Winners! 'Cause I am crazy like that!

Thanks so much for your kind words on the preceding Dakota Stones post. The random number generator chose rhealeanne as the lucky winner. But you know what? Since I had nine more nice folks commenting, and since I have some nice beads to share, I am going to send each of my commentors a little giftie.

If you commented on the last post, send me an email through the "contact me" link on this blog with your mailing address and I'll send it out to you when I get back from my gift show trip after January 20th.

Have a great week everyone! And just a quick reminder, if you are going to the Tucson Gem Shows, I'll be teaching some great classes at JOGS at JewelryTools' Education Center. Check them all out here: http://www.jewelrytools.com/classes/kate-richbourg/ and use the following coupon codes to save when you enroll!

• Buy 1 class, get $20 off: KR1420
• Buy 3 classes, get $75 off: KR1475
• Buy 6 classes, get $175 off: KR14175 

Congrats to my commentors and hope to see some of my blog readers in Tucson. More info on other classes that I am teaching this year is coming up soon.

Featured Designer for Dakota Stones this Month and a Giveaway!

Comments are closed! Check the next post for the winner!

What an honor! The lovely bead purveyor Dakota Stones contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would be a featured designer for their monthly blog series. Would I? A chance to design some jewelry using stones from one of my favorite suppliers? Sign me up.

It was a really fun project to do. Stringing beads is my first love. (I know I wrote the book on how to solder, but beads were my gateway drug.) So I grabbed my Soft Flex beading wire and went to work. (Okay, there is SOME metal and soldering in there, but mostly it's BEADS!!)

Here is a teaser picture of one of the projects. To see the rest, hop on over and read the entire post on their blog.

Like I mentioned before, I love to string beads! If you have not beaded for a while, I urge you to jump in and string up a quick project. Soft Flex beading wire (.019 original silver color is my favorite) makes it fast and easy. Brush up on your stringing skills with my FREE class from Beaducation.com.

 

It has a running time of 50 minutes and shows you all of the basic skills you need to string a sturdy necklace. Plus I am wearing a sassy red dress in the video.

I also have a little kit of treasures to give away to one lucky reader. I have a lovely centerpiece (like the one I used in one of my blog designs) a variety of semi-precious beads and a mini-spool of Soft Flex. Just add a few beads from your stash to round things out, and voila! You'll be on your way to stringing. Comments will be open through this Sunday, January 12. I'll pick a winner on Monday and send your packet out after I get back from my adventures on the 20th (more about what I am doing coming up this week!)

Happy commenting and good luck!

My Book-a-versary and a Giveaway

Unwrapping my first shipment.

Comments are closed! A Winner to be announced shortly.

November 27, 2012. It was official. My first book with DVD included, Simple Soldering: A Beginner's Guide to Jewelrymaking was released.

What a year it has been.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who purchased the book. I love reading your emails and Amazon reviews! (Seriously, if I am ever feeling down, I click over to my review page. Thank you for all the love.)

WOW! There it is!

People have asked me how long it took to write and my ready answer is "20 years." My whole career moved me to the publication of my book. It was a labor of love and I still get excited to think that I have my very own ISBN number. 978-1596685505 to be exact.

It was the most amazing process. Scary. Easy. Hard. Exhilarating. Fun. Challenging. All at the same time. I could not have done it without the help of my family, friends and students. They propped me up, gave good advice and tested and tested and tested the projects.

Acknowledgements from the book.

There were some really fun parts of the process, but the most fun was when I traveled to the offices of Interweave Press to shoot the video and photos for my book. 

Me and my wonderful editor, Erica.

My dear friend Mary went with me to keep everything in line. (Seriously, everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like Mary. She seriously kept me on task and organized.)

Kate & Mary on set.

Mary put her theater skills to use and raided the prop room
at Interweave to decorate the set.

We shot the book video and all of the photos in four whirlwind days. It was such fun. And I learned a lot. That's the talented Joe Coca behind the camera.

Smile for the camera, torch!

It takes a village. Seriously.

So how to celebrate such a momentous occasion?? With a giveaway, of course. I have THREE autographed copies of my book to give away to my readers.

All you need to do to win is to leave a comment below. I will pick three winners at random next Wednesday, December 4. If you already have a copy of my book, then you can choose between a book OR instead I'll send you a link to take my Metalsmithing at Home class on Craftsy.com for FREE! Just let me know which one you'd like to win. This giveaway is open to everyone, not just USA readers.

