And here it is!
The finished piece! I used a bit of light blue gilder's paste on the front to give it a bit of color. The design was cleaned up a bit more after this picture was taken, and was given to my mom soon after. I forgot to get a true final picture.
This one was a lot of fun to make, even with all the troubles. I had to saw the two pieces apart once after accidentally soldering it closed. There was also the frustration in getting the hinge properly attached. The two outer knuckles of the hinge had to be attached to one plate, while the middle hinge was attached to the other and yet they needed to be soldered perfectly in line in order to fit the hinge pin. *whew!*
I really want to try making one of these again on my own, but I'll definitely need to acquire quite a few tools before that can happen. Ah, well!
Oh, and I should mention... I got a great shine on this piece after putting it in a tumbler with stainless steel shot and some dawn soap for a half hour or so. Definitely an important finishing step if you want your piece to really sparkle!
This next project took me around 10 Saturdays to complete, so I think it should take at least two posts to properly show it off.
I took a locket making class at my local university and knew it was going to be for my mother. The perfect Christmas present, right? Well, this one actually took so long to complete that she didn't actually get it until February. *blush*
So here are the pieces after they had been cut out from the sheet metal.
So, the way this worked was I cut two circles from 20 gauge silver sheet metal which would become the outer part of the locket. Then I cut two circles from 26 gauge silver which became the bearing plates for the inside of the locket. As you can see in the piece to the far right, after doming the large pieces and soldering the cut out circles/bearing plates on, you create a place to insert pictures inside the locket!
Here is a close up of the design I chose to put on the front. It is always best to have the design in place before doming or soldering the pieces!
Here is an excellent step by step tutorial for making a locket! Really, I think my instructor must have taught the class from this tutorial!
I just also want to say that you definitely need a good amount of soldering experience before attempting a project like this. I still count myself a soldering beginner and this project was a bit... difficult. At one point, I actually soldered the entire locket together! It was definitely the hardest part in my opinion!
Next time I'll have some pictures of the finished product!
Here it is! Rivet and all!
An exciting first project. I already have a few more planned that I will have to make as soon as I can get my own jeweler's saw and the rest of the equipment. As for my next class, we are going to make a silver ring and I have to start thinking on the design for it.
Oh, here is an excellent video tutorial for riveting!
Here is another wire wrapped labradorite pendant! This time I added in a bit of copper and I am really loving the effect!
Additionally I have been trying a new type of crafting. Recently my boyfriend has become interested in brewing. It is an interesting process, so I am going to try a bit of brewing myself. He likes to make beer, but I am interested more in wines and mead, so this weekend I am going to start the process of creating a Maple Mead. I found the recipe here. Should be interesting and I definitely can't wait for the taste testing!
Hee hee! Yep, been a bit since I posted last! Vacation lasted a bit longer than I thought it would, so there was a little lack of crafting.
Anyways, I am back now and have crafted a few things since my last post. I am so enamored with the labradorite cabochons, that I went on a wire wrapping spree and finished wrapping all five stones that I purchased. I'll post the three newest ones below. Two were still working from the original tutorial that I had posted.
The newest is slightly different, but I definitely like how it turned out. I would love to try it again with a thinner stone.
I am so attracted to these stones, that it is hard for me to want to try and work on anything else. I think after a few more of these, the novelty will wear off slightly and I will be able to move on to a new tutorial. I have a few already in the queue, but I am not sure which one will be next. We shall see!
Let's see... I tried out the tutorial below for the Wire Wrapped Rock, but unfortunately I had the wrong sized stone. I had to do things a bit differently, but for my first wire wrapped stone pendant, I think this one turned out well! It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, so I think I will just end up keeping this one.... Here it is!
I just love labradorite! Such pretty colors. I have a few more labradorite cabochons coming in the mail, so I will have to try this tutorial again! Also, I think for my next one I am going to try oxidizing the wire afterwards for an antiqued look. I guess I will update again when I get a chance to test this next time.
I have been looking around and have found quite a few different projects to try. Of course, I just don't have the right materials for most of them.
This is the one I would like to try next: Wire Wrapped Rock. I have most of the materials for this one, but I am waiting for a few things to come in the mail, so it will be a bit before I can get started.
The author of this tutorial, Dev Khan, has done some amazing work and I can only hope that in the future I can become even half as good an artist as her!
And now it is 4 am. Really need to stop posting so late when my writing and brain functions become fragmented....
Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that I did finish my second crop circle pendant! Here is the finished product:
It isn't exactly like the crop circle pictured, but I think it turned out well! Need to find a new one to start on!
Getting close to finishing my first crop circle pendant! This one took quite a bit of work to make!
Looking at it now, I think it is actually a bit bigger than I had originally expected to make. I like it though! I found some pretty garnet beads for embellishment and everything seems to have come together quite well. I still plan on wire wrapping the surrounding circle as well.
At the same time, I am around halfway through knitting a scarf for my grandmother! I made a scarf for a friend at Christmas and while I was making it, my grandma loved to come by and pet it. She is a better knitter than I will ever be, having made me two blankets and a huge lovely afghan for my mom, but I don't think she has ever had anyone knit anything for her. I chose a multicolored purple yarn for her since purple is her favorite color. Sadly, me being me, I started this scarf back in January. I stopped knitting on it months ago, but now I am determined to finish it up for her! It will definitely be ready by winter! Hee hee!
I used this pattern called the Tipsy Rib Scarf. I love this pattern because since it is so repetitive, I don't need to carry around instructions. Great project for beginning knitters!
Found my camera! Yay!
So, first of all I finally put that copper wire pendant I made onto a chain. Also added a few beads. I really like how this one turned out and I almost hate to send it away.
This next one was made with picasso jasper beads with a few turquoise beads thrown in. I just love how every jasper bead is so different! Also, I got the idea for the clover head pin from this web page. Apparently there is a tool called a WigJig that is specially made to form wire loops, but it is quite easy to get the same effect using only a pair of round nose pliers.
Lastly is a necklace I whipped together using these pearlescent glass beads that have been sitting around in my jewelry kit for years. Quite a simple design, but I just really like these colors.
That is all for now. Just waiting for my new glass etcher to arrive in the mail! Yay!
So here is a picture of the hat on my boyfriend! It fits perfectly! Sadly I just realized it is kind of hard to see the fit in this picture, but it really does look great on him!
In other news, I had some 16 gauge wire left over from other projects, so this next pendant kinda made itself... My first time making anything like this!!
I found a great tutorial on basic wire weaving techniques from Jewelry Lessons which gave me the idea for the woven parts. Otherwise, it was made purely with my own imagination!
I am thinking about finding this pendant a black chain to hang from since I think that would make it "pop" more than a copper chain.
For the next project? I really have no idea at the moment....
