Rings & Things Blogs on ITS

Cindy at the Rings & Things blog made this amazing Alice in Wonderland bracelet and teahouse pendant using Sherri's ITS image transfer solution. Besides the great example of an ITS project, her blog has a great how-to (with photos!) on a different method for using ITS solution.


She uses an iron to heat-set the image and has some other tips that will help you have great results with your image transfer projects.

Cindy also shows how she uses ITS to seal inks onto metal, like on this peacock pendant and bee hairpin. She uses alcohol inks on metal, then sets the ink with ITS to make it permanent.

You can also mix ITS with the alcohol ink to create a permanent "paint" that won't wash or rub off. Either method requires heat-setting, which you can do in the oven, following the directions on the ITS package.

New ITS video and Contest

Are you curious about image transfer with Sherri's ITS products? Sherri and her crew have just finished a new video showing the process. Watch it here.

To celebrate the launch of the video, we're having a contest with great prizes from the Sherri Haab Shop. Show us what you've done with ITS. Send your photos to chelle@sherrihaab.com and we'll post them in our ITS album on facebook. Sherri will choose her three favorites, and the artists will receive prizes. All submissions should be received by Saturday, June 25th.

Artist Spotlight - Keith Lo Bue

While in Sydney, I met artist Keith Lo Bue. He attended my workshops at the Eclectic Studio where he frequently teaches. He also teaches in the U.S., and I have seen him at various retreats in the past, but I've never had the pleasure of talking to him about his art.


I love that he calls his art blog "Stuffsmith," because that's what he does--he makes all kinds of mixed media art out of stuff. These are all pictures of his work. You can see more at his blog here.


The electroplating really inspired him. I can't wait to see how he incorporates plating into his work.


Here is a blog post where he details the steps for electroforming a starfish. He then makes a ring with the copper starfish by cold connecting it to a broken teacup. How clever is that?


Keith's mixed media jewelry classes are very popular abroad and in the United States. If you can't catch him in person, he also sells e-books and DVDs on his website here.

Workshops in Australia

While in Australia, I taught a two-day workshop on electroforming and plating. I enjoyed the group and their enthusiasm. I especially appreciated their good humor when our copper plating solution was lacking the necessary acid needed for successful plating on the first day of class. It's not like I can travel with that stuff, so I'm at the mercy of local sources. I lost a bit of sleep that night trying to figure out how to rescue the pieces.

Luckily, Keith Lo Bue, a well-known jewelry artist and teacher came to the rescue. He was attending the class, and just happened to have some hydrochloric acid at home, which he brought in for day two. It worked great, and we were able to finish quite a few pieces. Then we proceeded to plate several of the pieces with gold, silver and nickel using prepared plating solutions. Check out the results in the photo above.

On the second day of the workshop, we etched on copper and then applied images on nickel silver. Then we riveted the pieces together to make mixed-media bracelets. I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures, but the projects were based on my sample shown in this photo.

Roz from Oz

After leaving New Zealand, I headed south to teach at the Eclectic Studio in Sydney, Australia. Roz Eberhard-Swan operates the studio, which offers jewelry-making classes in metal clay, polymer clay, resin and beadwork, just to name a few. On my first day in Australia, Roz arranged for me to take a boat tour of Sydney Harbor. The morning was perfect - clear and sunny.

In the afternoon, I walked along Pitt Street to check out the shops. Since it was Fall in the Land Down Under, so all of the new winter fashion lines were displayed. Surprisingly, I only bought one shirt, which was a good thing due to my impending luggage weight restriction to deal with on the flight home.


Since it was Easter weekend, the busiest shop downtown was Haigh's Chocolates. There was a long line just to get in the store. I checked back at the end of the day, and the line was shorter, so I stopped in. The chocolates were OK, but not much different from any other fancy chocolate shop, although none made it home to the family. Oops.

I still think places like See's Candies, headquartered in California, and Mrs. Cavanaugh's, made right here in Utah offer some of the best dipped chocolates to be found anywhere in the world, and I've done my best to sample chocolates in as many places as possible!


My one free day alone in the city was one I will always remember. Sydney is a place I will definitely visit again.

Fingers Jewellery in New Zealand

On one of my free days in New Zealand, Dan and I took a bus to downtown Auckland to visit museums and galleries. Our first stop was to an art jewelry gallery called "Fingers," which features fabulous mixed media jewelry.

I had visited the online site for years, and didn't realize it was in Auckland until the night before we went there. It was exciting to visit in person. One of my favorite jewelry artists is Karl Fritsch. I am admiring his rings in the photo below.

Dan remarked to the gallery keeper, "These look like they are made from Precious Metal Clay." She shuddered and said, "Noooooo," and then explained that they were made from silver and gold (which, incidentally, precious metal clay is made from).

She is not unusual in her aversion to metal clay. Jewelry galleries often shun the material. I don't get it, because other pieces in the gallery were made from thread, old cell phones, plastic shopping bags and even wiggle eyes! Yes, the plastic ones you glue on children's craft projects. Why is a wiggle eye more valid than a hand-sculpted piece of fine silver or gold?


Despite the gallery keeper's attitude toward Precious Metal Clay, we enjoyed our visit to the gallery. The unique jewelry there was a great source of inspiration.

Sherri and Dan's 25th!

Sherri and Dan celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in New Zealand on May 1st, where Sherri was teaching classes. Here is a picture of them back on the big day in 1986.

(Notice the Princess-Diana inspired sleeves!)

Sherri and Dan are an amazing team, working together for a quarter of a century, raising a family and supporting each other in their careers. Dan's day job is engineering, and he is also the brains behind the E-3 Etch and the E-3 Electroform machines. He can frequently be found assisting in Sherri's classes. Theirs is a true partnership. Congratulations, Sherri and Dan!