Rockhounding and Cabachon Jewelry

[Cheryl Libby]

I am an avid rockhound and also make cabachons to wire wrap for jewelry. I own a All-In-Wonder cabbing unit from Inland and it travels with me in my trailer. I can go out to a local river or rock area, dig up some neat stones and take them back to camp and make cabs and then wire wrap them. I sell them at small local gallery in Belgrade MT called Grey Fox Gallery. Last week I had a lady come and buy about $2000 worth of jewelry. It is turning into a hobby that pays for itself and pays for the gas on a trip. I also sell them to people that notice them in the camps we stay at. The best of all worlds when you can get your materials for free and with a little time cutting and shaping you have a saleable product and I have fun doing it.
I even show people and their children how to make their own stones. They get a real kick out of it.
Pictures of my machine and some of my cabachon jewelry is included as attatchments.

[Marinab]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Libby

I am an avid rockhound and also make cabachons to wire wrap for jewelry. I own a All-In-Wonder cabbing unit from Inland and it travels with me in my trailer. I can go out to a local river or rock area, dig up some neat stones and take them back to camp and make cabs and then wire wrap them. I sell them at small local gallery in Belgrade MT called Grey Fox Gallery. Last week I had a lady come and buy about $2000 worth of jewelry. It is turning into a hobby that pays for itself and pays for the gas on a trip. I also sell them to people that notice them in the camps we stay at. The best of all worlds when you can get your materials for free and with a little time cutting and shaping you have a saleable product and I have fun doing it.
I even show people and their children how to make their own stones. They get a real kick out of it.
Pictures of my machine and some of my cabachon jewelry is included as attatchments.

You have some very nice pieces Cheryl. Very good work. I just went out on my first rockhunt two weeks ago. The guys gave me a hammer and safety goggles and I went to work. What a blast. Now I have to fit this new hobby in between camping and pottery.

[Cheryl Libby]

Originally Posted by Marinab

You have some very nice pieces Cheryl. Very good work. I just went out on my first rockhunt two weeks ago. The guys gave me a hammer and safety goggles and I went to work. What a blast. Now I have to fit this new hobby in between camping and pottery.

Did they guys show you all the nice Levarites. LOL Those are the rocks people pick up and show others for identification and you tell them its a Levarite. You 'Leave a right there' lol for all those rocks you cant do anything with.

[Deb & Chuck]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Libby

I am an avid rockhound and also make cabachons to wire wrap for jewelry. I own a All-In-Wonder cabbing unit from Inland and it travels with me in my trailer. I can go out to a local river or rock area, dig up some neat stones and take them back to camp and make cabs and then wire wrap them. I sell them at small local gallery in Belgrade MT called Grey Fox Gallery. Last week I had a lady come and buy about $2000 worth of jewelry. It is turning into a hobby that pays for itself and pays for the gas on a trip. I also sell them to people that notice them in the camps we stay at. The best of all worlds when you can get your materials for free and with a little time cutting and shaping you have a saleable product and I have fun doing it.
I even show people and their children how to make their own stones. They get a real kick out of it.
Pictures of my machine and some of my cabachon jewelry is included as attatchments.

Lovely work Cheryl, particularly your wire wrapping, where and how did you learn to do that? We are beginner rockhounds in the last 1 yr.+ and active in a rock club out of Portland, Oregon. We go on digs and are trying to learn all we can about rocks and learn to use the machines and equipment... so fun!
Deb

[Cheryl Libby]

Hi-ya Deb,

I work with a wonderful man named Edward Drake from Rockcraft Gems. He has been my mentor for about 10 years now. At first it was just collecting rocks then it became "What do I do with all the great looking rocks". I started just making cabochons then what to do with those lol. I decided wire wrapping was the easiest and showcased the cabs much better then other methods. I got in touch with Rio Grand and purchased some smaller Gage silver wire. I tried hard, half hard and dead soft in square and round. I discovered I worked best with the square dead soft. I also use the rubber dip on my bending tools to prevent scratches. If you want some detailed info send me an email at vixenridge@msn.com and I will send you a bunch of links I used to help me learn cabbing and wire wrapping. Also Ed sells really nice equipment for real good prices. His joy is in perpetuating the love of rock hounding and doing something with them. I am lucky to live close enough for hands on training. I am in Utah right now but sometime if you are passing thru Montana and I am home you would be more then welcome to come by and see my rock workshop and try out some of the equipment.

