmade candies
Me: Oh, good, I love to talk with other bead lovers..
Nice lady's daughter : OMG! I love this! Mom, I should totally copy and sell for more! You are so right!!! Hey- you- bead artist, where do you get your beads so I can buy them? I like totally want to make this myself
ME: I have them custom cut and made just for me. Takes 9 months and thousands of dollars (Truth)
Nice LAdy; OH! Daughter! I am so sad for you! You can make so much more money than her if you could do that!
Me: Why dont I give you my bead suppliers name and contact info
Nice Lady 's daughter: That is like so totally unfair! That would take forever!I hate you! I want your beads now! You make it really difficult for others to earn a living at this business!!!
ME: Well, I spent 5 years working for others while doing my jewelry line so I would not spend a dime on credit for supplies and very slowly built up my purchasing abilities. This has taken 11 years for me to get here. No easy road for me.
Nice Lady's daughter: Mom, buy me that necklace so I can resell for 3 times that amount
Me: happy to sell that to you..
Nice ladys daughter: Why dont you just sell me the necklace for what the beads cost you, I think you should because I am a beader too and buy from Fire Mt.
Me: ( It takes me to hear this before I think: WTF????) I am so sorry, but I need to sell at what it is priced at. My babys need food you know!
Nice Lady: Why dont I make it up to you by buying you that nice handbag you want
Nice ladys daughter: Pout....
I love art and craft fairs. I was at the Christmas craft fair last year. There were 2 ladies stop by my booth. They examined everything inside and out the say: "Would you show me how to make this. I don't want to buy, I can make it if you'll show me how" Wow, I said: "Why would I want to do that? How much do you want to pay for the lesson?"
They left without saying a word.
"Where do you get your stuff from? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but I don't know where to get the stuff" !
As you can see most artists and crafters find this type of thing rude and belittling. We really don't mind giving tips about techniques and supplies if you are a serious crafter but don't expect us to give away the farm just so you don't have to pay for something you think you can make yourself.
Usually, if the person is serious about starting a "craft" and making jewelry I might point that person in the right direction. After all, if they go online they will find the information regardless. I don't really have time to teach. I barely have time to create! And if I was to teach anyone I would definitely charge for my time and supplies.
I have had people ask me oh how do you make that? Basically just to see what information they can get out of me... I laugh and tell them "I can't." or "Sure I can tell you, but I charge $30 an hour for my time." Short, plain, simple, straight to the point.
I still do not understand why people think it is just a hobby. Yes I do have a full time job, but I also work on my jewelry practically full time as well. The fact that we sell our work online, on craft shows/fairs, makes it more than just a hobby, but some people take that for granted.
brynnalex
LoellaMedina
nanouke
brainscan
pattymara
sexygeekwithattitude
TheSilkRoad
GivingGrace
Asianexpressions
things. Not just the amount of time physically spent making items but the time we spend online and in person hunting down reputable, affordable dealers for supplies, and the amount of time that we spend perfecting what we do. I also know from personal experience and know this to be true of 
many other artists as well, we never stop learning new things, and trying to perfect the techniques that we already know. For most of us it is never good enough and this drives us to continue pushing our personal envelope. This is one of the reasons that many of us are unwilling to divulge the source of our materials and many of the techniques that we use just for the asking. We want you to learn by doing just like we did. It tends to make you a better artist than if someone just hands you all of the information. Most of us are more than willing to point you in the right direction to get you started but please, don't expect us to give up all of our secrets we worked so hard to acquire.Examples
A friend said to me (chatting online): "Maybe you can show me how to make jewelry. I will never have to buy jewelry again!"
My comeback: Logged off.
LOL
I had one of these too!
But then I got really evasive, saying that I buy my wire from the States (via internet), thinking that she might understand my subtleness.. and then she asked me if I could buy the wire for her!
wow, I should think about this a bit more but I did have someone grab my button machine and ask me how it works without asking to touch it. Never touch an artists tools without asking! Don't touch musical instruments, tools that seem like they could be in a tool box like pliers or those fancy artists pens, just don't do it.
Also, every couple of months I get an e-mail from some local person I don't even know who wants to borrow my button machine. They tell me that they want to make buttons and not have to pay my prices!? I usually answers by saying "My button machine is my tool of my trade. I don't think you would ask a random carpenter you didn't know if you could borrow their table saw."
Customer: "where do you get all your supplies?"
Me: *thinking to myself "that is the rudest question to EVER ask a designer"....i said to her w/flat-pan grin "...i get all of it from planet earth." ~ which is a true statement.
"Will you teach me to do that?" (Subtext: "...because I don't want to pay you for something you can teach me for free to make myself...")
