Paradise Cove Studio

In this tutorial you will learn to make a pendant with a decorative attached bail and how to add a gemstone cab using a premade bezel cup.
Materials Needed: 25 gm PMC3 PMC 3 paste PMC 3 syringe 6mm gemstone cab 6mm fine silver bezel cup shaping tools - roller, cards, paint brushes, needle tool, craft knife needle files olive oil rubber stamps or texture sheets fat straw sanding sponges 3 M polishing papers sunshine cloth liver of sulphur emery boards finishing tools - wire brush, burnishers or tumbler Stone setting tools - stone pusher and curved burnisher particle mask vermiculite kiln shelf kiln
	Create a template for your bail. I created this one using a fleur de lis shape with a strip added for the rolled part of the bail. The strip portion needs to be about 1 1/2" long.
	Roll out your clay 3 cards thick. This time we are going to add two different textures. The idea is for it to look old, like something from an archeological dig. The first texture can be anything that has an organic feel to it. I used a rubber stamp of an antique map of Africa. The second texture can be any text stamp - I used one that is from the Book of Kells. Both stamps are my own designs. Apply the first texture and then the second right over the first. Cut out a large circle using a round template and set aside to dry or use a dehydrator. You want the clay to come to a leather hard stage. This is where some, but not all, of the moisture has been removed. The clay will feel cool to the touch, but not damp.
	Roll out the clay again, this time 4 cards thick (I always use thicker clay for bails - they are going to get a lot of wear and I want them to be strong). Texture with just the organic stamp this time. Cut out the shape for your bail. Cut out another small circle, about 8 mm in diameter. Stamp with a signature stamp if you have one Set aside to dry.
	Turn the clay for the bail over and roll the strip portion over a fat straw. Moisten the top edge with some water using a small paintbrush. Roll the straw with the clay until it touches the base portion. Unroll and put some paste on the mark the wet end of the clay made on the base. Roll the straw and clay back again so that the end is in the paste. Clean up any excess paste with a damp paintbrush. Allow to dry to leather hard stage. Remove the straw. Check the point where the edge of the bail meets the base. Fill in any gaps with a syringe. Smooth out the syringe work with a damp paintbrush. Check the back of the join and fill and smooth that as well. Allow to dry. Remember to keep the tips of your syringes submersed in water so they don't dry out.
	Refine the 3 pieces with emery boards and needle files. Run a damp finger over to smooth the edges (the idea is something that has been worn by time, so it's more realistic if it's not perfectly round with straight edges). Remember to capture what you sand off for making your own paste later. Use a sanding sponge to smooth the back of the pendant (always pay as much attention to the finish work on the back of your pieces as you do to the front).
	Drill a hole in the round part of the pendant where you want to place your gemstone (I just hold the drill bit between my fingers and twist it). Enlarge the hole with a round file (#2 Swiss from Contenti - my students love this file!) until it is a little bit larger than the size of your 6mm bezel cup The file is not quite 6mm in diameter so I finished enlarging the hole with a round needle file. Make sure the hole is a little bit larger than the bezel cup - the clay will shrink as it fires - if the hole is too tight the clay will buckle around the cup.
	Here are the components of our pendant, ready to be assembled. I'm using amethyst cabs - the Celtic princess who wore this necklace was fond of amethyst ;)
	Place some paste on the small circle and moisten the area around the hole in the pendant on the back side. (Check the consistency of your paste if it's the first time you are using it that day. It should be as thick as very thick whipped cream. Add water , a few drops at a time and stir until it reaches the desired consistency). Place the circle over the hole and run a bead of water around the edge with a small paintbrush. Allow to dry.
	Place some paste on the bottom part of the bail and moisten the back of the round pendant. Place the bail on the pendant so that the rolled portion just clears the top of the circle. Allow to dry. Add some syringe to on the front at the point that the bail meets the pendant. Smooth with a wet paintbrush. Allow to dry. Check to see if there are any gaps where the dry elements were joined. Fill them in and smooth with a wet paintbrush and allow to dry. Inspect your piece carefully. Smooth away any imperfections with a damp finger or paintbrush. Sand again if needed. Take your time and make it as perfect as you can. It's easier to correct any imperfections at this stage than it will be after it is fired.
	Moisten the hole for the bezel cup with water and dip the bottom of the bezel cup in some paste and insert into the hole. Check to make sure that the bezel cup is level. Allow to dry to bone dry stage (clay will feel warm and dry to the touch). Fire at 1650 degrees for 2 hours. Allow to cool. Check around the edges of the cup. If there are any gaps between the clay and the cup, fill them with paste and refire. Brush with a wet, soapy brass brush. Place 1 1/2 lbs of mixed stainless steel shot in a tumbler. Add a drop of dishwashing soap or a pinch of burnishing compound. Add enough water to just cover the shot. Add your pendant, close the tumbler and tumble for about 1 hour. You can also burnish by hand.
	Place a small chunk of Liver of Sulphur (LOS) in a glass cup with a little warm water. Dip the silver pendant into the LOS for a few moments and rinse. Repeat this process until you have the patina you desire.
	Allow to dry and polish the back with a sunshine cloth. If desired, remove some of the patina from the front as well (I want the patina in the recessed portions only in my pendant).
	Check the fit of the stone in the bezel cup. Place a short piece of dental floss over the cup and insert the stone over the floss (the floss will allow you to remove the stone so you can adjust the height of the cup.) The cup is too high for this stone. On a large cab I would raise the stone, but for a small cab like this I will use a file to adjust the height of the cup so that it comes just up to where the stone begins to curve. Use the dental floss to pull the stone out of the cup....
	...and a flat file to adjust the height of the cup. Then sand the top of the bezel cup lightly to remove file marks.
	Place the stone in the bezel and use a pusher to gently push the sides of the bezel up and over the stone in the sequence shown. Continue around the stone gently pushing to maintain the round shape.
	Use a curved or agate burnisher to smooth the bezel against the stone.
	Use polishing papers to bring your pendant to a smooth, shiny finish. This piece was quite sooth to begin with, so I only used the 3 finest grits. Then give it a last rub with a sunshine cloth.

