My Story

I'm a girl from a small town in Ohio living in a beautiful coastal town in Florida. I'm married to my very supportive high school sweetheart and we have a beautiful fur baby, Hula. I studied interior design in college and after several career reincarnations I am now here, living the unexpected life of jewelry designer and absolutely LOVING it!!! This blog chronicals my journey through this wild and exhilarating and sometimes exasperating world of jewelry making from idea to fruition!

My art is available at Old Florida Gallery and Outdoor Center in Englewood Florida

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Jewelry Tumbler Care



I use my tumbler pretty much daily, it gets quite a workout! When the steel shot gets dark, sluggish, and less effective I employ a couple of methods for cleaning it, depending on what I have on hand at the time. Apple cider vinegar and a bit of water or soda pop (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, RC Cola, or generics), though I rarely have this in the house. If you plan to use soda pop make sure you pour it into a glass and add a tablespoon of granular sugar first before adding it to your tumbler, or you'll end up with a colossal mess! The sugar will remove the carbonation and you'll be left with just the soda as a cleaning agent.  Be certain to rinse your shot and tumbler thoroughly after cleaning, so you don't contaminate the next batch of pieces you tumble. Side note; I use a little original Dawn detergent and water as the lubricant in my tumbler. It works great, lasts forever, and it's much more cost effective than burnishing compound!
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