"I wonder where she got her supplies"
It's usually "How did you make those?"
To which I usually answer "One at a time."
(One young man of about 13 replied to that, in his best Robert DiNero "So, you ain't gonna tell me?")
I had one guy ask me if I had gold items so he could melt them down. Then he asked me where I got all my stuff.
Ummm... :/
Most often overheard at my booth: a all too common scene:
Nice Lady: "Oh my daughter makes jewelry"
Me: "Yes, I think about 20% of the population does it for a hobby or proffession, it is the sewing of yesterday"
Nice Lady: "My daughter needs to come over here! (calls on cell- "OH daughter- come check this stuff out! You should totally come make this designs and charge so much more!" While looking directly at me)
Me: Is she coming over?
Nice LAdy: Yes, she is, she was just over by the handmade candies
Me: Oh, good, I love to talk with other bead lovers..
Nice lady's daughter : OMG! I love this! Mom, I should totally copy and sell for more! You are so right!!! Hey- you- bead artist, where do you get your beads so I can buy them? I like totally want to make this myself
ME: I have them custom cut and made just for me. Takes 9 months and thousands of dollars (Truth)
Nice LAdy; OH! Daughter! I am so sad for you! You can make so much more money than her if you could do that!
Me: Why dont I give you my bead suppliers name and contact info
Nice Lady 's daughter: That is like so totally unfair! That would take forever!I hate you! I want your beads now! You make it really difficult for others to earn a living at this business!!!
ME: Well, I spent 5 years working for others while doing my jewelry line so I would not spend a dime on credit for supplies and very slowly built up my purchasing abilities. This has taken 11 years for me to get here. No easy road for me.
Nice Lady's daughter: Mom, buy me that necklace so I can resell for 3 times that amount
Me: happy to sell that to you..
Nice ladys daughter: Why dont you just sell me the necklace for what the beads cost you, I think you should because I am a beader too and buy from Fire Mt.
Me: ( It takes me to hear this before I think: WTF????) I am so sorry, but I need to sell at what it is priced at. My babys need food you know!
Nice Lady: Why dont I make it up to you by buying you that nice handbag you want
Nice ladys daughter: Pout....
I love art and craft fairs. I was at the Christmas craft fair last year. There were 2 ladies stop by my booth. They examined everything inside and out the say: "Would you show me how to make this. I don't want to buy, I can make it if you'll show me how" Wow, I said: "Why would I want to do that? How much do you want to pay for the lesson?"
They left without saying a word.
"Where do you get your stuff from? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but I don't know where to get the stuff" !
As you can see most artists and crafters find this type of thing rude and belittling. We really don't mind giving tips about techniques and supplies if you are a serious crafter but don't expect us to give away the farm just so you don't have to pay for something you think you can make yourself.
Usually, if the person is serious about starting a "craft" and making jewelry I might point that person in the right direction. After all, if they go online they will find the information regardless. I don't really have time to teach. I barely have time to create! And if I was to teach anyone I would definitely charge for my time and supplies.
I have had people ask me oh how do you make that? Basically just to see what information they can get out of me... I laugh and tell them "I can't." or "Sure I can tell you, but I charge $30 an hour for my time." Short, plain, simple, straight to the point.
I still do not understand why people think it is just a hobby. Yes I do have a full time job, but I also work on my jewelry practically full time as well. The fact that we sell our work online, on craft shows/fairs, makes it more than just a hobby, but some people take that for granted.
brynnalex
LoellaMedina
nanouke
brainscan
pattymara
sexygeekwithattitude
TheSilkRoad
GivingGrace
Asianexpressions
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Check this out,!
This is really cool. (for me anyway lol). Susan, who does Friday Findings over at Posh Mama, used my textured copper earrings in last Friday's article. I also did the give away for that week. That was pretty exciting in and of itself but when I checked out my updates from Posh Mama, Susan's article has been published in Reuters. Woohoo! I am just so excited. I have been working my you know what off trying to promote everywhere I can think off. More exposure is always good lol! So anyhow here is the article she wrote. Check out the other cool copper items she also featured. The earrings for the give away are at the bottom. Sorry but the winner has already been chosen.
Thanks Susan!
Friday Findings: Cool Copper Jewelry
Thanks Susan!
Friday Findings: Cool Copper Jewelry 
POSTED: Friday, May 23, 2008
FROM BLOG: Posh Mama Online Magazine and Social Network - Posh Mama Online Magazine and Social Network is a positive community exclusively for women who share information on a variety of topics.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
How To Make Sterling Silver Head Pins
Okay I promised to do a picture tutorial of how to make headpins at home. Please be patient as I am recovering from pneumonia.