Sit back and admire your work.

Enjoy!

Hi Friends! Look what I found! More to follow :)

Stone Donut With Gem Set Bail

I love these stone donuts. I wanted to make a bail that would enhance them without obscuring too much of the stone. This is what I came up with. This tutorial assumes a basic knowledge of metal clay technique.
Materials Needed: 25 gm PMC3 PMC 3 paste shaping tools - roller, cards, tissue blade, paint brushes, emery boards, needle tool, files, texture sheet or rubber stamp circle template oval template 8mm rod polymer clay 40-50mm stone donut 8mm calibrated gemstone cab 8mm fine silver round bezel cup 5mm fine silver round bezel cup 1/4" 5mm sterling tubing 800 grit wet dry sandpaper finishing tools - wire brush, burnishers or tumbler Stone setting tools - stone pusher and curved burnisher particle mask kiln
	Roll out some clay 2 cards thick. Cut a 1" circle and a 1 5/8" oval.
	Roll out some more clay 2 cards thick and apply texture with a texture sheet or rubber stamp. Cut out a 1" circle and a 3/4" circle. Cut an 8mm circle from the center of the 3/4" circle.
	Roll the end of the oval over and 8mm rod (I use a glass lampworking rod). Allow the clay to dry.
	Cut a piece of sterling tubing 1/4" long. Make a polymer clay donut form with a 5mm hole that will fit in the hole of the stone donut and cure according to package directions.
	Using a curved file, adjust the hole in the 3/4" circle so the the 8mm bezel fits loosely.
	Apply paste to the back of the 3/4" circle and moisten the front of the 1" circle with water.
	Center the 3/4" circle on top of the 1" circle.
	Dip the 8mm bezel cup in the paste...
	...and set in the hole in the 3/4" circle. Allow to dry.
	Sand the 1" untextured circle and the oval bail piece smooth and apply paste to the back of the oval. Moisten the front of the circle with water...
	...and set the bail piece on the circle. I have added quality marks (both 999 and 925 since I am using some sterling in my piece) and one of my signature rounds (see my signature tag tutorial for instructions). Allow to dry and fire at 1650 degrees for 2 hours. Tumble polish or burnish by hand.
	Apply a small dab of Solder Fast for Silver to the back of the bail piece...
	..and center the silver tube on it.
	Set on the edge of a hot plate set on high and heat until the solder melts.* Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area - the fumes from the solder can be toxic. (Of course you can do this step with a torch if you prefer). *Hint: this is a great way to easily attach posts to earrings :)
	Now this is where you can finish in two different ways. Traditional method: drill a hole through the 8mm bezel and it's backplate. Easy method: Solder the 5mm bezel cup to the back of the textured circles using the method described above. If you are using the easy method you could use a piece of fired pmc tubing instead of the sterling - it just has to fit in the 5mm bezel cup and extend from the backplate through the stone donut.
	Place the polymer clay donut around the sterling tube.
	Traditional method: Place the stone donut on the sterling tube, set the textured circles on top with the tube coming up through the bezel and rivet the tube. Set the stone in the cup over the rivet. Easy method: Set the stone in the cup...
	...and mix up some two part epoxy according to manufacturers directions. (Yes! We're really going to use the dreaded "chemical bonding agent"!! ;) Put some of the epoxy in the 5mm bezel cup and invert over the end of the sterling tube.
	Allow the epoxy to set up according to manufacturers directions.