Cheryl

[Marinab]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Libby

Did they guys show you all the nice Levarites. LOL Those are the rocks people pick up and show others for identification and you tell them its a Levarite. You 'Leave a right there' lol for all those rocks you cant do anything with.

LOL, nope, the guys just kept asking if I had one of these and one of those and here's a good specimen for you. It was great. I'm taking them over to my brother's place on Vancouver Island this weekend to show him. He's also a rock hound.

[Dave Bese]

I'm basically a mineral specimen collector but I will go after whatever is out there; agate, jasper, petwood, or fossils. While I will tumble a few, most end up decorating the garden. You could fill a 5 gallon bucket in minutes out there.

I'm heading out Friday for a 45 day excursion thru ID, MT, WY, SD, NE, CO, AZ, NV, CA and OR. Perhaps our paths will cross.

[highlandsgirl]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Libby

I am an avid rockhound and also make cabachons to wire wrap for jewelry. I own a All-In-Wonder cabbing unit from Inland and it travels with me in my trailer. I can go out to a local river or rock area, dig up some neat stones and take them back to camp and make cabs and then wire wrap them. I sell them at small local gallery in Belgrade MT called Grey Fox Gallery. Last week I had a lady come and buy about $2000 worth of jewelry. It is turning into a hobby that pays for itself and pays for the gas on a trip. I also sell them to people that notice them in the camps we stay at. The best of all worlds when you can get your materials for free and with a little time cutting and shaping you have a saleable product and I have fun doing it.
I even show people and their children how to make their own stones. They get a real kick out of it.
Pictures of my machine and some of my cabachon jewelry is included as attatchments.

This is Awesome!!! People think I'm crazy for all the rockhounding I do. I just started making cabachons after scoring a Geni diamond cutter/grinder and polisher.
I belong to a rock club locally and they are now offering a table for selling handmade items.
Good for you, this is a great hobby! You do a wonderful job, your jewlery is gorgeous!

[Cheryl Libby]

Originally Posted by Dave Bese

I'm basically a mineral specimen collector but I will go after whatever is out there; agate, jasper, petwood, or fossils. While I will tumble a few, most end up decorating the garden. You could fill a 5 gallon bucket in minutes out there.

I'm heading out Friday for a 45 day excursion thru ID, MT, WY, SD, NE, CO, AZ, NV, CA and OR. Perhaps our paths will cross.

Hello Dave,
When you go thru Montana give a good friend of mine a call and maybe he can lead you in the right direction for some nice rocks. His name is Edward Drake and is in the local phone book under Rockcraft Gems.

Cheryl

[Dave Bese]

Thanx Cheryl. I located his eBay page and sent him a warning . . .I mean message about my appearance

[Cheryl Libby]

For all of those that have emailed me for information on cabbing and rockhounging here are some links and book suggestions.

Here are a few of the links I use for my necklaces.

http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/oplc_cab.shtml

http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/oplc_cab2.shtml

http://www.wirejeweler.com/index.html

http://jewelrymaking.about.com/od/pendantswrappedcabs/ss/wire-wrap-cabochon.htm

Mackintosh Jewelry Studios Home

Hope these get you on the right track. You will devleope your own style as you go. Also check out these books.

Wireworks: An Illustrated Guide To The Art Of Wire Wrapping by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Gem Cutting Shop Helps by Hugh Leiper and Pansy D Kraus (out of print but is available on sites like Amazon.com)

Wire Wrapping: The Basics and Beyond by Jim McIntosh from the macjewels link. Available in book form or instand download.

Hope this helps.