Silver Wings Studio

Student Work

2010-05-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

This student work is from 11 yr old students during summer classes. They learned to string, make a pattern, choose a clasp, size, and crimp the ends.

Craft Show

2010-04-27T12:03:00.001-04:00

May 8th, 2010, 9am-4pm
Wow the wind! I am good at choosing a horrible day to host a craft show. I want to thank the crafters that held out during the beautiful, but extremely windy day. We will see you at the show in October.

Mother's Day Party

2010-04-20T11:42:00.002-04:00

Thanks for a great Mother's Day Party!

Mother/Daughter----Jewelry Making Party
Join us for our special events!

Special Snacks & Drinks

Make Mother’s Day bracelets from a buffet of beads
Coloring pages, mazes, & a mural
Tattoos, stickers, goodie bags, & more!

Friday May 7th, 2010, 4:30-5:30pm

RSVP to Gina 610-458-3336, or
gina@silverwingsjewelry.com

Chocolate Night

2010-03-18T23:14:00.000-04:00

Make a bracelet and eat lots of chocolate. I usually make chocolate fondue, cookies, brownies, coffee, and chocolate pretzels. I love chocolate!

Oh, and the jewelry...beginners welcome for this easy, beautiful project. The bracelet will take about 1/2 hour to complete. Choose from a buffet of beads and clasps. Dessert included, adults only. $16 each.

Article: Magic Number Three--Design Ideas

2010-02-18T11:18:00.005-05:00

New jewelry designers often ask about designing their first necklace. Combining the right beads can make a beautiful design.

Try these hints:

3 different textures: Pearls, metal, gemstones, and glass all have individual textures, and they often get faceted or cut to create different textures. Use all kinds in one design; mix and match.

3 sizes: Grandma’s pearls are too boring with all the same sized beads. Different sizes will create energy in a necklace design. Use 4, 6, and 8 mm beads together.

3 different colors: Grab your color wheel! Colors can be endlessly combined. By using least 3 different colors in the same design, you will achieve beauty. Look around you and use color clues from fabrics, paint chips, wallpaper, and clothing designs.

3 of the same color: Limiting your color palette can spark your creativity. For example, use 3 hues of blue together and get great results. Try www.colormatters.com for color theory ideas.

3 different shapes: Use bicones(diamond), square, round, oval , and odd shapes together. The variety in shapes will add interest to your designs.

Valentine's Day Party

2010-02-01T23:02:00.003-05:00

Mother and Daughter Party

Friday, February 12, 2010, 5-6pm

Make a Bracelet

Heart-Shaped Sandwiches, cookies, & dessert

Make Valentine’s Day Cards

Coloring Pages, give-a-ways, and more!

$13 each person, Ages 6 and up

RSVP to Gina 610-458-3336, or

gina@silverwingsjewelry.com

Article: What to Bring to Jewelry Class

2010-02-01T16:18:00.007-05:00

Whether you are advanced or just starting, jewelry classes provide new techniques, hints, and inspiration. Get the most out of taking a class by being prepared.

Tools
Always bring the required tools that are listed in the class description for individual classes. Some classes require very general tools like scissors, beads, clasps, and tweezers, and some classes require very specific tools like sterling cones, 20-gauge wire, draw-plates, or 4mm beads. If you have any questions about what tools are needed, call the teacher or school before class starts. Most teachers sell or bring extra supplies just in case, but you should make every attempt to bring what the teacher wants.
Pliers: Jewelry pliers are a special kind of pliers. They do not have teeth inside them. If you borrowed your pliers from a garage toolbox, you might not want to use them, because they will ruin all your jewelry with nicks and marks. The most common hand pliers are needle nosed (also called flat-nose, rosary, or chain-nosed), round-nosed, and hand cutters. Remember to label each of your tools so you go home with yours.
Chairs: Some classrooms have very uncomfortable chairs. If you have trouble sitting for a long period of time, bring a cushion or your own folding chair. Remember to get up from time to time and stretch your legs.
Other things might be helpful: pencil and paper for note taking, reading glasses, magnifiers, tweezers, scissors, work surface, glue, portable light.

Knowledge
Carefully read the description of the class you wish to join. If it is an advanced class, you must have the basic skills required. Jumping in on a class that is more advanced than your skills holds everyone back while the teacher shows you the basics.
Arrive to class 5 minutes early to get yourself settled. Map directions to the class location in advance and always carry the phone number given. If you are late, calling the teacher usually helps, as most teachers wait until all the students are present before starting lectures or demos.
After class, go home and practice what you were taught as soon as possible. This will give you a deeper understanding of the technique.

Questions
Class time is your time to pick the teachers brain and watch them demonstrate. Write down all of your questions before class and make sure you get them answered. Your questions will undoubtedly help someone else in class. Also, call your teacher over if you feel stuck or puzzled. If you don't speak up, your teacher will never know if you need help. Sometimes during a demo, a teacher forgets to verbally describe what she/he is doing. Don’t be afraid to interrupt a demo with a specific question. Understanding the demo is very important to all the students.

Don’t forget that the teacher works for you. Email a teacher after class if he/she offers to answer further questions.

Small Lemons

2010-01-26T08:43:00.004-05:00

At one of the best bead society meetings, we had jeweler Elizabeth Nephew show us how to make small beads using Fimo/Polimer clay. We had a blast making these small lemons and baking the clay.
We started with these flat colors and built up a larger lemon shape. The large lemon shape is condensed with pushing and squeezing. We rolled the shapes and cut them carefully with a razor.
My daughter tried to make something different and sculpted slices of cake with small lemon slices on top of them.

