Sparkling Rampage

The Greatest Idea in the Universe

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Many months ago, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It was late at night and I had to get up early the next morning and I really, really needed to get to sleep, when suddenly I was struck by a glorious idea. It was astounding! Astonishing! Amazing! And I knew that any chance of sleep had fled in light of this idea, and I felt a powerful urge to leap from bed and get started on implementing this most grandious idea--except that I knew I hadn't all the materials for it and anyway I seriously needed to sleep.

Sleep was long in coming since I couldn't get the idea out of my head. But soon enough, soon enough I managed to get everything together to get my plan in action and see this idea come to fruition.

Banana fruition.

Meet Bananatee.

He is yellow fleece on top and white fleece on the bottom, with a happy winking eye and a totally peel-able zipper-lined banana skin in which he hides. The banan is the same yellow fleece on the outside, and lined with white fleece on the inside.

Bananatee was a gift for a friend and the easiest wrap job ever: I put a Del Monte sticker on the banana and threw the banana in a plastic grocery bag. Here's to Bananatee, winking his way into the hearts of people everywhere!

Tweedatee

2011-10-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

So it's been, er, five months. But I return with a post! A post of manatees! I have made copious amounts of them and the backlog is staggering, so I'll be starting small and posting a few at a time, which shouldn't be hard considering that I've yet to take pictures of most of them.

For starters, here's Tweedatee.

Tweedatee likes to drink tea out of a porcelain teacup while reading the newspaper.

He appreciates art. He just doesn't appreciate people telling him what they think it is.

His favorite foods are frosted animal crackers, cheese rolls, and crumpets--because tea goes with all of those things.

His top is tweedy material and his bottom is gray fleece, sewn with three black buttons exactly as Tweedatees prefer.

Goldatee

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

He's already made his star-studded debut elsewhere, so it's not like he's never seen the light of the internet before--nevertheless, we shall now present none other than the illustrious Goldatee!

Basically, I want this diamond-studded 24k Gold History Edition iPad 2 by Stuart Hughes, which has to be one of the most ridiculously embellished luxury items evarrrrr. But since I lack the $8 million necessary to buy one, I made myself a gold manatee in consolation.

He's super blingin' in the sunlight. But what his exterior doesn't show is that his interior looks like a pair of jeans.

Like so:

Humble beginnings.

The wrong side of the cloth has this blue denim appearance, although the material is much thinner and the texture much smoother. Thanks to the gold-yellow thread that I used, the pair-of-jeans illusion is complete.

I turned him rightside-out, stuffed him, sewed him up, and beheld a sadly eyeless manatee.

"There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

With the help of some embellishment glue and a pair of acrylic rhinestones, he became sighted!

In retrospect, I think I should have glued his eyes on before stuffing him--possibly even before he was completely sewn together. The glue holds fairly well to the material since it's textured, but because the material is stiffer, it doesn't quite lie smooth around his face and the wrinkles prevented the eyes from lying completely flush. I rigged them with some ribbon and books as weights to hold the eyes flat while drying, but it wasn't quite wholly successful. But for the nonce his eyes seem pretty well attached.

When it rains, it pours.

2011-05-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

I've been kicking around an idea for a raincloud pendant for a while and finally got around to implementing my vision several weeks ago. I found this fantastic glitter-and-black-flecked gray Fimo and voila!

This was also my first serious go at wire-wrapping top-drilled beads. It was, uh, an interesting experience. I ended up making it harder on myself because I was a doofus and not thinking about how, you know, these are tiny glass beads and glass can break, especially if you're forcing it along stress points with wire and pliers. But! I persevered and finally got the hang of it. I only broke a few beads.

plink-plink-plink-plink

It fastens with a lobster-claw clasp with a hammered silver-tone circle, and a small blue crystal dangle.

Penny for size reference.

I sculpted two pendants as test runs to see if a bigger cloud with four raindrops or a slightly smaller one with three raindrops looked better. Both look pretty good, thank goodness.

Since the wire-wrapping proved finickier and more time-consuming than I had initially assumed, I tried something different with the second pendant. I like the results (particularly the overlapping circles), though the overall effect is more stylized than the first pendant.

I wish I had something clever to say here.

I still have a decent chunk of Fimo left, so expect more pendants like these (and variations thereof) in the future!

Manatee MADNESS! Starratee, Klingonatee, Giant Sadatee, Doctoratee & Sparkletee

2011-04-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

For Christmas last year, I made a herd of manatees as Christmas gifts. Or at least that's what it felt like. Each hand-sewn with care and love and stuffed with polyfil and the desire to conquer the universe. What could make a manatee better?

First off is Starratee!

Starratee was made of some kind of cloth that had all those little stars painted all over it (I didn't paint them). I don't remember what type of cloth except that it frayed a lot and I had to keep on turning him inside out again to repair busted seams. Yeesh. But he came out pretty cute.

Next is Klingonatee. Yes, he is a Klingon manatee.

Yes, those are black bushy eyebrows. They were supposed to make him look fierce and scowly, but instead they made him look like a slightly puzzled old man. It's hard to see because the fabric is soft, furry, and silky, but he actually has a ridged forehead too.

Sadly, I can't seem to find the pictures I took of him once he was completed--he had a TOS-style Klingon uniform like the one on the right:

Source: Wikipedia

It was a marvelous costume, from tunic to undershirt to gold-fringed bandolier with beaded insignia, bubble-wrap-buckle belt, and even a little black pleather boot for his tailfin. And I made him a craft foam bat'leth too! I'll have to do another post when I finally find those pictures because he came out pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. And I do.

Next up is Giant Sadatee.

He is a giant version of the original Sadatee, who has long since dispensed with the token name Sebastian and just become Sadatee.

He even has the same broken heart. And a HUGE teardrop. Unfortunately I had forgotten that I gave the first Sadatee applique felt eyes, so the Giant Sadatee has plastic safety eyes instead.

The teardrop is entirely what inspired me to draft a bigger manatee pattern and make Giant Sadatee. I found a grab-bag of random glass beads at Joann's and was like, LOL A GIANT TEARDROP I SHOULD MAKE A GIANT SADATEE. Sadly harebrained ideas like this are what induce most of my creative ventures. The teardrop actually had a more matte, frosted texture, but I took jewelry-grade polishing paper and spent half an hour gently polishing the glass until it was a little glossier.

Fourthly, there is Doctoratee:

Mwah!

Doctoratee looks more like Nurseatee what with being white and having a red cross on the bottom and all. Doctoratee was a Christmas present for my medical student friend, who requested him long ago and finally got him--although I've yet to make him the small stethoscope that she requested and he deserves. I haven't yet figured out exactly how I'm going to make one, but maybe I'll find a correctly-sized toy one for some doll that I can steal.

Lastly (for this post, anyway), there is Sparkletee!

This stretchy fuzzy fabric shed all over me while cutting and sewing. I looked down at myself and found I was covered in a fine silvery-blue mist of fibers.

His laternate names were Discoballatee and Holographatee. Because of the type of fabric, he came out rounder than the other manatees and with a slightly more mooshed-in face.

Yes, I was a manatee-making machine monster last year. Then it went out of my system for a while, kicked in a bit early this year, died down again, and then suddenly these past few weeks I've been cranking out more manatees again. So there will be more manatee posts in the future!

La Moustache

2011-04-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

I made a mustache. Because I could. And, like Aperture Science, I do what I must because I can.

Bonjour, messieurs et mesdames.

The frame is black coated copper wire, hammered to maintain shape, with black felt sewn to it with black thread.

Je suis une moustache.

The felt gives it nice texture, although next time I may try it with fleece instead. It was quite hard to try to get the mustache symmetrical. It probably would have been better if I'd drawn it out first and then used that as a template instead of freehanding it.

Nous sommes belles, oui? Très magnifiques!

I then made a second mustache pendant out of black Fimo. Again I freehanded this effort and again ran into difficulties producing symmetry. I had to settle for passable instead of perfect.

Je suis un morse avec une moustache.

Paul the Walrus doesn't have a mustache of his own, so he was happy to model this one for me.

Silver Curly Shiny Stretchy

2011-04-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

A catch-all post for miscellaneous bits of jewelry! Including my first attempt at a set of stacking rings.

The middle band is 12 gauge Argentium sterling silver, fused and hammered for sparkliness and durability. The top and bottom bands are 16 gauge Argentium, fused and hammered, with fine silver bezels soldered on. The top holds a 4mm garnet cabochon while the bottom has a 4mm chalcedony.

Then there's this purple stretch bracelet that's just like the one I made before.

And finally, here's a pair of curly earrings. Sterling-plated earhooks, coated copper wire, star bead frames, and wee sparkly crystals.

