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Playing with new aquamarine designs

One off design with a pair of aquamarine drops I had saved.

I've recently splurged on some aquamarine chips, rondelles and flowers. I adore aquamarine, but it can be rather expensive.
New beads are exciting, though. I can play around with designs, first on paper then in quick mockups of the actual pieces so that I can see if is works off the paper. This is rather similar to how I work in game design actually. They come together quickly and then I make more polished pairs out of the chosen designs.
Aquamarine looks good combined with sterling silver, but the colours really pop when combined with copper.
Here are some of those first mockups:

I liked the shape of number 1, but felt that the chips were too large for the size of earring I like to go for. I think they started to look a bit clumsy the more I looked at them. Using only three chips like in 4 and adding some more copper gave me a nice balance of the colours, but I don't know, I think the chips still look too large.
2 & 5 was attempts in making hoops that were the right size for the gemstones, but I'm not a fan of big earrings, so didn't fall in love with them.
Which do you prefer?

In the end I decided on number 3. I like the vertical design and swirl detail on the head pin. I also liked the idea of caging the stone from number 4 so came up with a different design incorporating that idea:

I also played around with handmade silver components and the beads cut to a flower shape. I think they turned out very cute and feminine, so I need to make a few more components, so I can put this one in the shop. I love playing with new designs. :o)

Sunday Project: Copper & Bronze Clay

Actually this is more of a full weekend project.
Ever since I first heard of metal clay I have been intrigued. metal that you can mould and shape like normal clay? Doesn't that sound so much easier than hammering, sawing and soldering let alone casting metal?


I had to give it a go. I've read around on lots of blogs about this and it sound like the silver clay is much easier to work with, especially if you want to torch fire - I don't have a kiln.
In fact I read several jewellers frustrated accounts about torch firing copper and bronze and that it just doesn't work.
A bit apprehensive I thought it might be time to take a real course instead of my usual diet of DVDs, blogs and Youtubes, so I signed up for a day with Natalia Colman, who was just about the only teacher I could find with copper and bronze on the menu.
I had a great Saturday. Natalia is a friendly, thorough and patient teacher, and the little group of four students was just right and great fun.
We went through the basics of conditioning the clay, rolling, stamping, shaping, moulding and so on, but it was the firing that I was mostly interested in.
The copper performed without a hitch both in the kiln and under the torch. It came out beautifully, but with considerably more firescale and oxidation on the kiln run. Nothing my Dremel couldn't fix, but it did offer a good deal more work on the finishing - obviously firing lots of pieces at once makes up for that, but if anyone has tips on how to avoid a thick crust on the kiln result then I'd love to hear about it.
I loved playing with the clay and I if I am going to make any larger amount of clay jewellery, then I think the kiln would be handy. By torch each piece has to be held at the right temperature for 7-8 minutes and it won't work with larger pieces.

The bronze was a lot more temperamental with lots of pieces breaking and down right 'exploding' in the oven. I have no idea why this is - calls for more experimentation. Under torch it was a bit more reliable, but still went wrong on one piece which simply did not fire all the way through despite being quite thin.


Above is my own attempt with the torch today. You can see it in all the stages. Another issue as you might be able to see is that the bronze comes out with a more matte colour and that it cannot be polished to a high shine like the copper can - even is sanded down to micro fine.
 Plus when it is finished the colour looks more like copper than bronze to me. I wonder if that's a comprimise the manufacturer has to make to get bronze to handle in clay.
We used the Creative Metal Clay brand - also known as Prometheus.
Here you can see a bronze leaf and a copper face. 

Bronze & copper comparison - electric light and sunlight

Don't they look awfully similar? Even holding the pieces in my hand there is hardly a difference in colour. I'm a bit disappointed with that. I wonder if other brands come out the same.
Given all the problems we had with the bronze I don't think it's worth it, really.


But all in all I am really pleased that the torch firing actually is easy to get right, which means I can experiment a lot more and really be sure about the clay before I invest in a kiln.


Addition to this post can be read here

Sunday Project - Venturing further into unknown territory

After a few very busy weekends (ask me about Barbershop Conventions another day!) this one was all mine. I was able to get back to playing with new designs and the postman delivered my new micro torch. Is it silly to be over the moon over my very first hand-crafted balled eyepin?

