A bit more starlight....

I said that I was going to explore the idea that I started when making a present for my lovely sister-in-law.  With that piece, I sandwiched silver ovals together with resin - leaving the black clear so the light can flood through.  This is a similar idea but I really wanted to get a more geometric look so I've been working on getting more angles into a silver shape.  This is what I came up with......

I used some labradorite wheels to finish off the necklace.  

Keum boo

I recently went to a Keum Boo workshop taught by the lovely Jo Tinley.  Keum Boo is an ancient Korean technique which allows you to attach 24 carat gold foil to silver.  Gold and silver have a similar atomic structure so, by using the correct heat and pressure, it is possible to get them to permanently bond together at an atomic level.  It feels a bit like alchemy!!

I made a couple of pieces in the workshop.  First, I cut out a shape from the gold foil using a punch and attached it to silver that I had textured (with Jo's favourite hammer!).  I also added a patina using liver of sulphur....

My second piece is a domed silver disc that I filled with scraps of the gold foil.....

I really loved the workshop - if you have a chance I would definitely recommend Jo's workshops.  The Keum Boo technique is great - I'm definitely going to keep experimenting with it - will let you know how I get on.  

Crushed Gemstones

I've been playing around with some crushed gemstones and seeing how they work with resin.  For this piece I made a domed silver disc and then filled it with crushed garnet and citrine - using resin to keep everything in place.

I was after a textured finish so I didn't dome over the top with resin - I was really just using it as glue.   I like fiddling with jewellery and I thought the texture would feel good to the touch.  

I finished the necklace off with a string of co-ordinating garnet nuggets.

Casting

Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with casting - using delft clay.  I've always been a little wary about casting because you have to get the metal crazy hot.  Being a bit accident-prone I was worried about accidently dropping red-hot molten silver on myself!  But I decided to be brave and give it a shot.  

I started with the handles of my Grandad's gardening cup.  There was quite a bit of silver in these but they were an awkward shape.  I decided to cast these into metal sheet that I could use for other projects.  It took a few attempts - either I didn't use enough silver or get it hot enough - so I got odd shaped sheets.  But eventually - like Goldilocks - I got it just right (bottom right)!  

They are still quite thick so I'll roll them out in the rolling mill and I'll have some useful silver sheet.

Bitten by the casting bug, I then decided to tackle my scrap pot.......

...and turned this.......

.....into this.....

....so much prettier!

The silver flower is cast from a pottery flower I made last year.  It is now looking rather grubby from being in the delft clay but I was pleased with how well it cast.  

The trouble with men

I find it challenging to decide what to make for men.  For women, I have loads of ideas but with men I'm a bit stumped.  However I'd set myself the challenge of a handmade Christmas so I needed to get thinking.  (Sorry, yes I know it is now February - it has taken me a while to show you these).  

First up, I made some cuff links for my brother.  I really enjoyed the challenge of making these - getting them identical (well almost!) and soldering lots of pieces of wire in close proximity (i.e. making sure I didn't melt things I didn't intend to!).  I've also used resin and mica for some colour and subtle shine.  

My Dad is a keen golfer - I am not!  So I had a search online for some ideas of what to make.  When I started making his present I thought I was making a golf marker.  However when I'd almost finished someone let me know that I'd actually made a divot repairer - who knew?!  I quickly decided to add some wire as a bit more reinforcement.  Fortunately, Dad seemed to know what to do with it!

If you have any ideas about what else I can make the men in my life please let me know.......

Hibernation

I seem to have entered a period of extended hibernation after Christmas!  I've been a bit focussed on matters closer to home.  But I think I'm emerging from hibernation again now though - spotting the first snowdrop in my garden at the weekend definitely perked me up!

I said that I'd show you what I had been making as Christmas presents for my nearest and dearest.  First up, this is what I made for my Mum.....

(Resin, Silver, Agate, Leaves)

This is similar to a necklace I've made before, but I changed it up by using skeleton leaves embedded in the resin rather than mother of pearl.  It is the first time, I've revisited a design and I definitely enjoyed working on perfecting a bit more. 

The Teeter Ring

My original plan for this ring was for the silver ovals to fit neatly inside each other but once I had them cut out I started playing.  I quickly decided that I preferred this fan shape - with the ovals teetering on top of each other......

Grandad’s Silver

I bought these pretty glass cabochons and have made them into a silver bangle.  They were so pretty that I didn’t want to lose any of the pattern so I set the stones with resin rather than rubbing the bezel walls down to capture the stone as I would normally. 