I do so love me some danglies just as much as I love me some curlies. Really, it's too bad that I don't have pierced ears myself--for, you see, I am deathly allergic to pain and highly paranoid of infection. Plus I like being able to see the jewelry I wear, which is why I pretty much only wear rings. The upside of all this though is that I can deck out people I know in jewelry and stare at it all I please.

The Galaxy Ring

2011-04-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

My dear Krispy and her sister often show me their latest jewelry as well as stuff they think is cool and quite often my harebrained reaction is Hey, I bet I could make that. While one might think that my mind is therefore fertile ground for the seeds of plagiarism, I hope that's not so, and that what I take away is inspiration. At any rate, what I produce is usually pretty different from the inspirational source--and sometimes it's pretty ugly.

This galaxy ring, however, is one of the better results. Krispy's sister had a ring of wrapped wire intertwined with beads, and so I picked through my bead hoard and after some trial and error created a large glittery tangle.

I love that huge bead on the bottom. It's got that spectacular blue flash at some angles

I was worried it'd have a high profile and get caught on things, but it lies pretty close to the finger. Even though it looks like that bead is protruding, it's actually not that bad.

I ended up breaking a few beads (tch, crystal can be so delicate) and overworking some wire while figuring out a workable method to twist the wire in a way that looked organic without it getting too chunky. The first ring was bigger and more awkward, but this one turned out a little more streamlined. I used tones of crystal-clear, silver, shiny gray and black. Next time I'm thinking tones of rich dark blue and blue-green and metallic black might be nice.

Button Jewelry

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog! Uh, very long time. It's not that I haven't been busy, it's just that my inclination to upload and edit photos was at an all-time low, until I realized I have photos backlogged from months before Christmas. So! I shall endeavor to clear some space and post some sparklies, shinies, and manatees for your viewing pleasure and perusal.

Let's start off with button jewelry! These were Christmas presents for friends.

My grandma knows I like to do crafty stuff and gave me some very pretty buttons. There were just the right number to make a bracelet and pair of earrings

(Forgive the color disparity. I mauled them in Photoshop and my failure still shows.)

Since that came out pretty neat, I thought I'd hit up the craft store for more buttons and try my hand at something bigger and bolder. I found these cool swirly metal buttons and with the help of some pliers and chain, I made this other bracelet. It closes with a hand-hammered aluminum hook clasp.

I also picked up these cool dark metal buttons. With some links from the same chain used above, some textured, metal ring findings, and another handmade clasp, I put together this bracelet.

(Gotta love them curlies.)

I also found these buttons, which reminded me of old coins. I tried some wire-and-bead wrapping to make another bracelet and earring set. Since the gold beads are metal and the buttons are metal and the blue beads are some kind of stone, it all turned out kind of heavy. I was worried the earrings would be too heavy and uncomfortable to wear, but my friend said they were fine. Either she was lying to spare my feelings or she speaks the truth or she has strong, resilient ears.

Hmm, I realized that I have pictures from before this. Not that I suppose everything I post has to be in chronological order. I bought some more buttons recently and will probably tinker around some and produce more button jewelry in the future. There are some really spectacular buttons out there and since I don't often use buttons in sewing except as eyes for stuffed animals, I shall put them to use in other decorative ways.

Stingrays and Hunger Games

2010-11-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

A much-belated update after a much-beleaguered couple of months. What better way to celebrate a new post than stingrays?

He's a happy little fellow.

Very happy, as you can see. Full of ^^ and :D and happy-dappy yay-ness.

He was the second one, after I worked out a few kinks in the original pattern. The first stingray is featured next--a symphony in pink.

But rather than a ^^ :D expression, this one is a tad more--

--smirky, you might say.

I also decorated a bag with themes from The Hunger Games for Krunchy's birthday. (An awesome book, highly recommended. I have to finish reading the sequel now that I have some time.) I did not make the bag, I only added a mockingjay to the front and a loaf of bread to the back.

The mockingjay pin-symbol-logo was done in horrible gold lamé applique. I wanted the gold shininess like Katniss's pin, but working with this material in such a tiny detailed fashion required some extra work. First I backed it with masking tape so it wouldn't fray itself to bits, then drew the pattern on, and then very carefully proceeded to exacto-knife it out. Then I had to stitch it to the bag and hope that I didn't destroy the delicate bits like the arrow and beak and wingtips.

But it turned out not too bad, all things considered.

The back of the bag looked bare and sad without anything on it, so I went ahead and added a loaf of bread to stand for Peeta, because he is a baker and Krunchy LOOOOVES Peeta. I like him but am rather more ambivalent.

The bread loaf is done in felt applique, with a bit of polyester stuffing under it to give it puff and poof. Unfortunately it's not easily identifiable as a bread loaf and I had to tell everyone what it was and then they went Ohhhhhhhh.

It was my first attempt at applique-work (as inspired by another friend) and overall I'm pleased with the results even if I did kick myself for setting such ambitious first goals what with that mockingjay and all.

Forthcoming in the near future: More manatees, some silver rings, and other plush and jewelry!

Recording the Process

2010-10-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

I do enjoy looking at craft blogs (of which I include jewelry blogs), as well as Flickr pages. There are some really lovely things out there to see, but what I like best is seeing progress pics and how a swatch of fabric becomes a manatee or a ball of yarn becomes an amigurumi or a pile of stones and sheet metal becomes a ring. Maybe it's that sense of vicariously living through another's creativity or just the fascination of seeing how much work goes into making the end product.

Because of this, I want to do more step-by-step posts of my own. I did it once and in doing so realized--hey! It's kind of a lot more work than I thought to record the process.

Not only do I have to stop and take a picture for every step (thereby throwing off my rhythm since I'm naturally impatient and like to do things in one fell swoop without pause), but I also have to take multiple pictures since my camera and I don't always get along. Blur has long been my photographic nemesis.

There are also things that I can't actually take pictures of (and where a second person to play cameraman would come in handy) such as the exciting fiery bits where I wield torch and flame, or am painting on flux, or am actually engaged in the process of hammering and not just showing a hammer and mandrel. I suppose I could try to use the timer on the camera, but that's more trouble than it's worth.

So I really admire the artists who have the will to faithfully record their WIPs. Here are a few posts I've enjoyed reading:

Phantasteria
Kirsten Skiles
Nina Gibson Designs
Alice Istanbul Designs

Lovely, lovely work created with such precision and passion. Marvelous!

PS EtsyMetal is having an anniversary giveaway and tons of sales! Check out their October 1 post for the glorious details.

Caged Bird Necklace & Sock!Kitty

2010-09-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Behold! A golden bird in a silver cage, on a necklace of chains and dangly stars, silver beads and gold beads and pearls.

Twittery chirpitude, say I. Tweet tweet chirp chirp, says the bird. I did not make the bird pendant, sadly, for I have some levels to go before I gain enough experience points to learn casting.

I did, however, make this kitty out of a pair of fuzzy socks from the dollar store:

I picked up this book about sewing sock animals some weeks ago. It's pretty cute and has some decent patterns that are great to use as jumping-off points for other projects; it's also useful to pick up some basics on how to work with sewing/stuffing socks. It's a lot better than the first book, though this one still suffers from occasional vagueness or plain ol' missing steps in some of the patterns, though it's not hard to figure out what's going on.

I've been sewing quite a bit and have a pile of plushies sitting on a shelf. I should probably photograph more of them and post them up here sometime.

Curly Silver Garnet Ring

2010-09-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Now presenting wrapped and forged 22 mm Argentium sterling silver wire forms a series of curlies that sort of remind me of a triskelion. One curly holds a 4 mm Indian garnet cabochon in a fine silver bezel. This was for Krispy's birthday. Happy birthday, Krispy!

It ended up being quite a delicate little ring—I think it would have turned out better if I'd used a thicker gauge for at least the band, but as long as Krispy doesn't let it get run over by a vacuum cleaner, it should be okay.

It only fit on my pinky finger, but Krispy has twiggy-skinny fingers, so it fit her fine.

Also check out my snazzy background—a piece of scrapbooking paper got on clearance for 10 cents. Woohoo! Too bad it's upside down or sideways in the pictures.

Stretchy and Non-Stretchy Bead Bracelets

2010-08-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

I made these months ago but, as usual, have not gotten around to posting them until now. These bracelets are made of a mix of glass and seed beads strung together so they have a lovely drape to them. They close with handmade shepherd's crook clasps and a couple of additional dangly bits for that delightfully dangly effect.

Brown version in too much sunlight:

Variation in green, modeled indoors in artificial light on the lovely Krispy:

I wasn't quite satisfied with the way they closed—sure it's fine and all, but they do slip and slide a bit. I went supply-hunting and managed to find a very thin fine grade of stretchy elastic cord to substitute for the thread and thus created stretchy clasp-free versions.

