Gemstones For Jewellery Making

By A Hunter

The Earth yields up a rich variety of gemstones that can be used in jewellery making, with every hue and colour imaginable available to incorporate into stunning pieces that will compliment any outfit. The choice of which gemstone to include in a piece is purely down to the individual and is subject to all kinds of influences including birthdate, fashion or even superstition.

Birthstones are a good place to start. Each zodiac sign has a particular gemstone associated with it, and giving someone a piece of jewellery that incorporates that stone shows the recipient that much more thought has gone into the piece. The gemstones range from the lavish such as sapphires, emeralds and rubies, to the more subtle like moonstone and lapis lazuli. Because of the sheer range of gemstones available, you can spend as little or as much as you like and still have a beautiful piece of jewellery with a hidden meaning, which will be cherished by the recipient.

Breaking down gemstones by colour is also an alternative. If you like red but can't afford to buy a high quality ruby, then you could look at cheaper alternatives such as garnets or spinel. Spinel can range in colour to a delicate pink through to a deep red and can look every bit as stunning as a ruby. Garnets offer a deeper shade of red with hints of violet and purple in them. They're popular in eastern jewellery and can be used to produce exotic looking jewellery at a fraction of the cost of most rubies.

For blue stones, sapphires are the first choice, but even though these range in colour, quality and price, there are other alternatives. A particular favourite is the deep royal blue of lapis lazuli, which is often flecked with gold within the stone. This can produce a stunning effect with gold findings. Lapis can also be bought as beads as well as cabochons, meaning that the stone can be used in necklaces or as a setting for a ring, for example. Kunzite is another alternative that has a violet tint and is a relatively cheap alternative to precious gemstones such as sapphires.

Not strictly a gemstone but still valued highly in jewellery making, amber is a perennial favourite. Its warm, golden tone compliments silver findings perfectly and it has a honey-like lustre that is hard to resist. It can be a difficult gem to work with as it is very soft, but the results it produces are well worth the effort. Baltic amber is the most highly prized, but Middle Eastern amber can range in tone from a golden yellow to a deep red.

The most obvious green gemstone to go for is emerald, and surprisingly these can be far less expensive than you first think. Again, quality stones will cost more, but if you're willing and capable of doing a little work to refine a lower quality stone the effects can still be beautiful. Peridot is a cheaper alternative and is a much paler green with a translucency that is extremely delicate and effective for use with small findings.

The opal carries a great deal of superstition with it, but is probably one of the most beautiful gemstones to work with. It ranges from a milky white to deep blue or even the rare 'fire opal', which is like a small firework captured in stone. Its ability to catch the light and produce a rainbow of colours is dazzling, and opal retains its popularity even today.

There are thousands of gemstones to choose from, and a good supplier will carry a full selection, ranging from top-quality emeralds and rubies right through to cheaper but no less beautiful alternatives. Don't be afraid of including gemstones in your jewellery making - the results can be inspiring.

Adam Hunter - E-commerce Marketing Manager of cooksongold.com. Cookson Precious Metals offer a choice of jewellery making supplies from over 10,000 products including gold and silver, gemstones, tools, precious metal clay and gold and silver sheet - gold, silver, platinum and palladium plus technical information for jewellers, jobbers, designer, craftsmen, artisans and students.

Contacts

Adam Hunter

E-commerce Marketing Manager
Tel(DDI): +44 (0) 121 212 6491
E-mail: adam.hunter@cooksongold.com
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How to Use Precious Metal Clay in Jewelery Making

By A Hunter

Precious metal clay (brand names are PMC and Art Clay) is modern-day alchemy. PMC is a clay base with tiny pieces of silver suspended within it that, when heated, burns off the clay leaving a solid silver residue. The clay base acts as a binder for the metal particles. Once this has been removed, the remaining silver particles bind together, giving you the finished product.

The real beauty of precious metal clay is that it can be manipulated like any ordinary modeling clay, making it perfect for jewelery making. The modern precious metal clay can be using a jeweler's torch, as the firing temperature is much lower than the early versions of this clay.