You’ll probably see some writing on the inside of the bangle.  The silver is from a cup that my Grandad won for gardening.  He was an amazing gardener – anything in his care would grow tall and strong, bursting readily into flower and fruit.  Actually he was a man of many talents – he was an incredible swimmer and an excellent upholsterer - not that many people would know these things about him because he was also a man of few words.  Anyway, back to the gardening.  He won the cup at his local gardening club so often that they eventually just gave it to him outright.  The cup sat at the back of a cupboard for many years (as you can tell by the tarnish on it - see below).  I’d heard about the cup but never seen it until my mum rang to say that she thought Grandad would want me to use the silver.  I did have mixed feelings about breaking up his cup - though I do like the idea that Grandad is still supporting me, as he always did. 

I’ve been using the silver from the cup for a while now - everything made in silver that you’ll see on this blog from October 2012 has been made from Grandad’s Silver – and there is still some left.  It has been a real gift, allowing me to try many things that I might not have done had I been worried about paying for the silver!  I particularly like using the parts of the cup with writing on, as in this bangle – it reminds me of where the silver has come from.  The parts of the cup with Grandad’s name on are particularly precious and are reserved for special pieces.  

Boot Camp - hoops

It is time for Boot Camp again - and this time it is all about hoops.  I don't know about you but when I think hoops, I automatically think earrings.  But I have a confession for you - I make jewellery but I don't have pierced ears.  People have looked at me incredulously about this for a while now but I've just never fancied having them done - plus I'm a bit of a baby about pain!!  I decided to make a pendant instead.

I made three silver hoops and textured two with different hammers and left one untextured.  Then I soldered them all together at the top.  While digging around in my scrap silver pot I came up with a perfect curled piece of silver that I'd chopped off a bezel I was making.  I soldered that at the top together with a silver ball (love making those!).  I also made a toggle clasp and then pulled everything together with some prehnite beads and a few black tourmaline rough stones.

I hope that you like the necklace.  Please go and have a look at everyone else's take on hoops - there is sure to be some interesting and inspiring work on show.

Pink and Sparkly

I don't normally do pink and sparkly but I got seduced by this Druzy cabochon.  It has a lovely sparkle to it which is hard to capture in a photo....

I decided to set it into silver and came up with this shape by putting the Druzy onto a piece of paper and doodling.  This is the shape that I liked best.  

I finished off the piece by adding some tourmaline beads.  Pink, delicate and sparkly - so not me, but I'm rather pleased with it!

Flourite pendant

I bought this gorgeous Flourite cabochon.  It really is lovely - lots of bands of colour running through the whole stone.  I wanted the stone to be the main focus so I kept the silver setting simple.  There is not much silver at all - I even cut out the back to let the light flood through the stone and show off those bands of colour.  

Shimmering leaves

I made the silver leaf and branch with silver and then filled them with resin and mother of pearl.  I wasn’t sure how this would work – I thought the mother of pearl might be too subtle up against the neckline.  However, I really like the effect – it really shimmers when it catches the light.  I was so pleased with it that I decided to make a matching clasp.  To finish it off, I found a mixed quartz strand and the colours worked perfectly.  

Quail's egg necklace

I really liked how my previous quail's egg necklace had come out so I decided to strengthen another quail's egg with resin and see if I could set it in silver.....and I could!........

(Sterling Silver, resin, quail's egg)

I kept the setting simple because I just wanted to see how it would work - I may try again and make something more elaborate.  I do like to have something to fiddle with and eggs have such a pleasing shape and texture - I'm loving having one around my neck to play with while I'm mulling something over!  

In unrelated news, Barbara has written a post about her favourite pieces from this month's Love My Art Jewelry Boot Camp.....and I got a mention!  Thanks Barbara!!

Art Jewelry Boot Camp

I recently came across a blog challenge that seemed right up my street.  The Art Jewelry Boot Camp - run by the Love My Art Jewelry blog - gives a tutorial on a particular technique and then challenges you to do something creative with it.  The first challenge was to make balled head pins (have a look at the tutorial if you want to know how).  I’ve done this before – for example for this necklace - so I thought I’d do something I haven’t tried and balled both ends of the head pin to make a link.  

