A Treasured Shrine

Susan Bates-Bezek, Instructor
Saturday, July 19, 2014, 10:00-4:00p
Class Fee: $95.00

We all have keepsakes and momentos that are special to us and Susan Bates-Bezek has come up with a great way to encase and display them. Everyone has made a little shrine and had to hunt for a trinket to fit inside. In this technique driven workshop we will adapt the size and shape of our shine to that treasured piece we saved for "someday". There is no limit to the size or depth of the item you can enshrine, this is very unique. You just need a piece of glass as tall and wide as the object you're putting inside. Susan will teach you to build a sturdy box to the glass, not vise versa. It can be round, square, triangle, etc. Susan is available before hand to help you find just the right glass for this project. She has made sizes from 1/1/4" oval to 9x12". Let your imagination run wild and come create your own unique Treasured Shrine!    

Tools & Supplies:

Glass bevel or double strength glass (any size/shape)

3/16 to 1/4" foam core board, Xacto knife with new blades,

ruler, masking tape, scissors, paper for the inside of your box, paint to coordinate & medium brown paint, clear matte acrylic, paint brushes, Ultimate Craft Glue & 5 minute epoxy, hair dryer, soldering supplies & sheet of copper foil or wide trim to finish the box

All class fees are prepaid, and non-refundable. Contact class manager Dede Warren at 714-757-0558 to reserve your place in this class. You may also reserve your place in person at the store by check, cash or credit card. Call us if you need assistance...we'll be happy to help!

Soldering Basics & Beyond

Dede Warren, Instructor
Saturday, August 16, 2014, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Class Fee: $85.00

Have you wanted to learn to solder but perhaps been afraid of the tools involved? No doubt a torch with a flame reaching 12 inches can be intimidating, as well as learning to create with a tool that reaches temperatures of 900 degrees. There's a lot to learn to safely and easily use these tools. Local Artist Dede Warren will share her knowledge of soldering on a variety of mediums. This workshop will give you a basic knowledge of what you can and cannot solder, the tools and supplies involved and how to use them, and a variety of ways in which to use this skill.

Our focus in this hands on workshop will be the elements of soldering and not project oriented. Dede will supply the materials to create your own soldered chain, a 3 dimensional bezel, and will share how to create a chunk, rough finished soldered 3 dimensional piece, along with using a variety of patinas. This class is rich in soldering techniques, and our focus will be on learning the art of soldering. While we will create chain and a bezel we will not be creating a finished project with either of these. If you have a 3 dimensional piece you'd like to solder, please bring these with you and we will discover and troubleshoot the ways you can solder these pieces. If you want to learn to create a specific project using soldering this might just be the class for you!

Supply to Bring:

• soldering supplies if you have them • tin snips • basic jewelry pliers • metal file
• apron or towel for your lap • old cookie sheet to work on

All class fees are prepaid, and non-refundable. Contact class manager Dede  Warren at 714-757-0558 to reserve your place in this class. You may also reserve your place in person at the store by check, cash or credit card, or via phone with your credit card. Call us if you need assistance...we'll be happy to help!

Creative Wire Connections

Connie Freedman & Dede Warren, Instructors
Saturday, June 28, 2013, 10:00-4:00p
Class Fee: $85.00

Connie Freedman and Dede Warren are back with Handcrafted Connections with Wire. With so many ways of putting jewelry together, we thought we'd spend a full day focusing on building a solid base for assembling your designs. Regardless of your jewelry design style wire work is at the heart of jewelry making. We will cover wire gauge and hardness, as well as the various types of wire that can be used in jewelry, and how each differs. We will start with the basics of  creating eye pins, head pins & jump rings, and expand to creating handmade chains, soldered links, hammered finishes, patinas and beyond. We'll also create hook & eye closures in a variety of styles, as well as several variations of ear wires. As always we will share our quick & easy tips for learning to wire wrap! You'll each go away with a handful of our favorite tools, several handmade chains designs, and lots of ear wires and clasp/closures. The photos below are just a hint at what we'll be learning to make.
Beginners welcome!

Supplies & Tools:

Bring basic jewelry pliers & wire cutters, chasing hammer & bench block

All class fees are prepaid, and non-refundable. Contact class manager Dede Warren at 714-757-0558 to reserve your place in this class. You may also reserve your place in person at the store by check, cash or credit card, or via phone with your credit card at 714-680-8893. Call us if you need assistance...we'll be happy to help!