Obviously the first thing you will need are your supplies and someplace safe to light your torch. I don't recommend your living room. I know you may not like those curtains but trust me there is a better way.
You need your sterling silver wire 18 to 24 guage round either dead soft or half hard.(personal preference and depending on what you are using them for) Something to hold them with as you apply your torch. I am using what is called a
third hand. Basically anything that will hold your wire and not catch on fire or melt while near the torch. Your fingers do NOT fall under this category and will most definitely burn. Even if you miss them with the torch the wire itself get hot all the way to to top so be careful. it to cool completely or use tweezers, pliers whatever to remove them from your holder.(Yes I am speaking from
experience, take my word for it). You also need a torch. Mine is from Home Depot and was 14 dollars. Please read the directions FIRST. Move anything flammable from around your space you will be working in. (you would be surprised at how far the flame actually goes). Now you will need to cut your wire to the appropriate length ( I am still working on how long to cut for the amount I want to have left but it is just a matter of trial and error to figure out the right length.) Hook up your first piece of wire and light your torch. Apply the flame to the bottom of the head pin and watch for it turn 
red. This does not take long! As soon as it turns red it balls up and you can remove the torch and turn it off. Either wait for the pin to cool or use a tweezer or plier to remove it from you third hand.( I cannot emphasis this part enough, third degree burns do ugly things to fingerprints!).
Continue with this process until you have made the desired amount of heads pins. This is what they should look like at this point. Not very attractive and kind of dirty looking.. At this point they need to go into the pickle pot so that the fire scale will be removed and they will start to look like usable pieces. Again please read all the directions for your pickle if you have 
never tried this before. After pickling the head pins come out with a whitish coating on them. This is normal, please don't panic, you have not done anything wrong. The next step is to toss them in your tumbler and give them a spin for about two hours.
This not only makes them nice and shiny but also makes them stronger. Then you just straighten any that you need to straighten and you have now created your very own headpins to work with. I hope this has been a helpful piece for those of you just 
starting out. Please follow all safety and handling instructions when you attempt to do this.
Many thanks go to the fine etsians who have been kind enough to share their knowledge in the forums and in tutorials of their own. Not limited to but including
GlitterCritter, LooseWireStudio Stereotte, and WireYourWorld to name a few.
Obviously the first thing you will need are your supplies and someplace safe to light your torch. I don't recommend your living room. I know you may not like those curtains but trust me there is a better way.
You need your sterling silver wire 18 to 24 guage round either dead soft or half hard.(personal preference and depending on what you are using them for) Something to hold them with as you apply your torch. I am using what is called a
third hand. Basically anything that will hold your wire and not catch on fire or melt while near the torch. Your fingers do NOT fall under this category and will most definitely burn. Even if you miss them with the torch the wire itself get hot all the way to to top so be careful. it to cool completely or use tweezers, pliers whatever to remove them from your holder.(Yes I am speaking from
experience, take my word for it). You also need a torch. Mine is from Home Depot and was 14 dollars. Please read the directions FIRST. Move anything flammable from around your space you will be working in. (you would be surprised at how far the flame actually goes). Now you will need to cut your wire to the appropriate length ( I am still working on how long to cut for the amount I want to have left but it is just a matter of trial and error to figure out the right length.) Hook up your first piece of wire and light your torch. Apply the flame to the bottom of the head pin and watch for it turn 
red. This does not take long! As soon as it turns red it balls up and you can remove the torch and turn it off. Either wait for the pin to cool or use a tweezer or plier to remove it from you third hand.( I cannot emphasis this part enough, third degree burns do ugly things to fingerprints!).
Continue with this process until you have made the desired amount of heads pins. This is what they should look like at this point. Not very attractive and kind of dirty looking.. At this point they need to go into the pickle pot so that the fire scale will be removed and they will start to look like usable pieces. Again please read all the directions for your pickle if you have 
never tried this before. After pickling the head pins come out with a whitish coating on them. This is normal, please don't panic, you have not done anything wrong. The next step is to toss them in your tumbler and give them a spin for about two hours.
This not only makes them nice and shiny but also makes them stronger. Then you just straighten any that you need to straighten and you have now created your very own headpins to work with. I hope this has been a helpful piece for those of you just 
starting out. Please follow all safety and handling instructions when you attempt to do this.
Many thanks go to the fine etsians who have been kind enough to share their knowledge in the forums and in tutorials of their own. Not limited to but includingGlitterCritter, LooseWireStudio Stereotte, and WireYourWorld to name a few.
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