Experiments in jewelry design

Working on new designs this past week has been fun and frustrating. First, let me show you the frustrating. I was working on making metal beads which are hand stamped and riveted together. Not the easiest thing to do with 2 hands. I could have used a third hand.
I took this idea from the book, "Stamped Metal Jewelry" by Lisa Niven Kelly. I found the difficulty in holding the pieces together (lined up correctly) while hammering to set the rivet. So I messed this one up. I'm mad at myself because I used sterling silver caps, when I should have used a cheaper metal on my first attempt. Now I have to heat the bead up and try to salvage the silver. I hate waste! Oh well, this is how we learn. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And now, for my successful piece:
This is a copper cuff, to which I set a stone to the front and embellished with sterling twisted wire. This is the first time I've used this technique. I just learned this from Rosamond Bain, in Ontario, Canada. She teaches a technique, that she calls, "pie crusting". The stone is not soldered in place, but wrapped and shaped with the metal.
I decided to use this technique on a cuff. I used rivets to set the wrapping metal onto the cuff. The sterling twisted wire is also riveted, and I used a bit of embellishment and pulled the silver on top of the stone. I've decided to wear this one for a while to see how it fits and wears. I wore it out the other day. It is suprisingly comfortable, considering how big the front looks. I made sure all the edges are smooth. And it is not too bulky, or gets in your way.
More to follow!
Bookmark and Share

Comments

Paula Parrish said…
Hello Cindy,
Oooo La La! Your cuffed wrapped bracelet is so pretty. Nice work.
Smiles, Paula
cindy said…
thanks Paula!
Susan Marling said…
That is stunning! I love it.

Popular posts from this blog

January 2015 Nature Box subscription picks

Post July 4th workout and update

Oh happy day!