Purple stretch bracelet, again modeled on the lovely Krispy:

When worn all at once, along with the blue stretchy version, they look like armor. Bead armor! Krispy could be a warrior!

They're easy to slip on and stay on well and I like the color gradation thing, as you no doubt can tell. I'll probably get around to making more of these eventually.

Sebastian the Sadatee

2010-08-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Since Krunchy really likes manatees and really likes the manatees I've made, I made her a manatee. And because I get these random ideas that have no context, it ended up being a sad manatee, in blue-green fleece with judicious felt applique bits.

Behold the cuteness! 'Tis a happy manatee, surely. But then—

I say! Do I espy the glimmer of a tear within thy sable eye? 'Tis a crying manatee. Indeed, 'tis a Sadatee!

Whyfor art thou so grieved, O Sadatee?

Alas! 'Tis heartbroken!

…very heartbroken.

And prithee tell, O Sadatee, how thy heart was stricken so?

I cock mine ear and listen, but I hear naught but the sough of the breeze through the leaves of the trees, for the Sadatee is silent in his sadness. Poor baby.

Krunchy has since christened him Sebastian the Sadatee. He had his heart broken by the original red felt manatee, and as a symbol of his eternal sorrow he has that very same felt stitched upon him to form a broken heart. Alackaday!

Pearls for the Discerning Girl

2010-08-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

A while ago I bought a book on sale at the library for $1. It was some book about pearls published in the 60s or 70s, including chapters on their history and symbolism as well as a pearl-buying guide. It was very adamant that pearls are classy and classical and every girl and woman should have at least one strand of pearls to be heirlooms for all eternity, and advised for buyers on a budget to perhaps consider a string of gradated pearls instead of a string of large ones. It is just as posh and stylish, just in a different way.

I cannot be bothered to dig out the book from wherever I stashed it but I did finally get around to putting together a string of pearls for the discerning girl on a budget. I call it the BPPP Necklace.

That's for Budget Posh Plastic Pearl Necklace. Those are all plastic pearls strung on monofilament with (non-sterling) silver spacer beads near the center and then silver seed bead spacers between the smaller ones. They range in size from 6mm to something like 16 or 18mm plastic pearls. While they certainly do not have the shimmering luster of genuine pearls, they do not cost $3000+ either.

Twice the Manatee You'll Ever Be

2010-08-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not dead. I might as well have been for the past two months, but that's a long and sordid story full of length and sordidness, so instead I will post about manatees, including the manatees that I made pre-inactivity and then never bothered to photograph, upload, and blog about.

Such as this one:

This is the first manatee I made. I have a stuffed toy manatee that I neglected to photograph and had the stupid thought that always begins these things and generally leads to hours of self-inflicted suffering and complications, which thought goes thusly: Hey, I bet I could make something like that.

So I studied said hot pink manatee (which I just now noticed that I neglected to photograph) and drafted a small pattern of my own, since it looked so lonely and needed a baby friend.

I used cheap craft felt sheets and stitched it all together and voila. Surprisingly, it came out pretty cute. And on my first try! Then again, the first is usually the best. I made this one a few months ago. Hence all the little fibers and such stuck to him; he's been carted about quite a bit and huggled and squashed and squished and glomped by many people over the weeks.

Emboldened by success, I decided weeks later that since my friend got accepted into Berkeley, I'd make her a Cal-colored manatee, or at least as closely Cal-colored as I could manage. I wanted to try making one out of something other than felt, which is usually my default plushie material of choice because I don't need to hem edges or worry much about seam allowance or stretchiness.

It came out also pretty cute. But also slightly obese. Compare and contrast:

I used plastic eye inserts for the blue manatee and quite like them. But there is something charming about the sewn-on eyes of the red manatee, so I'll probably continue to do applique eyes for the felt ones. Ah, but they are so cute! Usually the plushies I attempt to make from patterns drafted by looking at other stuffed animals or purely of my own creation turn out to be Grade S for Suck, so I allow myself no less than two pats on the back for these guys.

*pat pat*

Copper Fox

2010-05-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog. It's not that I haven't been creating sparklies, it's just that I've been too lazy to take pictures, edit, upload, and write posts for them. Also, the end of April and first half of May was a cornucopia of academic toil and celebration culminating in my not getting very much jewelry making done. Happy Memorial Day, by the way.

I've still got a thesis on my plate, however, and I'm making good on it. But in between bouts of headbanging and keyboardbanging, I've found time to play and experiment, although actually I made this fox a while ago and just neglected to post about him. Behold!

A miracle of 18 gauge copper sheet cut and filed into a foxily appealing shape. Approximately two and a half inches from nose to tail-tip. Eye and tail-tip were silver solder experiments that turned out fairly well. I gave him a brisk brushdown with some rough emery paper to give him texture and leave some of the blackening, though as you can see below, I left the back relatively untouched.

This little fellow was originally going to be a ring, and in fact after I finished all the soldering and polishing, I did bend him around a ring mandrel and get him ring-shaped. But I am a poor mathematician as well as logician and he came out much too large as well as awkwardly-shaped to be a comfortable ring, so I annealed the fox, whanged him out flat with the nylon hammer, and re-polished him again. Now he's simply a little copper fox whose fate is undecided. He may become a pin or a pendant or bracelet component someday. Only time will tell.

Ye Elde Sparklie Ring o' Silver

2010-04-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

I received a request for another shiny ring. So I made one out of 12 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire, fused and hammered with my chasing hammer to have those sparkly little facets.

I could tell you that these are incredibly hard to make, finicky and delicate and requiring the touch of a master. But then I'd be a liar.

Oddly enough, despite this type of ring being one of the first bits of silversmithing I ever attempted, I don't think I ever made one for myself. Hmm. Maybe I should do that soon.

Not a Trojan Necklace Either Nor Only Half a Necklace

2010-04-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

However indulgent I am, I have my limits, and one red-and-gold-themed bracelet was enough for one day. Also for my friend's birthday was this necklace which I had imagined as a cool, conceptual asymmetric fall of beads. Instead it ended up looking like half a necklace. (It doesn't help that for some reason these photos came out even more darkly lit than usual too.)

It's got a star pearl and beads of goldstone, glass, and sterling-plate.

I still think it's a cool idea, but perhaps it needs to be done on a fine chain or at any rate something slimmer and less obtrusive than a black leather cord. This requires further experimentation.

Not a Trojan Bracelet

2010-04-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

We had an early birthday gathering for my friend and I made her some jewelry that I hope she will remember to take off before she showers, will not lose in coral reefs, and will not send through the washing machine. She has been conscientious so far, so perhaps I will let my guard relax slightly within the next few years. We shall see.

Because she's a USC alumnus, she's always asking for cardinal and gold stuff. Because I am obstinate, I usually do not indulge her requests. I mean, it's not like I even went to a college that had rivalry on any real level going on with USC or indeed any other college, but I feel obliged to be on the more aggressive side of neutral.

Since this was for her birthday, though, I relented somewhat and made her a bracelet in red and off-white beads, golden-brown pearls, with a handmade brass clasp with a brass heart and red crystal dangle.

I figure it's casual enough to throw on, not dangly enough to interfere with most activities, and hopefully strong enough that it won't fall apart if she forgets and goes swimming with it or something.

Root Beer and Blueberries

2010-04-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

I wonder if root beer and blueberries would go well together? Separately I love 'em, but together, hmm, I don't really see why not, but I could also see them not really quite complementing each other.

At any rate, I recently added to my stash of brown beads and made up a new cluster ring in tones of root beer and chocolate and cream and other delicious things.

And then because I liked the dramatic array of sparkle and color last time, I made up another cluster ring in tones of black and sky blue. It's got great glitter and movement.

My friend who got the first one tells me that she likes to fiddle with it when she's bored, procrastinating, or in need of distraction, which is what I do myself whenever I wear one of these rings. Because of this, I cannot recommend them as a good study aid, but they certainly are sweet enough as eye candy.

Wraparound Star Rings and Blogroll of Linkaliciousness

2010-04-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Er, yes. So they wrap around. Coated copper wire bent and wrapped around itself, and held within is one of those ubiquitous star pearls.

Looks pretty flimsy, but I've hammered the wire for strength and durability and with the wired-in star braced inside, it actually holds together pretty well. I wouldn't run it over with a produce truck, but then again there are few things I subject to such brutality.

I also made a variation in blue upon request. I flubbed the first blue one when inserting the star and the result was slightly misshapen, but the second one turned out nice.

I wish I could find these star pearls in other colors, but I've only been able to find white. Really, I oughtn't to complain considering that white goes with everything, whereas if these were say, hot pink pearls, I'd be more restricted in color combos. (I only wish I could find hot pink star pearls, man, that'd be so awesome.)

Also, check out my new updated blogroll! Plenty of distraction and delight to be found within those links, from photography to fashion to milk teeth to writing to cats to art. And more!