However, a small kiln will produce a much more constant temperature range and can be controlled exactly, meaning that the results will be more consistent.

Precious Metal Clay once had a very bad reputation for shrinkage, making it unsuitable for fine work or detail. Modern precious metal clays have a much lower shrinkage rate (around 10-15%), but you still need to factor this into the final piece to ensure that really fine detail is not lost in the firing process.

Once fired, the silver piece will seem very lackluster and dull, so it will need finishing. The dull matt surface hides the real beauty underneath, so finishing and polishing will reveal the shining silver below. When soldering finished precious metal clay pieces it is essential to remember that the surface will be more porous than standard sterling silver, so it is best to burnish the piece prior to soldering. But because it is almost pure silver there is little risk of fire stain on the surface and the final results are almost indistinguishable from sterling silver.

Because precious metal clay is a clay, it takes impressions very well. A design can be pressed onto the surface of the clay and be revealed in the final silver piece. Patterned rollers, lace or even leaves can be used to create unique effects that are difficult to reproduce in ordinary silver unless it has been cast. Precious metal clay is a popular way of making silver beads. The clay can be formed into beads, decorated with a surface pattern and then fired in a kiln quickly and easily, producing high quality silver beads.

Safety considerations have to be taken into account when working with precious metal clay because of the high temperatures required to fire the clay. A small enameling kiln allows you to safely achieve the temperatures required for optimum results, but ensure that you have all the correct equipment such as tongs with heat resistant handles to extract work from the kiln safely and a heat-proof surface upon which to work.

Precious metal clay is an ideal medium to work in if you want to create pieces of silver jewelery that are unique to you. The only thing that limits you is your imagination. Precious metal silver clay is widely available from good jewelery equipment suppliers. There are two main brands - Precious Metal Clay and Art Clay Silver. The clay is also available in other metals including gold, but the cost is significantly higher than the silver clay.

Adam Hunter - E-commerce Marketing Manager of cooksongold.com. Cookson Precious Metals offer a choice of jewelery making supplies from over 10,000 products including gold and silver, jewelery findings, tools, precious metal clay and gold and silver sheet - gold, silver, platinum and palladium plus technical information for jewelers, jobbers, designer, craftsmen, artisans and students.

Contacts Adam HunterE-commerce Marketing ManagerTel(DDI): +44 (0) 121 212 6491E-mail: adam.hunter@cooksongold.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A_Hunter

Die Cast Cars

By Brenda Williams

People all over the country have different hobbies. Some people collect model trains, some people collect books, baseball cards, movies, music, or bobble heads. One of the most popular hobbies around today is the collection of die cast cars. Die cast cars are popular because not only can the person with the hobby build the model that they have purchased but they can put that model in a glass case and display it at their house or office. They could also construct the model, frame it, and then sell it for a tiny profit.

Many people collect die cast cars as a hobby and enjoy attending model car shows where you can purchase old models and new model kits to work on. The die casting method is the use of metal and plastic. The metal that is used is zamak, which is an alloy of zinc and aluminum. Die cast toys come in scale models of fire trucks, police cars, airplanes, construction equipment, trains, buses, trucks, automobiles, and motorcycles.

These scale models can be assembled by the person purchasing them or can be purchased already assembled and ready for display. The fun part of the hobby is purchasing the kit and then assembling the model when you get home. You can build the car, paint it and then set it out for display. The die cast toy industry began in the 1940s in the United States and has grown in popularity ever since. Some of the most popular cars in the die cast world are Matchbox cars. Matchbox cars are incredibly small models of cars that kids enjoy playing with or collecting on a daily basis. One line of Matchbox cars, the 1-75, was named 1-75 because there are always 75 different vehicles in the line. Each car was packaged in its own box and the box looked like it was small enough to hold matches, hence the name Matchbox cars.

Mattel first introduced the Hot Wheels brand in 1968 because of the complaints that there were no toys for boys being produced by the company. Mattel is also famous for their Barbie doll collection for girls. Die cast cars became so popular that McDonald's, Sears Roebuck, Kodak, and Texaco asked toy makers to make vehicles with their business name and likeness on them for advertising purposes and to sell to collectors in their popular stores.

