Author: JanetSaw

It’s the new material I’m working with lately. Instead of cutting and bending thick, hard wire and soldering, I just carve it out of a block of modelling wax and then send it to the casting company. It saves me money because I don’t have to buy precious metal in advance. Wax is a lot less dear should I make a mistake.

I’m currently making rings for myself, while I figure out the intricacies of carving, casting, setting and finishing. I wouldn’t want to sell products before I was ready, would I? 😀

Here are some behind the scenes photos:
Rings in progress
The left one is actually my wedding ring! (it will be a little larger in size than I should make it, but I’ll be wearing it on my right hand)

Wax ring prototype
This ring is still in the works. I modified it since this photo session. It will hold the Old European Cut stone also shown.

Trying on the rings
Here I am trying them on. My finger size is a bit smaller than the pre-drilled holes that wax ring tubes come in, so I don’t even need to enlarge the hole. For some designs, I may need to carve the ring from a solid block of wax instead of using ring tubes.

Purple wax is my favourite, and not only because of the colour! 😉 I find that it doesn’t clog up my bench files and isn’t gummy in texture. I have used blue wax which is softer than purple, and I don’t like it as much. BUT pink wax is the WORST ever. Being a novice, I tried to carve the gummy wax with my wax file and it clogged up to the point where I had to dig out the wax bit by bit with a piece of copper, since using a metal brush didn’t work. Don’t make that mistake, because it will take you an hour to fix up the mess.

More updates on my projects soon to come.

Oh it’s been so many months since I’ve even talked about new items or sales. I can certainly say now, that I really do change interests quickly. But before I get carried away talking about that, I’ll write about what’s happened recently. I was away for 2 months in Switzerland, where I did some sightseeing and relaxing. No polymer clay whatsoever. Michael set up the oven as I had it last year, but I packed it away. We went on a long trip to Germany, and had a relaxed time in Zurich going to the movies and doing some shopping. I’ve been back in Melbourne for 2 weeks now, and I have not restarted my clay work. I took a friend around last week, so I had little time for it. But today I will need to get back on it… Oh how I dread it. 😛

My trip photos have been posted on my Flickr account, under the collection called “Life Saga”. Beware, I have taken up a doll-collector’s past time of taking photos with my dolls posing in pictures. If you feel it is weird, you can leave.

I think, sorry to say, that I am getting a bit frustrated with polymer clay. I’m still making for the consignment at Ballyhoo Art, but the “making” part does not excite me as it used to. It’s a bit sad to see this happen, but what can I do. I’m moving on. I also thought I wanted to do a full time diploma course in jewellery, but the full-time commitment isn’t in the cards right now. It would be quite stressful, restrict my ability to travel, and I don’t really want to be living in Melbourne for another 2 years, alone. Also, I will have to start my drive to class 2 hours before it begins, or else I could end up arriving late. Imagine doing that 4 times a week!! Public transport? Don’t count on it… It’ll take me the same time or even longer. Because of these circumstances, I’ve decided not to pursue the diploma (fees are also an issue, since I may not get a government supported place).

Just a minute ago, I signed up for the Intermediate Jewellery short course! Yes, it’s at the same far away place, but I can handle once-a-week classes. It was plenty of fun in the beginners course. These are all the updates for now… I really should start kneading that stiff, cold clay.

I now have a Flickr Pro account! I can now blog faster and embed my photos so I won’t have to upload them. Hah. I should have done this a lot earlier.

Project 2: Russian wedding ring Soldering Rings, soldered and formed into circles Surface is still rough and unfinished Two rings cut open and re-soldered
Project 2: Russian wedding ring. So, the rings come from wire. The wire has a D profile shape. They are cut into the right lengths, then bent up and the two ends must face each other flat. This makes the ring an odd shape, but not to worry. After soldering the joints, the rings are hammered on a mandrel to make them round. Then two of the rings are cut open again, so they can be interlocked and re-soldered. Once that’s done, the rings are cleaned up by hand.