Dramatic Gradient Star Necklace of Pearliness

2010-03-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

The title says it all.

This one looks best when modeled, of course, so you can see the lay of the lines and the curvaceous draping and close fit, but I don't like modeling necklaces. This will have to do for now until I can ~~blackmail~~ ask a friend to model it for me.

Star Fish Cluster

2010-03-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

For my dear friend who is a Magical Goldfish, I made star fish cluster ring.

Flip it one way and the fish is more prominent; flip it the other way and the star glimmers on top. Or turn it just right and they'll both dangle side by side, fish and star, blue and white, shiny shiny.

Thankfully I managed to get the size right since she has tiny fingers for such a Magical Goldfish.

Starfall Redux

2010-03-17T15:26:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm wearing a green t-shirt with a moose on it that's pointing at you while declaiming, I JUDGE YOU WHEN YOU USE POOR GRAMMAR. I'm also eating green tea frozen yogurt. 'Tis a cornucopia of green deliciousness today.

Alas, but what I've to post today is not green but silver. Still, it has its own tale to tell, does Starfull Redux.

I say "redux" but it appears that I did not make a post for the original necklace. The short of it is: I made this necklace for a friend (Merry Christmas!) out of colored copper wire and 22 gauge fused Argentium sterling stars and black waxed line cord with a handmade shepherd's crook clasp. She loved it. She wore it to Hawaii. And then it accidentally went through the washing machine.

The cord was tangled beyond rescue, the clasp twisted beyond repair, but surprisingly the stars and the jump rings were in perfectly fine condition, albeit one or two had come free of the other. So! To add extra security (considering that I couldn't solder the coated copper wire), I added extra links, forged them thoroughly, and remade the necklace in the same shape and style with only the addition of those extra links doubling up.

Thankfully the repair has been successful and it has not been through the washing machine again.

More Fun with Sheet Copper and Silver Solder

2010-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Since my last copper ring turned out pretty well, I thought I'd give it another go. And since my last attempt to bezel-set a Swarovski flat-back crystal kind of sucked, I thought I'd give that another go too. The results were, if neither a spectacular failure nor a spectacular success, at least interesting.

I didn't manage to cut the 18 gauge copper quite as well this time, so the overlap on the back is more pronounced and needs to be filed down. I hammered the copper strip with my chasing hammer to give it some texture before moving on to soldering. The bezel went on fine, but then there was too much dampness in the air (it was storming quite heavily by this point) and the solder refused to flow in the back. It took another couple of days for the weather to clear up before I tried again, and finally got the solder to cooperate. Hence the amount of solder you can see built up on the back.

I chose a sparkly orange 4mm Swarovski flat-back crystal for this one because I liked the contrast of the fiery orange with the duller, darker textured copper, with the outline of fine silver. I quite like the effect, but once again, I didn't file down the bezel wall sufficiently and so the overlap is wonky. Alas.

Also, between my measurements being slightly off and the amount of whacking this thing took on the ring mandrel to get it round again, it ended up being very large. It fits on my thumb. Loosely.

I shall have to try again. Some day I will get it perfect. Some day.

Not a Cluster of Grapes

2010-03-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard to find purple beads, or at least a decent violet? Excluding amethyst, of course, because there's always amethyst. Purple must be a very hard color to make or apply since I've long had a difficult time finding seriously, intensely purple or violet beads.

A trip to the local bead store eventually heralded the next best thing: purple pearls. The only problem is that, being genuine pearls (not glass or synthetic, though of course these were cultured and dyed), they were drilled with very tiny holes as they were undoubtedly meant to be strung on thread or string and not bungled about with thicker gauges of wire.

But I persevered. It took more trouble than it was worth, but I persevered.

I'm not entirely pleased with this ring. It lacks the mix of opaque and translucent that the other cluster rings had, all due to my limited bead palette. The super-shiny hematite helps, but, well, I don't know. It's different and I like it equally in some ways and less so in others. Hmm.

I shall simply have to resign myself to the ever-ongoing quest to find decent purple beads that aren't amethyst and/or don't cost $50 a strand.

A Rose or Something

2010-03-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

I'd doodled roses, but as per usual my doodles far outstrip my actual metalworking ability. The multi-tiered many-petaled bloom simplified down into this: a 4mm garnet cabochon in a tiny cluster of teensy petals formed from 22 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire and soldered and fused together. It doesn't even really look like a rose anymore, so I shall simply say that it is a flower.

It is quite tiny. It'll either make a charming pair of earrings (if I can manage to replicate this particular success) or more likely a charming little pendant. Probably.

Clustering

2010-02-26T20:00:00.000-08:00

I need to take, download, format, and upload pictures of newer stuff. Until then, here are a couple last pictures of the previous rings.

Forthcoming: more cluster rings, a star necklace repair, and some more metalwork!

Autumnal Fire

2010-02-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd lost my gunmetal wire (it says gunmetal on the label, but really, it's more of a greeny-goldish-brownish color, and I've never seen a gun like that before in my life) but I rediscovered it sitting in plain sight. In celebration, and also because I had yet more beads from the bead show that I'd yet to get into, I made another cluster ring.

There're hematite stars, a golden pearl, dyed (probably) crystals, and I think the other beads are probably semiprecious stones of some kind, perhaps carnelian and/or something else—they weren't labeled when I bought them and I neglected to ask.

I really, really like how this one came out. The gunmetal wire came on a spool as opposed to a coil and was also a lot softer than the other wires I've been using (as well as being a slightly thicker gauge) the loops ended up larger, and after I'd finished the clustering part, the loops still showed. So I added some beads to them and it not only gave it a fuller, more clustery look, it also looked awesome.

I may keep this one for myself. Yes, I think I will.

Dug up some metal beads I'd forgotten about

2010-02-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

I rediscovered these goldtone metal beads of hearts and flowers and, since I hadn't yet made a golden cluster ring, went ahead and tossed them into the beadmix along with those goldstone beads I'd picked up at the beadshow, a tiger's eye sphere, and this and that.

I'm not sure if the star looks funny because it's the only white thing on there, or if it looks all right. I'll probably leave it because the more I look at it, the more it seems okay—only after a while, it starts to look strange again. Hmm.

So far the consensus has been that it looks fine or at least not too odd. I still flipflop every time I look at it.

White and Crystal Cluster Full of Luster

2010-02-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

Since I'd made a black one, I made a white one.

It totally looks like it's some trendy bridal jewelry or something. Note the ubiquitous sterling-plated star-shaped bead-frame reappearing after a long absence. Goes quite well the pearl star, I must say.

The white and silver combo looks fantastic in the sun. But then again most things tend to look better in the sun.

Black and Blue

2010-02-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

I was getting tired of making sky-blue-and-white/crystal things, so I decided to dive in the opposite direction and make a sky-blue-and-dark-gray/black thing instead.

It's pretty sparkly, if I do say so myself. I also got a chance to use some of those beads I picked up at the bead show. The dark/vivid contrast is especially striking in bright lighting.

It's got some nice elegant flair there, I think.

Black like My Pitch-Black Soul that I Don't Have

2010-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

I like black. So I made myself a black cluster ring. Actually, I lie. I didn't necessarily intend this one for myself when I made it, but I ended up making the ring part a little larger than I'd intended so I just decided to keep it. It fits only my index finger or thumb, but that's okay because it's shiny, what with the hematite and all.

I've worn it around and it has garnered a tidy bit of attention and compliments. Mostly because of the awesometastic pearl star. I love these pearl stars, man. Love.

Done up in black wire, glass pearls and beads, and hematite.

Green Cluster Mark 2

2010-01-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

I made another green cluster ring, although I went for a silver-and-green combo this time instead of green-and-goldish.

It seems a bit sparse compared to the other cluster rings. I think this is because I made some of the initial loops smaller, and also used a rather larger chip of quartz that takes up more room than expected. Hmm. Will have to keep that in mind in the future.

A Wish upon a Fish

2010-01-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, some friends had given me these amazing blue and white fish beads. I thought it'd look cool as a cluster ring dangle, so I made one and lo, it does look pretty cool.

I quite like it. I think I'll be keeping this one for myself, and making others. I just need some more blue-mix beads.

C'est le poisson de souhaiter!

Copper with Silver Solder

2010-01-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

I only have silver solder, so that's what I used. I have this sheet of 18 gauge copper, so that's what I used. I had 4mm fine silver bezels and a 4 mm garnet cabochon, so I used those too. And here's what I came up with:

I'm moderately pleased with it. This ring was really a test effort to see how difficult it'd be to make a wide-band ring, and how the solder would run, and could I even manage to get it ring-shaped without too much trouble. Overall, it wasn't that hard, although I did experience some trial and error throughout.

