All kinds of stuff

Copper Leaf Earrings

Wasabi Free Form Polymer Clay Earrings

Faux Ceramic Beads

Yes that's me over the last couple (three four?) weeks.

So first re-visiting the copper leaves, it was such fun I did it twice. These are fold-formed and the lovely autumnal colour and veining is a by-product of that technique. The colour gradation is due to the centres being folded over and protected from oxygen while they are being heated and they get darker nearer the edges where more oxygen can get to them. I've protected the patina with a smidge (technical term) of Renaissance wax

Faux Ceramic Polymer Clay Earrings

The new extruder called for more than just bangles and retro cane and I'd got a book about quilling from the charity shop . . .  so voila polymer clay quilling. That was fun to do especially since they are ASYMMETRICAL and IRREGULAR which really scares the husband.











Then more stuff with the extruder making tubes (thanks to a pinterest poster who linked to austinpolymerclayguild.blogspot) with my homemade make your tubes hollow contraption. And doing a faux ceramic thing on them (again from pinterest but I did not to my shame re-pin so can't give them credit but just so you know it was not my idea). Having extruded (getting my money's worth out of it oh yeah) some thin strings.

Pause for breath




 Which lead to some more earrings

The end 

Ooops forgot the title

Blue Rose Pendant

It's that long since I've been here.

So here I am Sunday afternoon unable to get in my studio since TS needs my PC to type up his dissertation. It's based around online communities so I thought I would share what has been going on with me.

Been making a whole load of enamels which are now featured on Bejewelled Swan.

You might be able to tell that I have been having a bit of a love affair both with my cog stencil and cats eye beads.  Every time I think I have had enough of them I get drawn back.

Violet Pendant

Green Machine Earrings

 I was going to get a bit more silversmithy and 3D (but with copper obviously) and got my torch out all ready to start soldering up a storm. That was shortlived as I appear to have broken both my micro torch and my slightly bigger plumbers torch. They don't like getting dropped on the floor who'd a thought it?

Maybe it's the gods way of telling me to get a proper jeweller's torch or maybe give it up who knows. Personally I prefer the retail therapy option.

Navigator Pendant

Once more for luck

Almost impossible to photograph earrings

I know I said it was the end of the herringbone but I had these funky orange and blue beads and this orange and blue wire. What's a girl to do?

Other than get some stuff in her MISI shop - maybe I'll be in time for the January sales.

Herringbone a bit more

Wire wrapped earrings

Not quite part two but a bit more than part one.

I tried to get a pic of the back of these as they are fascinating the way the wire wraps round the back snuggling the beads into sort of a hammock.

reverse herringbone earrings

Doesn't quite capture what I see but maybe that's because the "snuggle factor" is all in my mind.

Can't decide if I should leave the copper bright or darken them. Ah decisions decisions.

That's it then not worthy of a whole part but I rather wanted to share. All together now . . .aaaah

Tricksy Red

Red Enamel Heart Earrings Sold

I am so so pleased with these earrings and someone who hasn't played with enamel will probably be wondering why.

Well it's because they are red you see and I can hear you saying "well yes I can see that" or words to that effect. But it is their very redness that is wonderful getting red enamel is not the tricky part you can buy it from anybody who sells enamel but keeping it red, for me at least, that's the tricksy part.

It goes into the kiln red but some distraction like cat tomfoolery happens and it comes out just ten seconds too late and a very fetching shade of bronzy brown which is actually overfired red. Attractive enough but not red. These are RED

and another set

enamel and fine silver foil on copper strung on jasper  and glass cube beads 

£35

 This is the second of the earring and pendant sets I made. I've used gemstone beads again, this time jasper plus some little glass cubes.

The silver foil is fine (ie pure) siver and it bonds with the enamel during firing.

The photos are a little dark as Dora decided to "help" by batting one of my lamps onto the floor and breaking it. I can't help but think it was in revenge for being shooed out of the light box

enamel and fine silver foil on copper £10

Two in a row

Tuquoise green and chestnut brown enamel on copper with chrysocolla
Earrings £12 Pendant £35

So here I am again, how about that? Two days in a row.

The enamels here were made with the chrysocolla beads in mind as I've always thought they would go really well with copper. Of course they are in my new favourite shape too.

I don't often make sets/suites of jewellery except for my friend who likes to co-ordinate her look perfectly probably because I'm a bit more thrown together myself.

To be honest they remind me of chocolate limes which is perhaps why the minute I finished them I baked some fairy cakes they look good enough to eat though I say it myself as shouldn't. I wouldn't recomend it though

Wheels in wheels

Wheel Pendant

 Moving on from my obsession with coils.

Another shape I return to time after time is this cog shape. influenced partly by all the steam punk jewellery there is around and started by my need to just plain fiddle about with stuff. My cog stencil started life as a Tipex mouse I had at work.

Once I had wasted all the correction stuff (tape?) by drawing pictures with it while talking on the phone and colouring them in with highlighter pens.  I naturally had to take it to bits.

Wheel Earrings
Sold

And discovered this fabulous stencil round about the same time as I was learning enamelling at my jewellery class. The rest is history and wasted stationary.

Ear ear

Oval earrings enamel on copper with sterling silver ear wires

Hearts earrings enamel on copper

I've been having a bit of an enamel/earring phase lately

I love the effect of the turqouise enamel over the flux on these oval dangles combined with the multicoloured bits. They remind me of tropical fish.

Enamels can be a bit unpredictable especially when you are easily distracted. The hearts were supposed to be scarlet but I overcooked them (this is why the other half does most of the other cooking in the house).

Still,  I like the effect  so don't let on it wasn't deliberate it can be our little secret.

Black on black

Black "jet look" necklace
Sold

Boxed up with matching earrings

A friend recently asked me for a plain black necklace complaining she had big chunky black necklaces and cheap shiny looking black necklaces but nothing simple.

Colour is really my thing so I wasn't thrilled at the prospect but when I sat down to work it proved to be an absorbing challenge to create interest from texture and shape yet stick with simple.

The end result a combination of glossy black glass discs and beads along with matt textured polymer clay beads reminds me of Whitby, the jet and the place. I usually make my own catches but this silver one that I found in my stash seemed to suit the mood. A pair of matching strud earrings is the icing on the cake for my friend who likes to co-ordinate her look perfectly.