Showing posts with label sliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sliver. Show all posts

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Bright and early this morning...


I woke up bright and early this morning because the idea of this pendant was swimming in my brain. Maybe it came to me in my dreams; I do dream of jewelry these days! Anyway, I started working on this at 7:30 this morning and just finished it. It's a reversible pendant with copper on one side and sterling silver on the other side. I drilled identical holes into each side and soldered them together using a fine silver center strip between the two. I'm so happy with the way it looks and all the technical aspects of making it went well too. Funny thing though, I ran it through my tumbler for a while to polish and clean it. When I took it out, the center of it was filled with steel tumbler shot pieces that had slid inside through the little holes! I had to shake them out one at a time; that took about 15 minutes and a lot of chuckles. At least I can be confident that the inside is nice and clean! I've titled this piece "Opposites Attract".
I've spent a lot of time this week making jewelry. I finished a pendant yesterday and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out as well. It's a beautiful Candelaria Variscite stone from Nevada. I love the color of this stone and the little sterling dots I added to the side. I've called this one "Tranquility".
I've also made several pairs of little post earrings with some Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and Garnet cabochons. I'll be listing them on etsy early next week and bringing them to the Handmade Harvest open house next weekend in Redmond.
The rest of the week I'll probably spend getting ready for the open house; planning my display, printing earring cards, labeling everything... not really making much jewelry. I don't do "shows" often, although I've done a few home shows. I enjoy seeing people's reactions to my jewelry and hearing their comments. That's something I miss with on-line sales. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and meeting new people next weekend!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Viking Knit - the finishing touches

Today, I finished the Viking knit bracelet for my client. First, I used sterling silver wire to secure end caps to the ends of the weave. Then I attached the clasp. At this point, I had a shiny sterling silver Viking knit bracelet.

To bring out the weave better, this bracelet is going to be oxidized, using a hot liver of sulfur solution. I dipped the bracelet in the solution, which gives it a black appearance. But clearly, my work isn't done yet.

I spend a good deal of time carefully rubbing off the oxidation from the outside of the bracelet, using steel wool and polishing cloths. This leaves the outside with a silver finish and the inside still oxidized. Doing this adds wonderful depth and definition to the weave and really makes it stand out. I love it! I hope my client loves it too.

The finished bracelet!