Our May 2007 issue isn't on newsstands yet, but it is on my desk, fresh from the printers. I know that the economic news is getting a lot of us down, especially when it comes to buying supplies that have zoomed upward in cost per ounce. For our latest issue (which will arrive either through your mailslot or on your local newsstands at the beginning of April), we've collected a few projects that use copper — which is a great way to save money when you're making jewelry. Each of the projects that use copper use it in conjunction with other materials. It can form the majority of a bangle, dressed up with costlier silver, or metal clay accents, or it can be a way to add a splash of color — copper takes a lovely heat-patina, darkening and brightening to an intense cherry red. 

I suppose it's only fair to admit that I love copper. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry that I ever made was a very simple pair of copper earrings; I roll-printed the copper sheet, then cut out disks and domed them, linked them with very simple drilled holes and balled-up wire, and then applied the torch to bring them up to a lovely terra-cotta color. I've always loved intermingling copper jump rings with silver to make varicolored chain mail. Copper is versatile and cheap and funky by nature — and I'd love to get more copper-based projects into the magazine. The low cost of the material means that experimentation isn't just possible or encouraged, it's demanded. Go ahead, go on and play!

And, speaking of chain mail, we've got a new project up on line for our subscribers. John Fetvedt made a lovely pair of hoop earrings linked with a half-Byzantine chain pattern. If you want to download a pdf of the project, you can find it here. Now... what would they look like in copper?