Want extra entries? Repost the giveaway on your social media (Twitter, blog, FB) and come back here and let me know in the comments. Comment once for each extra social media posting so I can count each as an entry. Make sure I have a way to reach you in case you win. If you are an anonymous poster, just leave your email in the post (cryptically, like this... name (at) provider (dot) com.)

This...

..or this!

Leave your comment below and good luck!! And of course Happy Thanksgiving to all of my USA readers. Have a happy and safe holiday!

Welcome JTV viewers!

If you have found your way here after watching my JTV appearance this morning, let me extend a warm WELCOME!

I hoped you enjoyed all of the tools and tips that I shared with you and that you will tune in on Monday morning to see more great metalsmithing tools in action.

While you are here how about bookmarking or following my blog? I write about all kinds of jewelry making and crafty things. You'll also see where (and what) I am teaching as well as lots of tips, tricks and information about my upcoming book!

You can also stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter, follow my page on Facebook, read my Twitter feed, and see what I pin on Pinterest.

Thanks for watching, And while you are here, hop on over to his post, I have a giveaway going on until tomorrow morning...join in and you might win my book.

Anniversary Giveaway! Win a Copy of My Upcoming Book

Good morning from Tennessee! I am putting finishing touches on my samples for JTV this morning and wanted to take a moment to post my latest giveaway.

Leave a comment below and enter to win my upcoming book... 

The official release date is December 11, 2012, so you won't see it for a while, but as soon as I get my advance copies, I'll send one to you. (Late November, maybe?) It also includes an instructional DVD that is over 2 HOURS long. The DVD covers a lot of great tips and techniques and is a great companion to the book.

If you'd like to win, leave a comment below. I'll pick the winner at random on Monday morning. For extra chances to win share this contest on your social media outlets (Tweet, FB, blog) and come back here and leave a comment for each share with your link.

Good luck and stay tuned for another giveaway next Friday... I have a GREAT prize coming up!

Win My Favorite Torch!

Comments are closed! Thanks for entering!

August marks my 20th Anniversary as a Jewelry Educator and in celebration I am hosting a giveaway every Friday this month.

It's just a little something to share the gratitude I feel for being able to do what I love. So stay tuned each Friday and enter to win one of my favorite jewelry-related items.

First up!

The Max Flame Butane MicroTorch

The best torch in the world. Well, at least in my book... literally. This is one of the torches that I use in my book and in my classes. You can read more about it in my article for Jewelry Making Daily, here. It has enough burn time and heat to produce great results for soldered jewelry projects. It is a real workhorse and will be a faithful companion in your jewelry making adventures.

If you would like to give this torch a new home,  leave a comment below. For extra chances to win, just post a separate comment for each social media share that you do... reTweet, reBlog, reFacebook... just make sure to provide a link to this post so everyone can join in. Each post equals one entry. The random number generator will pick the winner. I'd love it if you'd pass it along and get the excitement going about my month of giveaways.

The contest closes on Monday morning 8 AM PST. Good luck and have a great, great, great weekend!

And so August begins...and it's my 20th Anniversary

Here it is. My whirlwind month. I am pressing my dresses. Dusting off my travel wallet. Deciding on shoes. Hunting for my carelessly-chic, keep-me-warm-on-the-plane wrap. Downloading new books into by beloved Kindle.

Yep. August is here.

I have a lot of traveling to do this month. Let's start the rundown...

Some of the prototypes...

This week is prep for the San Francisco Gift Show with my dear friend Jessica Gaston of Jess Imports. We have a new line of amazing jewelry that is going to shyly peek out at customers at this show. It's called Bijoux Belle and it's lovely. I am so wildly excited. More to come soon.

Then I wing my way to Knoxville, Tennessee to appear on JTV (that's Jewelry Televison, for those of you not in the know). I'll be selling my favorite tools and bringing soldering goodness to the masses via on air shopping. I'll remind you again a little closer to the date, but mark your calendars for Sunday, August 12 and Monday, August 13 at 7AM PST. If you don't get JTV on your cable provider, you can watch it live online here.

Next, I'm off to NYC with Jess to do some R&D for the upcoming official jewelry line debut. It's coming out full force at the NYC accessories show in January, so we are doing some scouting. Oh, New York! How I love you!

I bought this map in excited anticipation. Image via the website www.herblester.com.
Lovely stuff over there!

Then at the end of the month I have a not-so-top-secret-but-can't-elaborate-quite-yet-project that takes me to Denver CO. It involves soldering and my skills as a one-take-wonder.

Whew!

Okay. I also mentioned that I have a 20th Anniversary this month. It's my longest lasting relationship to date. This month I celebrate 20 years as a Jewelry Educator.