Anyway, the torch means that I can anneal my copper which was desperately needed because it gets so hard after you handle it just a little, and the sheet that I ordered a month ago arrived to rock solid that I could only manage to make the faintest mark in it with my also newly acquired letter stamp set. I was so disappointed. 

But today I could cut a little piece out, file it thoroughly, anneal it with my new torch, pickle it, then stamp and bend and oxidise and polish to my hearts content.

This is my very first copper sheet ring. I was going to write 'Hello world' which is the first thing I always write when faced with a new programming language, but in the end I decided it would look better with just hello.

I love how I can just keep exploring this craft of mine and learn new things.

I also bought myself a pair of beautiful new earrings from Cinnamon Jewellery. I love them. Tracy is so talented. She has used patina ink on them and it looks amazing. I must investigate that too; after all painting is something I already now a bit about.

Copper earrings with patina ink from Cinnamon Jewellery

New Copper Ring Designs

I find it quite hard to make rings, or rather, make rings that I like. Quite a lot of them feel far to chunky for me and if they're too intricate they might look gorgeous, but chances are they snag on clothing and such. I prefer my rings to be small and elegant, which I haven't quite managed to my satisfaction before.


Actually my main motivation to make rings lately have been to use one as a prop. You know how it is really difficult to gage the size of jewellery in those detailed close-ups? I've been searching for a prop that will go well in my shots and which gave shoppers a point of reference as to size. Coins and stamps can look neat in shot, but only Brits have a good sense of the size of a penny. So I thought a ring would be just right. While they vary a bit in size, I think they give a good reference.
I have made some sad attempts the last month, none of which I was happy with. They were hard to make and didn't look good in the end, but finally I had a breakthough.

I was playing around and arrived at the design above, which I am so pleased with. Might not be terribly original, but I think they look elegant and remind me of ferns unfurling.
The best part is that they can easily be varied so that each ring ends up being unique.






Now I can make rings to go with the earrings and I have the prop that I needed. Now to figure out how to place them in the shot without them stealing the attention :o)

Inspiration from Nature

Excuse me. That's my lunch you're eating.

I love taking photographs. This one I was lucky to get from my window if you can believe it. I set up my camera on a tripod hoping to catch the woodpecker I had seen visit nearly everyday. She is normally so skittish that once she's there it's no good trying to fetch the camera. 50 clicks later and I had this. If only the squirrel had been completely in the shot :o)

Quite often there is inspiration there for jewellery too, you just have to look:

Check out the string of pearls attached to this chestnut, and the spiky texture, next to soft inner fur, next to the ultra shine of the nut itself. Mot to mentin the colours of course. These are my favourite colours to work with.

Acorns. Symbols of life, shinyness against rough texture. Beautiful bronze and perfect size for a pendant.
My next electroform batch will include these liitle beauties. I have a stash of acorns waiting their turn, so stay tuned to see how they turn out.
In the mean time, you could also have a look at my delvings so far - star anise, flyers, pine cones and poppy pods.
http://folksy.com/shops/Nanfan?shop_section=preserved_nature

Hook Sizes and Oxidising

Normal size ear hooks

I know, sounds boring right? But I've discovered that when I design tiny dangle earrings, I always imagine them hanging right under the earlobe, and then I make the hook compare and they’re miles lower than what I expected and wanted. Bigger hoops can be gorgeous of course, but I want to be able to choose.

I decided to try and take them right back, See how small I could make ‘fish hooks’ and still have them hold the earring securely.

Compared to the new small ones

The bronze coloured one is as small as I could possibly get to fit on my own ear. I was concerned they might be easier to unhook by mistake, but actually, since they fit so snugly they feel a lot more secure than large swinging hoops.

I don’t know if my lobes are average size – it’s just not the thing I have been noticing before (but now I will ;oD ) so I decided to make my next batch of hooks, just slightly bigger than the smallest that worked for me.

Here they are, ready for the oxidising process along with some of my new wire designs.

Bright copper before oxidising

I don’t use Liver of Sulfur but an alternative called Platinol. It works superfast and is much less smelly.

After dipping in Platinol

After a bit of steel wool cleaning, I let the pieces tumble for an hour. My partner has made me a tumbling machine out of wood and old printer parts He is so handy that way :o)

After polish