Art Jewellery Boot Camp

The second Boot Camp is all about texturing metal using things that you find around the house.  To be honest I nearly gave Boot Camp a miss this time.  Ordinarily, I go to a metal-working studio - the studio is very well equipped so I haven't needed to get many tools at home.  However, I've torn all the ligaments in my ankle (ouch!) and driving (and walking!) are pretty much out at the moment.  I haven't made it to the studio for a while - I'm missing it!!  When Boot Camp came around, I thought how can I do a metal-working challenge without all the tools I normally use?  But I'd had a lot of fun with the last Boot Camp and didn't want to miss out - so I decided that not only would I use household materials to texture metal, I would see what tools and materials I could find in my house too. 

I dug around in my household tool box and pulled out the heavy-duty hammer and a couple of copper washers.  Now to find something to texture with.  The answer came as I was mulling over a work problem in front of the laptop.  I always fiddle with things when I do this and this time I picked up a paper clip.  Eureka moment!  I hammered the paper clip in a random pattern onto the washers.  I cheated slightly on my self-imposed challenge of using only things I could find in the house and bought some Liver of Sulphur online to emphasise the paper clip texture.  I do all my resin work at home so I had those supplies.  I filled the centre of the washers with tissue paper and resin.  This added some colour but because it is tissue paper it remains somewhat translucent and the light still shines through.  Finally, I made some very basic ear wires and called them done. 

The paper clip held up surprisingly well to being battered with a hammer - though its days of clipping paper are definitely over!  I'd pulled out several clips expecting to have to use a few to get the job done.  But I used the same clip for both washers. 

So there you have it - a very simple design but the best I could do in the circumstances.  I suspect I'm going to be embarrassed by its simplicity when I see the intricate work that others have done!  Please take a look at what everyone has been working on.  I'm pleased with what I could achieve using things from around my house - but I'm still going to be scurrying back to the metal-working tools at the earliest opportunity!