Texture Finished Russian wedding ring
Left image shows the ring, hand sanded to remove nicks and blemishes. I have also sandblasted one of the rings to give it a texture. The right image shows the ring complete, after being polished in the vibratory tumbler for about 2 hours. It looks so flawless. Only I know where the flaws are! lol.

Finished Russian wedding ring So shiny
So shiny! Fits great, but I must admit that I wanted it just a tiny bit larger, to fit on my right hand ring finger during summer. Next time, I’ll add 1mm to the wire lengths. Rings are very sensitive and my measuring was not perfect.

I’m so terrible with blogging! As usual, I only blog when there’s something big. Anyway, on to the show.
As the title suggests, do you ever wish you could see some of my polymer clay jewellery in person? Now you can! A selection of my work will soon be available for purchase at Ballyhoo Art in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.



They also stock a whole range of paintings, decorations, jewellery and accessories made by other Australian artists. It’s exciting to be chosen. Perhaps they may even distribute my work to other shops in Australia if all goes well. This is a great start for me and I’m really happy about it. If you’re ever in Geelong, make sure to drop by Ballyhoo Art (90 Ryrie St, Geelong 3220).

I’ll provide more updates on when exactly my items will be released and the RRP for them. Stay tuned!

I started my metalsmithing jewellery class 3 weeks ago, and at first I hated sawing metal. It was hard on my hands and I felt it was very messy and dirty. After 3 lessons, I’ve finished my first project, a brass brooch. Now I can say that I do enjoy it for the most part. It’s rewarding to have a piece of jewellery completed. It looks easy, but believe me, it takes more work. I believe it took me 6 hours to make this, a lot of the time is spent on filing and using different grades of sand paper to even out straight lines and curves. I hope I can make more at home when I have the equipment.

Anyway, on to the photos.

I love the sandblasted texture. I even put it on the back. The pin was once shiny, like a regular brooch pin back that’s glued or sewn on. I thought this would be the best finish since I can’t do this myself at home. I may be able to make a piece into a high polish if I get a rotary tool. The class uses a polishing wheel. It’s huge, and no way I could ever afford one!


It wasn’t easy to refine the curved holes. They’re still a little wonky. Luckily sandblasting hides many of the flaws. 🙂

The next project is a silver Russian wedding ring. I’ve taken some work-in-progress pics this time, and I’ll continue to do so until I finish the final piece. Not sure what the last project will be. It could be a bracelet.

On 30th April / 1st May, my Purple Donut Studs listing was chosen to be in the Etsy Finds newsletter. The theme for this newsletter was “Conversation Piece”, so my funky donuts fit in, I suppose! I didn’t even know anything about it, so imagine my surprise in the morning when I had about 20 sales!

"Conversation Piece"

The craziness has slowed down today. I’ll be busy for at least the next week and a half. SO many orders… it will take me a little longer than usual to make them all. I hope customers understand!

I am still deeply honoured to be chosen. Thanks, Etsy team!

I know this is really late. I realised I have not blogged about my short glass beads class. The beginners class was two months ago, and I was the only student (it was wonderful to be the only student). Beads were made and I have been wanting to buy equipment to start making my own from home, but still waiting on the return of our rental bond so I can use some of that cash. I’ll be able to make beads for my own use, but to sell, I will have to anneal them first. My instructor has an annealing service. I think it was $10 per batch + postage.

Some photos:

These were from the first day of the class. Very simple stuff, but I had some trouble getting the right amount of glass for accent dots.


Second day’s haul. Lots more complicated beads, but also more fun to make. I liked making raised flowers.


Difficult! I had trouble with making the heart shape. It’s really hard to keep the bead warm and constantly moving, while you are also trying to make a shape or pattern. My barrel beads turned out terrible, but I flattened the scenic one on the left (photo on right) and it looks better.

I still do want to make more and practice, but it’s such an expensive hobby! After getting into Blythe, it sure isn’t easy to save money. I’ll also be starting my metal-smithing short course in May. The course runs for 8 weeks, 3 hours per week. That should be interesting too! I can’t wait to solder, and then I can do this at home with a crème brûlée torch. I can’t wait to combine this with my polymer clay jewellery and also with glass beads.