First, I balled one end of the wire and strung on two of the silver rectangles.  I then bent the wire into a semi-circle and scooted both rectangles out of the way and balled the other end of the wire – taking great care not to melt anything I didn’t mean to!  It got quite challenging to keep everything out of the flame as the chain got long!!  Here is a close-up of the links so you see what I mean…..

I like a bit of asymmetry so I added a couple of extra rectangles as a tassle (using balled head pins of course!) on one side. 

Go and have a look at the blog to see what other people have done with their head pins - you won't be disappointed, there are some wonderful designs.  

Clips

Well, I’ve shown you my mum and sister-in-law’s Christmas presents so now we turn to the men in my life!  They are difficult to buy for at the best of times and even harder to make things for - it is difficult to think of something they may actually want or need.  However I’d set myself the challenge of a hand-made Christmas so I came up with these – clips for money/paper/anything you fancy.

(Left: Sterling Silver, Brass and Copper

Right: Sterling Silver)

Any suggestions for what to make them next year will be gratefully received....!!

The Egg Necklace

A while ago my sister-in-law showed me a picture of a necklace and asked if I could make her something similar.  The picture was of a beautiful, enamelled Faberge-style egg – and so was a bit beyond my skill set!!!   But I had a think about it and came up with this for her Christmas present...

(Sterling Silver, Ceramic egg, Glass Beads)

It is certainly not a Faberge egg but it, I think, has a certain charm.  Actually, it has set off a few ideas in my head – I think there may be a few more egg shapes turning up in my jewellery again.  

The Shard Necklace

A very happy new year to you!

For as long as I can remember my mum has had a collection of those intriguing little shards of pottery that turn up when you are digging in the garden – and I’ve picked up the habit from her.  I’ve also found a beach near where I live where you can find pottery shards.  I think there was a ferry that came up onto that beach many years ago - lots of cups of tea must have been drunk to celebrate reaching shore again!!

I’ve never really known why I’ve collected those shards – I just did it because my mum did – but now I’ve found something to do with them….

(Sterling Silver, Ceramic shards dug up in my garden, Resin and Glass Seed Beads)

I gave this to my mum for Christmas.  

The Moon and Seven Stars Pendant

It had to be done didn’t it? – a pendant to celebrate the name of this blog.  It is a continuation of the idea from my ‘Taking Flight’pendant – using a shape cut from silver along with the negative space it leaves behind.  I’ve made this pendant two-sided.  

If you are in the mood for silver you can choose this side….

But if you’d like a flash of colour choose this side……

(Sterling Silver and Resin)

People have asked me why I choose this particular name for this blog.  It is actually the name of a folk tune.  You may or may not know that I play the fiddle.  I think you would describe my playing as serviceable – I’m no great musician! – but I do enjoy it.

  

The Moon and Seven Stars is a jig that I learnt from a fabulous fiddle player – Carolyn Francis – when I used to play with the Lakeland Fiddlers (I moved house and play with a different group now).  It is a great tune, and I’ve always thought the name was pretty special, so I thought I’d borrow it!  It comes from the Winder manuscripts.  The Winder family came from Wyresdale, near where I live, and happily they kept manuscripts (from around 1790 to the start of the First World War) of the music they played.  Andy Hornby - a much more talented musician than I - has done some research on the Winders if you are interested. 

If you are curious how the tune goes, there are quite a few versions on YouTube – here is one on the mandolin…. 

….and if you can play music, the dots (sheet music) are available on Andy’s website.  

The Taking Flight Pendant

During a recent walk through the woods, I saw a Speckled Wood butterfly take flight - flitting ahead of me in the dappled light from the tree canopy.  I stopped and watched because I haven’t seen many butterflies this year – probably because of the very wet summer we’ve had here in the UK.  As I stood there, this idea came to me of a silver butterfly taking flight, pulling itself free out of a sheet of metal... 

(Sterling silver)

 I also took a picture of it on the woodland path where I saw the butterfly....

The Midland Ring

I recently went for afternoon tea at the Midland Hotel in Morecambe – for my good friend Julie’s leaving do from work.  The Midland is a newly renovated Art Deco hotel and you have tea in the Sun Terrace – where you get great views over Morecambe Bay.  I’m afraid I stuffed myself silly with the delicious cakes and scones! 
During my visit, I got rather inspired by the strong lines and geometry from the Art Deco period and this ring is the result.  I’ve had this sodalite stone in my stash for a while now.  The pattern is lovely on it so I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. 

(Sterling silver and sodalite)