Summer Buzzzzzz

I had played with Art Clay Silver 650 a few years ago and loved that you could torch fire it. As the price of silver has skyrocketed, so has the price of the art clay. Which was such a bummer! Over the years I yearned for the less expensive (but equally lovely) copper clay to be torch fired. THEN IT HAPPENED! Art Clay Copper can be fired with a torch! YAY! Cool Tools has it for a great price and shipped it pretty darn quick! It takes a bit longer to torch than the silver clay but is well worth it when you consider the price of a new kiln. Here are the fruits of my labor…

Knowing I had to keep a sharp eye on the pieces as they were being torched didn't stop a few from melting a bit. I find them to have their own charm! With a busy production schedule it isn't always easy to carve out time for something new, so when a bit of time poped up, I JUMPED to play with these new charms! The honey toned gemstones have been in my stash for years and were perfect for what I had in mind… the Honey necklace is one of my favorite pieces….

When I posted the original charms on my Facebook page, Staci Louise Smith of Staci Louise Originals was kind enough to offer me a bit of advice on testing the readiness of the copper charms. She told me about the hammer test where you tap them with a hammer and if it dents and doesn't crack or break the pieces should be fine. These passed the test! Another trick I read about was to drop the pieces gently on a hard surface. If they sound like metal, with no dull or hollow sound they should be good to go as well. I welcome all constructive advice and information, so please feel free to share any of your tips with copper clay in the comments!