cholla

At the risk of getting a million different opinions, I'll throw this question out there as I need to make a pen for a 40 year old female professional. It will be paired with a piece of cholla cactus that I've stabilized and cast in epoxy. I have several pieces that I've cast, but this will...

Cholla cactus embedded with turquoise.

Cholla cactus embedded with crushed turquoise.

Cholla cactus embedded with crushed turquoise.

I really like the way the Cholla cactus pens turn out. I call this one Cholla Summer.

Some more Cholla experiments, and some different kit choices. Sierra Grip w/red - the red fill continues to be my favorite. This was for a female doctor. Pretty sweet. I continue to really like how classy the Sierra Grip is whenever I do one. Jr. Gent w/black - this was for a female bank...

I was originally thinking I'd do a Sedona with this, but the cap trim ring on the Sedona just seemed to clash with the pattern of the cholla. I had some extra red Alumilite that I had dumped into a tube when I cast the cholla... So I switched to a Baron and tried to do something just a bit more...

When I did my first cholla, I actually did two blanks, but one of them "bled out" - the allumilite found a hole or seam in the tape that I had used to wrap up the cholla and leaked out. The leak was midway up the cholla, so I ended up with "half a blank". I recall seeing someone who had...

Gathered up some cholla when I was in Arizona two weeks ago and tried filling it with some ruby red Allumilite. I painted the tubes red, and in hindsight, I think I might have liked white better - I think the red could be a little brighter. This is the first time I've tried to make a cholla...

A few recent pens from my shop. The Orange & Pearl Cholla and Blue & Pearl Cholla Sierras are two casts from the Alumilite I won during the Birthday Bash. The Sweet Gum Balls Sierra, is cast in clear resin. I reverse panted Metallic Blue. The Sweet Gum Blank came from Bobspenfactory. This...

This is how I crush stones for pens. I may have learned it here? (don't remember) but thought a new person may like to know. Crushing Stone for Cholla and Turquoise Pen Making. DIY - YouTube

I finally made it back into the shop tonight and finished a bangle that I had started a month ago. Shees! I will be glad when fall comes so I can let up on the yard work :) This is a women's size 8 copper (wide) and alumilite potted cholla bangle. I finished it using CA and the foam wiper...

Here are some pictures from my latest project making a woman's bangle (bracelet) from a alumilite cast piece of cholla and a stainless steel metal core. I started with a 4 in cast cholla puck that I purchased from a fellow who sells it for turkey calls. I then used hole saws to cut the bangle...

Well, tonight I finished the last step in completing 20 pens that will be given as speaker's gifts at an upcoming Knowledge Management conference in Houston. I could not have completed this without lots of reading, asking questions and getting some great tips and advice from the members here...

I have done a little bit of research on here about casting cholla and done a few successfully using Silmar 41. I love the way Curtis' blanks turn though and after watching his videos I thought I would give Alumilite a try. I first used some Alumilite regular just because I had some available...