Yep. It was 1992, and I taught my first-ever jewelry class at The Bead Shop in Palo Alto CA. I owe a big thanks to the owner, Janice Parsons. She allowed me to really fly and reach the stars with my creativity and share my love of jewelry-making with the masses as the Class Director for her company. I left The Bead Shop in 2002 to forge my own path, and The Bead Shop closed its brick and mortar store in 2008. Now they are found online with wonderful beads, findings, tools and tutorials. Find them here.

To celebrate, I am hosting a few giveaways this month. Swing back by on Friday morning to enter the first one. I guarantee you'll want to enter. (Especially if you want to play with FIRE!)

It may or may not be my favorite torch. You'll just have to wait and see.

Maker Faire Giveaway

Contest is Closed! Thanks for playing!

As you may have heard, I am participating in the Maker Faire in San Mateo CA on May 19 & 20 and am so excited!

Maker Faire is (from the website) "a two-day family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement."

Imagine a bunch of really awesome people getting together to make all kinds of cool stuff. Technology, sewing, swords, knitting, Tesla Coils, robotics, a bunch of R2D2's, a Bazaar Bizarre... if you can make it, Maker has got it. Most of the demos are FREE and you can roam from place to place and make things and watch others make things. (Plus meet new people and have a generally great time!)

Sounds awesome, huh? It is. I went last year and am exited to participate this year. I am Maker #7865 and will be hosting "Ring Roundup - simple soldering techniques for jewelry making and will mentor willing observers to make their own ring right on the spot. No experience is required!" 

I'll have soldering set-ups right in my booth and anyone can come by and make a cool soldered ring. It's gonna be a make-a-ganza!

Do you wanna go? I am giving away two free passes to the Faire to one blog reader so you and a pal can experience the fun of Maker. Here are the details:

• Passes are good for the San Mateo Maker Faire May 19 & 20, 2012 only.
• The passes will be delivered via email and are redeemable at the Faire the day of the event.
• The passes have no cash value and are provided by the fine folks at Makezine. 
• One comment equals one entry. Post a link on your Facebook page, Twitter or blog and get another entry for each. Just make sure to comment separately for each act of social media sharing. 

I will select a random winner on Monday morning, May 14. Make sure that I have a way to contact you- no anonymous comments, please.
Okay, so I know what you are thinking... "But Kate, I WANT to go, but I live in Duluth, (or New Orleans, or Boston) and can't possibly get to San Mateo, CA for the Faire next weekend."

Well, I've got that covered. While I can't offer you an all-expenses-paid trip to come on out, I can still teach you to make rings... so if you win and can't use the tickets I'll send you my Soldered Rings and Bezels DVD instead. We can still make rings together, just not at Maker Faire.

Good luck and have a GREAT weekend!

What a whirwind!

Is May is just rushing by for you? I'll tell you, I think it's the last week of April but my calendar says today is May 8. I think the calendar is lying.

Just a quick check in today, but stop by the blog later this week for a giveaway (that is going to be really cool if I do say so!)

It involves this...

and this...

See you soon!

Valentine's Card Challenge

I was lucky enough to participate in the Valentine card challenge hosted by Michelle Mach. She sent out 20 cards to people who were up for the challenge. She has compiled a great pictorial of them over on her blog.

I made mine into a wall hanging with some added quilting.

And if you have not read about it already, I have more Valentines to give out to the next five commentors on the blog post from Sunday. Five are spoken for but there are five left! Click over and read all about it.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Have a Heart

Another result from my creative whirlwind. The Amour Necklace. Just in time for Valentine's Day.

It features the piece of patina-ed metal that I made earlier this weekend. I LOVE it. I wire wrapped a heart (a wonderful, flocked heart bead) and stamped and riveted a banner-shaped blank to the metal sheet.

I made a couple of my Rolled and Wrapped beads to accent the beaded strand.

And I fabricated a clasp from some scrap copper that I had practiced my stamping on. The stamping came out pretty well, so I thought I would use it for the clasp instead of throwing it on the scrap pile.

I have some of those hearts left over and thought I would share them with you. They are funny, flocked plastic but I kind of love them. I have saved a few for me, so I thought I would give the extras away to my readers.


If you would like one, just leave a note in the comments. (The hearts are spoken for) The first ten who ask, get one. I'll take care of the postage and throw in a few more beads as well, just for fun. You can make something with it, or just hang on to it. It's my Valentine gift to you!

Just make sure that I have a way to contact you in your comment. Then I can get your snail mail info privately and send your package off.

Happy early Valentine's and thanks for reading!