Personalized Necklaces

2010-01-25T22:08:00.003-05:00

These sterling tags are hand stamped, hammering each letter individually. Perfect for birthdays or holidays, the gemstones can be further personalized with birthstones. Initials or whole names are available.

Wine, Cheese, and Beads

2010-01-25T22:00:00.003-05:00

October 2009
What a party! We love to host beading parties at the studio. The all made different projects and worked for a few hours. These ladies brought wine and food to keep the party going.

Student Work

2010-01-25T21:58:00.001-05:00

October, 2009
This 11 year old student loves making ancient Egyptian jewelry by hand. These earrings were hand hammered bronze and wire wrapped crystals. We are working on a final project of an egyptian collar of handmade paper beads. Moving on to Roman jewelry next!

Birthday Girls!

2010-01-25T21:56:00.003-05:00

Birthday party smiles! These girls sure did have fun making jewelry, giving each other tattoos, drawing on the mural, and petting the guinea pigs. They had cupcakes and pizza afterward. Girls are so giggly! It always makes me smile.

Second Meeting

2010-01-25T21:53:00.007-05:00

Our second meeting went very well, filling up my store with bead people. The crowd was low key and I tried to loosen them up, but I don't know any jokes. I demonstrated wire wrapped rings and everyone practiced with copper wire and old buttons. Next week everyone has to bring some items we can recycle into unexpected jewelry parts; keys, watch parts, paper clips, board game pieces, money, coins, clock parts, old silver spoons, buttons, sea glass, playing cards and more. We will all make a piece of jewelry with these wierd parts.

I finished a bangle bracelet for a customer that traded scrap sterling. She bought a sterling silver fork at a yard sale for $1 and I curved it into a bracelet, adding recycled material when I could.

Chester County Bead Society

2010-01-25T21:53:00.003-05:00

We had the first meeting of the Chester County Bead Society at the store this week. It was great to see familiar faces and meet new people that are interested in beads and jewelry. In a world of internet groups, it was wonderful to be a part of something that felt REAL. I love connecting to people through their crafty obsession. We always have a basic element in common. Our favorite bead celebrity, Meredith Roddy from Beadalon, was there to loosen me up and to wake up the crowd from shyness. Thanks Meredith. Next meeting we will make wire wrapped rings with me. I will demo and show everyone how to make their own.
Don't forget to sign up for spring classes through the www.chestercountynightschool.org.

Birthday and Snow

2010-01-25T21:53:00.001-05:00

November 18, 2009

Julianna's birthday celebration is this weekend. We are bringing everyone we know to the movies to see Bolt. She is ten years old. We had homemade apple pie and ice cream for breakfast!
Last nights class was silly and fun. All the women knew each other and were howling with laughter, making jokes and poking fun at their lack of jewelry experience. They went home with beautiful bracelets and some even made a necklace to match a bracelet they brought with them.
It snowed here, just for a minute. All the kids (and adults) ran outside to catch snowflakes on their tounges. Silly.

Calder at PMA

2010-01-25T21:52:00.000-05:00

Aug 31, 2009

We went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art today to see the Alexander Calder Jewelry exhibit. He was so inventive, experimental, and impulsive with this jewelry work. He was just doing what came naturally, his mobiles in a small scale for the body to balance. I took some photos, with glare through the glass, just for inspiration. I can't wait to get back to the studio and add some of this inspiration into my jewelry. He used cold connections (no soldering), hammered and forged wire, and found objects.
It was a beautiful, sunny day with bikers, joggers, runners, and walkers outside in Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River. We tried to stop at Reading Terminal Market, but Sundays are a no-go for Amish food. We went to the Wayne Bertucci's instead and ate too much pizza. (not really a problem for a self-proclamed pizza snob). The Ubead2 in Wayne is out of business and the store is empty! That was fast. Let's support our local bead stores instead of Michael's or online stores, because we are there for you during a beading emergency!

Giant Toad

2010-01-25T21:41:00.001-05:00

July 24, 2009
Julianna started the day off right. She found an extra large toad in the basement window thing. Her screams of enjoyment could be heard for miles. She immediately gave the unsuspecting toad a great big kiss! We drew him in art class this morning then let him go in the pond out back. She kept missing him all day and kept daydreaming about him with a great smile on her face. What a kid!
A customer brought in 3 large and heavy sterling silver spoons to make into bangles or cuffs. I can't wait until Monday to work on them.

150th birthday

2010-01-25T21:39:00.002-05:00

July 19, 2008
Today was the Uwchland Township's 150th birthday. The festival was a great time and a hot day to meet friends and fellow business owners. Customers kept dropping by the store with questions or with repairs. My husband cooked on the grill in the parking lot and we had ourselves a little block (parking lot) party. We had a wonderful view of the fireworks as they were set off in the dirt field across the field.

Day at the Beach

2010-01-25T21:39:00.000-05:00

June 2, 2008

We went to the beach today. My favorite place is at the end of the earth, Sunset Beach, Cape May, NJ. There is an old concrete ship (yes, they made a ship out of concrete in WWI) that, you guessed it, ran ashore and has been there ever since. Every year we go, the ship is smaller. I usually collect "cape may diamonds" that wash up from the Delaware River. The Concrete ship apparently makes the little bits of quartz wash up just in that spot. I usually collect the 'diamonds' polish them for 3 weeks and make jewelry out of them.