For instance, cutting the sheet to size and getting the ends to match flush was a bit difficult and necessitated some trimming and filing. Probably I should invest in a jeweler's saw, but until then, my very heavy sheet-metal clippers from the hardware store will do. I soldered the bezel on first, though, while the copper was still flat, and then bent it around the ring mandrel afterward and prayed that it wouldn't distort the bezel too much (it didn't), though I newly comprehend now why some ring mandrels have that flat part on top, to allow for stone settings.

Then soldering the ends of the band together proved tricky because I had to have the ring sit level for the solder to flow. I tried using my third-hand tool thing but there wasn't enough heat for the solder to flow because the ring was basically just hanging in the air and my torch isn't powerful enough to do without some backup heat-reflection from a soldering block. And also it was super cold and damp that night.

Ultimately I ended up setting the ring at a slight angle (so the bezel wouldn't sot flat) on the fire tile and leaning the rest of the ring right up against my soldering block so that the heat would reflect from it. I also re-fluxed the seam and added fresh solder. This time it worked.

The silver solder doesn't match the copper, of course, but I rather like the shiny line it makes down the back. It is a bit lumpy, but I didn't feel like filing it down. I gave it a once-over with a Scotchbrite pad to regain a little copper color and clean it up a bit, and also filed a tiny bit of a curve along one edge so as to be more comfortable to the finger.

I then set the garnet. I had to use pliers to make the bezel walls rounder again in order to pop the stone it, but then all was well and I set it using the burnisher. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself, although I'll likely be ruing my words the next time I try this. Pride goeth before a fall, after all.

It's like the sky! And pearls! Only…not.

2010-01-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

I am a ~~cheap~~ frugal soul. I use very long headpins and clip them down as necessary, and it seems a pity to waste all those long pieces of wire—so I save them, and use them to make things like this bracelet.

The stars are of dyed blue shell and the pearls are glass, smooth or textured, and also silver-plated beads (I think they're plated, but they could be full sterling). The wires are nickel-plated brass, each bead-link formed by hand and painstakingly put together one at a time in a finicky process that takes far too long and probably isn't really worth the trouble except I'm stubborn and I will finish what I've started when it's sitting right there in front of me mocking me even if it necessitates sitting at a desk for 3+ hours.

It closes with a lobster-claw clasp and a loopy twist of wire, not pictured.

I feel like maybe it needs some silver danglies, but at the moment, I am content to leave it as is. I'd like to make a similar/matching choker except it'd take forever.

Good Game

2010-01-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

I made this for Krunchy because I could.

Twice the lowercase letter "g" in hammered thick brass wire of some gauge which I cannot now recall and am disinclined to rise from the computer for which purpose to find out. Yep. I would've made them into earrings so she could declaim gg everywhere she went except she doesn't have pierced ears. So I twisted some more wire and popped them onto a key ring. Hooray!

Cluster Rings in Red and Red

2010-01-23T12:23:00.001-08:00

Here's the first red ring I was talking about last time, albeit this picture was taken in terrible lighting at night and then mauled to within a pixel of its meager life in Photoshop:

I wish I'd had red wire to make it with but since I'd none, I asked for suggestions and used silver-colored instead. And it came out fairly charming. I made Krispy model it for me at Phoenix Bakery where, despite it being evening, the lighting was much better.

I then made a second red one with a slightly different mix of beads (as usual, not that you can really tell) and voila, although I seem to have neglected to take a picture of it in situ.

Dang. I didn't even notice the color disparity between photos until I'd uploaded them. Oh well. You get the idea.

More Cluster Rings

2010-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

As the first cluster ring proved popular, I made a couple more per request: one in green and another in blue.

Pardon the poor lighting and inconsistent Photoshop.

For some reason, my stock of green beads is minimal, but I had more than I'd thought and a trip to Jo-Ann's heralded a few more finds. 20 gauge colored copper wire wrapped into a ring with beads on headpins secured onto a smaller ring. The beads are mostly glass spheres, Japanese glass beads in metallic green, a golden pearl, some gold glass beads, malachite chips, and of course that starry pearl in the center because I love it so much and think it is the most awesome thing I've found in the whole of this entire year beadwise. Of course, it is still January; hopefully the year will only get better from here.

The blue one is pretty much the same as the last one, albeit the mix of beads is probably slightly different since I add as I go with no real set plan. It's still purty.

I've muddled through requests for red versions as I discovered that I had more red beads than I remembered, but purple, alas, I still have practically no beads of that hue, though I do have some purple wire. Even when I went to the bead show, I was not able to find a decent variety of purple beads except for amethyst chips and beads in paler shades like lavender. Is purple incredibly hard to recreate or something? I need some purple beads already.

…Maybe this is juuuuust the excuse I need to go to the bead store again.

Starry Bracelet II

2010-01-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

I liked the first starry bracelet I made quite a bit, so when I came across some cool-textured round and long-shaped beads, I had a second go at it.

Pretty much same design and construction as the first one, although the danglies are I think a bit longer.

I used gray and white beads in pearly and textured tones. I think I liked the stark dark-shiny contrast of just hematite in the first bracelet better, but this one is nice too, with lighter tones and contrast.

Clustering Cluster Ring

2010-01-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

I've seen those cluster rings around and thought, Hmm, I bet I could make something like that. And being that my friend had given me some delightfully blue aluminum wire for Christmas, and I'd recently acquired some great new beads, I decided to have a go at it.

I wrapped the wire into a ring and fastened the cluster onto a teensy little silver-colored copper wire ring, and then fastened lots and lots of beads onto the copper ring via headpins. The beads are mostly a variety of spheres—textured glass and pearly ones, in dark teal-blue and white, and iridescent aqua-blue, and a crackle-glass one for good measure—and a couple of quartz crystal chips, with one little dyed blue shell star and one larger star-shaped pearl because OMG the local bead shop carried strands of STARS shaped like PEARLS and I'm a sucker for things like that.

It's kind of heavy and doesn't cluster as much as I'd hoped. I think that's because I ended up getting too excited and putting on too many beads of different shapes and sizes when I probably ought to have stuck to more round ones. But it is pretty shiny.

There are stars and there are nights.

2010-01-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

Today I will post this dangly bracelet I made. The sterling star-shaped bead frames were courtesy of two marvelous friends via Christmas, and they didn't even know that they were frames—in fact, I didn't know they were frames either until I took a gander at the back of the tag where it described the item as sterling flower bead frames. Flower? Pfft. They're stars, man, stars.

The bracelet comprises a mix of sterling bead-frames, hematite spheres, and colored copper wire in silver and black. The headpins used for the dangly bits are nickel-plated brass or some such. The bracelet has movement, and the beads slide freely on the headpins. It fastens with a handmade shepherd's crook clasp.

As this bracelet was a prototype, however, it does feature some failures: namely, its tendency to lose bits or otherwise generally fall apart. This is probably because it's my first attempt at something chainlike and I didn't file the ends of each jump ring/chain link properly, so they aren't completely flush. Maybe I should invest in a set of flush cutters for wire, although I thought that the dinky purple pair I have is of the flush-cut type. Maybe it's just getting worn down and dull, even though I don't use it that often…

Krispy got this one and has test-driven it for me, so now that I know it likes to come apart at the rings, I shall have to come up with a solution—for example, putting more effort into finishing things properly. Tsk, tsk.

Pearls are Pretty

2010-01-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2010 be full of shiny awesome, literally and metaphorically!

Aaaand now that Christmas has passed, I can post these earrings.

Colored copper wire hammered for sparkly texture and to hold silver beads, chips of quartz crystal, and dyed blue pearls, all dangling on premade sterling-plated ear hooks.

They're rather dangly and icy-looking. They also bestow upon the wearer the power to shoot lasers from her eyes. Or so I have claimed, and shall continue to claim until the end of time—which may or may not be soon, going by tomorrow's episode of Doctor Who.

Experimental Tree

2009-12-31T23:14:00.000-08:00

I like the way trees look with their branches shed of leaves, bare and stark as they reach for the sky. I doodled a few bare-branched trees and decided to try a trial one out of brass wire, since I had a lot of it and nothing else to do that night at 12:30 am except things I ought to be doing, like sleeping or reading Havemercy.

A pokey little thing, ain't it? I hammered the ends for strength and then smoothed the pokier bits with a file, although because of its inherently pokey nature, it still remains somewhat pokey. But at least it's not stabbity.

I think some work could be done on the loops—the top one is so that the tree can be hung, the other one is for the curly colored-copper "fruit" to dangle. I wish I'd put it so that the curly went the other way, but oh well.

Overall, it's all right, a decent step in a good direction. The one person I showed it to so far just stared at it without an inkling of what it was supposed to be until I told her. Tree Fail, alas.

On another note: HAPPY NEW YEAR('S EVE)!

