Enameled penny jewelry

I've been making enameled penny jewelry for many years now.  Here are the pennies all ready for enameling.  I've annealed them with a torch to make the copper soft and then dapped them so that they are curved.  It's concave or convex - I always get those two confused!

The next step is to carefully sprinkle the pennies with the enamel.  These are three of my favorite colors.  I've done this so many times it's like a mantra in my head as I'm repeating the movements - very Zen!

And these are my two kilns.  I have one for precious metal clay and one for enameling and firing silver metal clay.  The silver metal clay fires clean, but all of the other metal clays fire in a pan of carbon and the inside of the kiln gets really dirty.  You don't want that stuff flaking off on your pretty enameled pieces!  I love the steady clicking noises my kilns make as they are working....

Start at the top.......

So, you start at the top and work your way down - yucky, ugly dropped ceiling!

This was really dirty, nasty work.  Those ceiling tiles were guhrosss!

And the fun begins.......

The first thing you must do is get a really big garbage can!!!

A long history.......

The old 1920s building has a long history - it was a thrift shop and for several years it was a magic shop.

Love the Historic Stifft Station District

Historic Stifft Station District - corner of Kavanaugh and West Markham

I bought a store.......

3009 W. Markham - next to The Oyster Bar
and, yes, what a wonderful color scheme!

On the edge of something really BIG.......