Along with collecting die cast cars, manufacturing companies also produce racetracks, toy restaurants and toy filling stations for children to play with while using their model cars. The racetracks have become increasingly realistic over the years, with cars being electronically driven on the tracks by the players as well as being propelled from the starting line in a pin-ball like manner. Aside from the cars and the accessories, companies also provide carry cases for people to put their die cast cars in when traveling. So, if you are going on a family vacation and your son or daughter wants to bring their cars with them, the carry case can hold their cars perfectly.

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Model Railroad Layout Backdrops - How to Make Them Truly Stunning

By B. Murphy

A well designed and cleverly painted backdrop can make your model railroad layout stand out from the rest and look truly unique. This is mostly because it makes an optical illusion that produces an effect called forced perspective.

Forced perspective occurs when the layout in the foreground appears to be larger because it is placed in front of a space in the distance, which is made by adding a backdrop to the wall in the case of model railroads. It is an optical illusion that will make your entire model railroad layout appear to be larger than it really is.

The effect of forced perspective can be observed all around us. For instance, a barn several hundred feet away from you will look smaller than a Chihuahua sitting on the ground ahead of it. By analyzing natural landscapes you will notice techniques you can use to make an outstanding backdrop to use with you model railroad layout.

Projects of this sort always require lots of planning. Hopefully, you will be working on your backdrop at the same time that you are designing the rest of your model train layout. A mistake that many people make is working on the backdrop after they have finished everything else. If you design them together, you can make some interesting and unique set pieces.

To make your backdrop, you need to have in mind what season it will, what the weather will be like, the location you will be showing, and what kind of day it will be. Planning these details will save you lots of frustration in the long run.

Think about what the sky will look like. Remember that, even on a cloudless day, the sky is actually made up of several different hues of blue due to the position of the sun and other environmental factors. A good base color is Velvet Sky Vinyl, available in acrylic flat paint.
When considering what the clouds will look like, remember that no two clouds are quite the same. The grand majority of clouds are cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. The most common clouds are the white and puffy cumulus ones.

The color of clouds also varies quite a bit depending on where they are positioned in the sky. Decide where the sun is in your backdrop and then color the clouds near is lighter than those farther away.

Should you be using DCC control for your model railroad? Find out how it's different from analog control (and why it's better) on The Model Railroader website. Visit http://www.themodelrailroader.com for more helpful tips and advice about building a model railroad.
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How to Make Your Own Soap at Home

By Della Upsher

If you've had trouble finding a soap that's just right for you, and have struggled with cleansers with overpowering scents or artificial ingredients, then perhaps it's time to learn a thing or two about creating your own brand of hand-milled soaps. You'll first need two to three bars of plain white soap. Grate the soap into flakes - enough to make two cups.

Grab a couple of soap molds, which are sold at most craft retailers, and coat them with a small amount of petroleum jelly. Pour one half a cup of water into your measuring cup filled with the soap flakes, and set the whole cup into a sauce pan, which should be filled with about two inches of water. Turn the burner on to medium heat, and bring the water to a simmer. With a wooden spoon, occasionally stir the soap mixture, which should at this time be slowly melting. The soap will appear chunky at first, so break up any chunks as they arise until the mixture begins to appear a bit smoother. Once the soap looks a bit thinner - nearly like pudding - pull the measuring cup from the water.

In a separate bowl, mix together one tablespoon of olive oil, a half a cup of water, a quarter cup of palm oil chips, twenty or so drops of your favorite botanical scent, and two to three drops of soap dye if you wish to add coloring. If you would like your soaps to have a weaker scent, add only about fifteen drops of the fragrance. Pour the bowl of mixed ingredients into your soap. Gently fold in the mixture until completely blended. Fill your molds with the soap and allow them to cool before you remove them. Let your soaps rest on a baking rack for about three weeks before you use or wrap them. Be your own botanist!

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