MERlin*

2009-12-21T16:56:00.001-08:00

What's better than one Merlin?

Two Merlins, of course.

The first Merlin is the cutest, though, since that's what always happens whenever I make anything cute out of felt. The second Merlin I tried another technique, actually sewing his clothes (pants, shirt, boots) directly into the pattern instead of sewing over it a la real clothing. The result: a skinnier and less cute Merlin.

Being that the second Merlin wasn't as cute, I went ahead and, after some planning and sketching to make sure the appropriate colors went appropriate places, I made a third Merlin—a penguin!Merlin. Or a Merlin!penguin, if you so prefer. Because penguins make everything cuter.

It worked.

All hand-sewn out of felt and stuffed with polyfill. The first Merlin has slightly iridescent blue large seed beads for eyes while the second Merlin has eyes sewn of embroidery floss. The penguin!Merlin is weighted at the bottom with a penny and because of this, 70% of the time when he's tossed somewhere, he'll flip and land flat on his bottom. When his handkerchief isn't getting in the way, that is. I daresay this increases his cuteness to the point that it's nearly unbearable. I am so humble and modest, aren't I. BUT IT'S JUST SO CUTE I CAN'T STAND IT.

And I gave him away to Krunchy. *sigh* MERRY CHRISTMAS, KRUNCHY.

*This post should be read in a British accent.

Swiss hammer?

2009-12-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

So remember back in my first post where I was puzzling over what type of hammer my $6 purchase was, and was boggling over why my hammer was $6 when a similar French watch-making hammer elsewhere was $24? Aside from the fact that mine was made in Pakistan and not in France, of course.

Well, more perusing over the past couple of days has revealed other, similar hammers for prices closer to what I paid, such as this Swiss-style riveting hammer for $12 and this Swiss-style hammer for $7. (I bet they weren't imported from France.)

Apparently there is no definitive list of set-names for types of hammers. I've perused books from the library and surfed the 'net and while there are some general kinds of hammers that have widely-used names (ball-pein and chasing come to mind), other lesser-known/used hammers appear to have multiple names. Not that it really matters to me at this point except out of curiosity; I've found this particular hammer is useful for whacking more specific and smaller areas because the round face is much smaller than that of my chasing hammer. I've not really experimented with the back end yet, but I have hopes that the narrow edge will provide interesting texture when forging things.

Dangly Earrings of Dangliness

2009-12-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

This was the first set of earrings I made with the hammered, flattened wire keeping the beads from slipping off. The yellow parts are brass, the black hoops are coated copper wire, the beads are seed beads, and the fish hooks are sterling plated.

I started off with the black hoops and pondered what might be done with them, considering the addition of the yellow brass. Then, in a moment of inspiration and wondering if I couldn't keep the beads on the wire by flattening the ends, I whipped out the steel bench block, chasing hammer, and ear plugs and safety glasses (for I need my ears as well as my eyes, which nature cannot repair) and set to hammerin'. And lo, the beads stayed on, and it looked rather nifty, so I made a whole bunch of differing lengths and bead assortments and looped them onto the hoop and voila.

Starry Hematite Earrings

2009-12-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

These earrings were not exaaaactly made to match the shooting star necklace, but I did think, Hey, I still have those little hematite stars. I just made a shooting star necklace. I should make something with them!

And so I made a pair of earrings of hammered colored copper wire, silver seed beads, little hematite stars, and two sizes of hematite spheres. I put them on the ubiquitous sterling-plated fishhook earring bases. They came out dangly and shiny.

I love making earrings. Too bad I don't have pierced ears.

A Shooting Star!

2009-12-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

I made a couple of silver stars before and the general consensus was that they were cute. So! I fused some more stars, hammered them for sparkly texture, and one of them I used here—a very serendipitous creation made after I discovered that whacking the wire flat to keep beads on the upper unflattened portion looked kinda cool. I then thought it would look cool if they curved and trailed down below the star to make it a shooting one, and with a little work, some 20 gauge colored copper wire, and silver seed beads, the shooting star necklace was born.

Because it's all free-moving and dangly, it has a lot of movement. It does look rather cooler splayed out here in perfect array than when it's actually hanging and the force of gravity pulls it all central and down, but even then it looks rather nice. I strung it on black waxed linen cord with a handmade shepherd's crook clasp as I am wont to do lately.

And then there was PRONGS

2009-12-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

Prongs is © Krunchy. I merely abscond with his design and make it into as many cute things as possible, from drawings to Sculpey sculptures to felt plushies to wire thingies.

His body and legs are color-coated 20 gauge copper wire while his antlers are 20 gauge brass. His eye is a large black seed bead. His legs move when you shake him. He frolics. Later I put him on a black waxed linen cord with a shepherd's crook clasp so he could be worn as a necklace, but really he's meant just to romp around.

Penny for size reference only and not indicative of Prongs's worth. Prongs is, as always and ever shall be, priceless.

More Rings of Stacking Delightfulness and Slight Failure

2009-12-15T23:41:00.000-08:00

Given the success of my first pair of bezel-set rings, I decided to give it another go. Naturally, as the first sunstone ring was the best, and the second garnet ring was slightly less awesome, these next two rings turned out slightly sucky. Not sucktastic, no, they do not quite suck that bad—well, maybe the new garnet one does. Once again, it's all 16 gauge Argentium sterling silver rings with fine silver bezels soldered atop.

I had a packet of 4mm Swarovski flat-back crystals and thought it might be interest to try setting one of those in a bezel. But given that they are flat-back and the bezel walls were rather high, I filed the walls down a bit. In retrospect, I think I should've filed them down even more.

The bezel wall came out uneven and even lumpy, and necessitated a lot of pushing, polishing, and burnishing to get it to looking better. The roughness of the bezel walls speaks of its primeval nature. Translation: I learned a lesson about how bezel walls don't need to be nearly as high as you think they should be. Still, I suppose it turned out all right enough. Unlike the next ring.

Given the half-success half-failure of that experiment, I went back to a more traditional cabochon—in this case, a 5mm garnet. This particular cabochon was pretty flat but I thought it'd be okay without filing down the bezel wall. Clearly I thought incorrectly.

Yeah, it looks way sucktastic. *sniff* The stone is pretty but the setting? Gah.

Though they did look pretty cool all stacked up like so:

Cabochon Rings, O Ye Sunstone and Garnet

2009-12-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

The first silver jewelry I ever made was rings and yet of those I've posted none. Why is that? Inherent laziness and an inability to remember to bring them out to photograph them while there is yet natural light.

Today, however, I made two teensy cabochon rings, and to commemorate this momentous event—I've always wanted to make rings set with stones—I decided to document the process from start to finish as best I could in the fading light. But seeing as I made this decision after I'd already finished the first ring, well, here's a couple o' picture o' the results:

A 4mm sunstone in a fine silver bezel soldered onto 16 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire. Is pretty. Turned out better than I'd expected and with no real hitches. Naturally this meant that when I made the second ring, I screwed up in a rather important place…

But let's start from the beginning, shall we?

There's the 16 gauge wire, some pliers and matching wire cutter, and my ring mandrel. The wire is rarin' and ready to go, eager beyond belief to be wrapped around that mandrel and formed into a circle. Which I obligingly did for it.

I didn't use those dinky wire cutters, though, I used a more heavy-duty pair from the hardware store. The ends of the wire were all narrow and sharp instead of flush, as they ought to be when making rings, so I whipped out a file and filed the edges down flatter. Supposedly you're supposed to have them match super-ultra-duper-flush for best results, and yes, sure, fine, but it takes a lot of filing and I've found that getting them mostly flush works well enough for my purposes. Cut corners? Me? Whyever wouldst thou say that?

And here is the ring on my fire tile, ready to be torched! You can also see the outlines of a couple of awkward turtles. I fused the silver together instead of soldering it, since it's just an Argentium band and Argentium, like fine silver, takes well to fusing. I would show you a picture of me torching it except it occurred to me that it was a bad idea to be juggling torchfire in one hand and a camera in the other. I'm unsteady enough as it is and do not care to burninate either myself or my surroundings by accident. (On purpose, well, that's another question.)

Here the ring is quenched in a bowl of water. Exciting!

But since the ring hadn't been perfectly circular to begin with and between filing and mooshing the ends together and suchlike and so on, it became even more deformed. So some quick hammering on the mandrel with the nylon hammer was in order. The nylon hammer doesn't mark up the ring the way a metal one would, although as it stands I really need to get a smaller nylon hammer for this small-scale work.

And here's the ring. You can see the slightly lumpy bit where the ends fused, as well as the darker patches that I believe are firescale, which is the copper and stuff reacting to the air and heat and coming to the surface of the metal. It's only on the surface though—

—and anyway, I'm going to be soldering the bezel onto it, which means torching it again, which means I might as well wait to file it off. Instead, I filed a flat space onto the rounded band upon which the bezel will sit. That's the triangular file I used; the triangularness was not important, though, the main reason I used it was because it's narrower than the other files in the set I have and I only needed a 4mm wide flat space.

After filing, a couple of whacks on the flat space with the chasing hammer made it even flatter. Only a couple of whacks, though, because I didn't want to stretch the metal too much.

See? Flat.

Ah, yes. A package of 20 or so premade 4mm fine silver bezel cups.

Here's my high-tech setup for soldering the bezel onto the ring: put the bezel on the fire tile and lean the ring portion against the magnesia solder block for support. It'd probably be better if I had one of those third-hand-tweezer-holding-things as well as a pair of steel tweezers, but since I don't, I make do. The filed-flat portion of the ring rests against the back of the bezel and doesn't roll too much, though it's not particularly stable either.

Time for some flux! Flux is a magic liquid that makes the solder go where you want it to and makes it stick; so I put a bit on the back of the bezel as well as along the edges where the ring sits against it. See that gigantic bottle? Since I only do leetle stuff, it'll probably last me a lifetime, since I only ever need the barest dab here and there. I apply it with that cheap paintbrush there.

Next it's time to put the solder on. I use 20 gauge Argentium wire solder, and that's it in a big coil with a slightly less big coil of 20 gauge silver wire and the rest of the 16 gauge wire.

Now it's time for foundation! No, Chibi gave me her foundation containers to do with as I please, and so I use this one to keep the cut bits of solder in. It's quite handy with that screw-on lid and the fact that the bottom is clear so I can see what's in there.

A length of wire solder at the top and the teeny paillons I cut from it.

I used to try to apply the paillons onto the fluxed metal using my needlenose pliers, but that sucked because it was too finicky. Then I read that other people just use a fine paintbrush dipped in flux to apply them, and I've never looked back. Still finicky, but way less so because the paillons actually stick to the tip of the brush and can be eased gently off.

The high-tech torch I stole from my mom. She never made crème brulee anyway.

I torched it…but unlike with the first ring, I held the torch on it a bit too long and the ring shank buckled—and fell. Fell like my face did when I realized what I'd done. It fell because it got too hot and started to melt, and in the process it began to fuse to the edges of the bezel and deformed it.

*sigh* Nothin' to do but rip it off, file the bumps down, and try again. I took only one pic of the redo because it was basically all of the above all over, flux and solder and torch—and this time I kept a sharper eye on the tricksy metal and made sure that it didn't get too hot.

Success! Hooray! I filed off the firescale and blackened oxidation, which took some time since most of the ring was black by now. Inside and out, and all around, filing, filing, using the small jeweler's files instead of the hardware store ones. And then it was time for the shiny.

I decided I'd give this one to my mom, so as to prevent her from stealing my sunstone one, and I asked her what stone she wanted. She picked garnet, so here they are: 4mm Indian garnet cabochons. What's an Indian garnet? I guess it's from India or something. The place I bought it from labeled them as Indian garnets. They don't look particularly special unlike, say, spessartite garnets, which are a delicious orange.

That's the burnisher used to set stones by pushing the bezel around them.

Empty bezel cup and a size check of the ring. Ready.

Garnet in the cup. Set.

Bezel being pushed and burnished down. GO! You push it from the two opposite ends, and then you push from the other ends, and then you push some more all around, switching off, and—you know what? I fail at describing this because I'm too tired right now. You can just Google "bezel setting tutorial" and see what I mean.

Finally it's well-set and with a bit more burnishing it will be smoothed out and have a nice shine around the bezel.

To harden the metal and make sure it wouldn't get crushed or bent easily, I brought out the steel bench block and used the nylon hammer to work-harden the band. I held the ring over the edge of the steel with the garnet off to the side, and took care not to hit it. I've learned my lesson about things like that. D: I would've hammered it before except I didn't want to the bezel to get deformed again.

What now? Polishing! Left as it is, the ring is still fairly shiny, with a sort of pseudo-brushed finish from the filing—but I broke out this packet of 6 grades of polishing paper I'd picked up and never used until today, and let me say, it took a looong time of rubbing over and over and around and around and over and under and ~~through the woods~~, but working my way down from coarse to fine (though even the coarsest didn't feel rough to the touch 'cause it's just paper), and the band had a fine high-polish shiny sheen. I'd already tried it with the sunstone ring, so I knew it'd work on the garnet one, though my the end, my hands were getting sore from all the filing and hammer and polishing, with all the little accidental injuries that go with it. Not that I hit myself with the hammer ~~this time~~; instead, I speared myself on the ends of the files. Twice.

By this point, it was completely dark outside, freezing cold, and I had finished the garnet ring. Look at that shiiiine, baby, ain't it fiiiiine.

I stacked it with the sunstone ring just to see what it'd look like. It looked pretty good, actually. I may have to make another garnet one for myself.

And that, my friends, is one way in which I go fiddling about with torches and gems and silver.

"Come with me, CUPCAKE."

2009-12-01T14:07:00.001-08:00

I while ago I was tinkering about with some ideas concerning outlines and shapes using thin-gauge wire; the turtles came out of this line of pondering. Something a little more complicated for my next project would be nice, something with a little more complicated structure and shape—but it had to be recognizable as such, and the Bejeweled Awkward Turtle has taught me that even the simplest of shapes aren't always recognizable if you put them together stupidly.

So I threw together a cupcake out of 22 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire. All of it is fused except for the bezel-set 6mm carnelian cabochon on top—that's soldered, and the cherry stem is soldered onto the back of the bezel. I melted the tip of the stem before soldering so that it would ball up, for that little extra touch. I then hammered everything lightly for some subtle sparkle, as per usual. I also left the bottom "paper" part of the cupcake fire-blackened, but it wasn't that strong to begin with and wore off a bit during the hammering and cleaning processes.

I have to try oxidizing sometime, to give things more depth and texture and color. Apparently you can do it with eggs, which means I don't have to muck about with liver of sulpher or other nasty chemicals. From bottom to cherry (not including stem), this pendant is about an inch and a quarter tall. It's strung on black waxed linen cord with a handmade shepherd's crook clasp because I'd made a ton of those and need to use 'em up.

The cupcake has been met with far more success than the aventurine awkward turtle (although it predated the awkward turtle, let it be said, by a couple of weeks, I think); everyone I've shown it to has recognized it as a cupcake. This makes it magical and therefore fit for Merlin.

Awkward Turtle Makes Babies

2009-11-29T00:25:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving, I ate a lot of food, received a lot of books, and shot and got shot multiple times by a variety of heavy-duty Nerf artillery.

The day after, I ate even more food, frolicked with friends, and learned new gestures to add to my awkward repertoire, including awkward starfish and awkward turtle makes babies.

So now, in remembrance, I shall post the first awkward turtle I made, which was really not all that awkward-looking, but was awkward nonetheless. Fused (not soldered!) 16 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire with a 12 gauge tail because the 16 gauge tail ended up not fusing properly, probably because I didn't evenly spread the heat. I hammered one side for a sparkly texture and left the other side smooth for that desirous even shine.

Then, because it looked so sad and lonely, I fashioned a pair of fused ickle turtles out of 22 gauge wire—and these, I say, truly were awkward, for during the fusing process, one hind leg on each turtle ended up melting into the body and lumping up, necessitating some clipping, reshaping, and fusing of a new leg. I put them on premade sterling-plated fish hook earrings and voila! I hammered them a bit to try to make them sparklier but they're a bit too small for it to really show.

These were all for Pooka's birthday. Joyeux anniversaire, mi amiga! I strung the pendant on black waxed linen cord with a handmade shepherd's crook clasp of gunmetal copper wire and also included a small silver jump ring so the pendant could be worn on a more traditional chain if desired. I mounted the set on some cardstock and doodled turtles all over for that extra turtle touch.

And because more power to ya, and because turtles are awesome, and because I used to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I put this on the back.

Cowabunga, Awkward Turtle.

Awkward Turtle

2009-11-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Having made other turtles that I shall post later, I thought, Hey, it'd be kind of neat to make a bejeweled turtle! I will go out and buy 5mm and 6mm aventurine cabochons because they are green! Green like turtles! And I will make a turtle out of them! And it will be a masterful work of astonishing turtletude! Haha! All right!

The results were, alas, not quite up the genius master plan.

I thought it'd be sturdier if I soldered the bezels on top of the silver circle instead of on the sides. In retrospect, I think the other way would've looked much better, and to hell with sturdiness; it's not like pendants get bashed around the way rings do. From top to bottom, this awkward turtle is approximately 1 ¼".

Sadly, only one person I've shown this to even recognized it for the attempt at a turtle that it is. Everyone else just thought it was a pretty circle of gems. See that little loop? That's his tail, so he can be hung on a cord or chain. This would be not be advisable for a real turtle.

The Paladin Shield

2009-11-23T23:47:00.000-08:00

I never did get that freaking Cursed Shield uncursed in Final Fantasy VI, so I never obtained the coveted Paladin Shield. It took way too long fighting the requisite 255 battles, and I accidentally unequipped the shield and then saved, and bah. Some day, though, I will go back and get it. Some day.

I would like to say that this sad tale was the inspiration behind this copper shield pendant that I made, but that would be a lie, a filthy, filthy lie, and I am a fundamentally honest person when it suits my purposes. In actuality, I was just screwing around with some 18 gauge copper sheet and thought a shield would be a recognizable shape, but also one simple enough to hack out of the sheet with some industrial shears and refine using needle files. From top point to bottom, it is approximately 1 ¼".

How did it begin? I cut out a paper pattern, traced it onto the copper using a Sharpie, and then cut the shape out using the shears, and then smoothed out the edges and defined the curves at the top with some judicious filing. Then I punched a hole in the top for a cord or jump ring, and then soldered a bitty 4mm fine silver bezel off-center. My first soldering job, actually, and because I was still figuring out what I was doing, I ended up fluxing a larger portion of the shield than I should've, and so the solder ran and spread out in silver splotches around the bezel. But combined with the patina and general color change of the copper induced by the torch, it ended up looking relatively cool, so I just left everything alone instead of polishing to a shine.

I then proceeded to set a 4mm sunstone in the bezel. The sunstone was very small—which is to say yes, it was 4mm, but it was very flat, and this was also my first attempt at bezel-setting as well as my first attempt at soldering, and so I will not deny that it ended up, shall we say, more than halfway funky in appearance.

Nonetheless, I still rather like the results—and as with everything, First Evers tend to hold a special place within my heart. And isn't that cardboard box just the most beautiful backdrop ever upon which to photo such a masterpiece?

Lapis and the Dangling Curlies of Tangling Doom

2009-11-22T18:48:00.001-08:00

Another pair of earrings—curly redux. A pair of 6mm lapis lazuli cabochons in fine silver bezels, seductively embraced in the voluptuous curves of Argentium sterling silver wire, with free-hanging curlies threaded on curlies for maximum dangliness. They are sadly prone to tangling, but do look fairly cool otherwise. These were for Elise's birthday.

The ear hooks are sterling-plated and store-bought. 'Cause using premade stuff is easy and I'm a lazy bum. Also, now that I have some simple ear hooks in my possession, I can probably eventually forge my own.

I also buy my bezels premade, once again because I am a lazy bum—and anyway, as long as companies fabricate round bezels in a variety of sizes, why should I make my own? Sure, it might be satisfying (I doubt it, considering the amount of work involved), but I daresay it's easier to just buy 'em and use 'em right out of the package for the teensy cabochons I've been using. Setting them is the same: shove the stone in, push down the bezel edges, then smooth out and polish.

Now, for odd-sized or unusually-shaped stones, that's another question—and if and when I get to the point that I'm dealing with setting lumptacular pieces of pretty stones, I shall then endeavor to make my own bezels out of silver sheet, bezel strip, and solder.

Until then, premade bezels 'tis.

Carnelian Curly

2009-11-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

After I made the hematite curly earrings, I thought I'd try more curliness—in pendant form! Something where the design embraced the bezel for a bit more support and, incidentally, ease of soldering. The result? An inch-tall pendant of 22 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire soldered around a fine silver bezel containing a 6mm carnelian cabochon.

'Tis a fairly delicate little piece, lightweight and hammered for a sparkly texture. Soldering went pretty well, as I had learned a bit more from trial and error (mostly trial, luckily, be it said), and the bezel is securely soldered between the single piece of long curly wire. The trio of curlies on the right are actually two pieces of wire—the top two are formed of one length, while the bottom one is another, all soldered together at the connecting points for strength.

I learned from Chibi's earrings: leave what pieces connected you can. Can, and did. Candid! Ahahahaha, oh my, that made no sense but I laugh at it anyway. I blame the sugar-butter-toasted pecans and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream that Chibi made last night when we all descended upon her for watching the new Star Trek movie and then playing a round of Bang!.

Also, randomly, these entries are documenting a backlog of procrastination-born pieces (which is why I'm updating everyday, instead of maybe once or twice a month as will probably be the case) and the order is not always strictly chronological because—well, I haven't taken (useable) pictures of everything yet, so I'm just blogging what I happen to have on hand. Also, my hands are very cold right now. So are my feet. In fact, most of me is very cold right now—I daresay all of me is very cold right now. I think I'm going to put on a jacket in addition to the sweatshirt I'm already wearing and will add a blanket as further protection 'gainst this bitter strain of winter distemper—or fine, whatever, fall distemper. The thermometer says it's 62° F inside. To some, this is t-shirt weather. To me, this is weather worthy of rolling up into a burrito of blankets and saying goodnight to the daytime.

Fear the Fiddly Curly

2009-11-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

I do not have pierced ears for I fear the pain. Tell me all you like it doesn't hurt, it's only a pinch, really, it's the truth, and I will say unto you, LIAR, BIG AND FAT. I have heard tales of infection, of sensitivity, of metal allergies, of agony and no ecstasy. No piercings for me, thanks.

Fortunately, I have friends who have pierced ears. I make them subject to my earring experimentation whether they like it or not. My first earrings evarrr were soldered 22 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire with 6mm hematite cabochons in pre-made fine silver bezels. Translation: Curly bits of wire soldered together with the stones mounted on top.

My second attempt at soldering and third (and fourth) attempt at bezel-setting, and I was fairly pleased with the results. It doesn't hurt that the dark glimmer of the hematite sits in good contrast to the sparkle of the lightly-hammered silver. Although I do wish I'd had to the foresight to form a lop at the apex of the earrings from which to hang them instead of making do with a pair of jump rings—but alas, I wanted to fit the stones in the bezels and only realized too late that if I was going to be doing anymore torchwork, well, that's not such a good idea around stones like these.

It wasn't difficult as much as it was extremely fiddly getting the curly wire bits to line up properly and fit close to the bezel, and to get the solder to flow correctly to hold everything together. All the curlies were separate pieces with the bezel sitting in the center and if one bit got pushed, everything else shifted out of alignment. Le sigh. But eventually I got everything together, the solder cooperated, and voila, shiny curlies in one proper piece!

(Originally I had these on a pair of ear hooks I'd made out of more wire, but since I didn't have an earring reference in front of me, they were too small and also looked sucktastic; instead I went to Jo-Ann's and bought a pair of sterling silver lever-backs instead. Much better.)

These were for Chibi's birthday. Happy birthday again, Chibi! She loved them. Hooray! I ask no more than that for my work—everlasting love.

Trebulous tremulous tremendulous treble clefs

2009-11-19T21:03:00.000-08:00

So my friend is a musician and a med school student, which means that her love of music and medicine both is great. She has so far not expressed any great fondness for the Rod of Asclepius, but I do know she likes musical staves and notes and such, so a while ago I made her a necklace out of coated copper wire featuring treble clefs.

I checked out a book from the school library called Jewelry Making for Fun and Profit by Helen Clegg and Mary Larom (only wrapping and bending wire and such, no torches involved) and one of the patterns was similar to a treble clef; the instructional passage actually said that was what many people initially mistook it for. Which made me think that I might as well just make a treble clef—and so I did. Instead of linking the individual clefs together, I added a ring between them in thicker gauge wire for contrast; incidentally, the colors are gunmetal and gold because those were the colors I happened to have on hand of the appropriate gauges.

It was pretty much a test piece, fiddling with the treble clefs and seeing of the design worked. The rings could've been closed better by either cutting the ends more flush (i.e. using the sharper pair of wire cutters instead of the old chewed-up ones) and/or filing them, but for a test piece, it's not so bad. In the first picture on the inward curve of the necklace, you can spot the shepherd's crook clasp blending into the rest of the links like a bird-shaped potato among sparrows. That didn't really make much sense but I don't care.

Sparkling First Post!

2009-11-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

Hello, world! Breakin' in the new blog here with a picture-post and here's hopin' that all (or at least most) future posts will also be full of pictureful pizazz.

Today I bought a new hammer. It had a sticker on the plastic bag that said "MADE IN PAKISTAN." To further emphasize its origins, "PAKISTAN" is stamped onto the metal. Some online perusing has revealed that I've bought a French watchmaking hammer although since Rio Grande's hammer is $24 and mine was only $6, I have to wonder if this hammer is going to kill me some day when the head flies off the handle and strikes a deadly blow upon my own head. But since I have been stricken by a disastrous case of thickheadedness since birth, I have hopes that my unusually dense skull will save me.