More Birds in Copper

Here I have a couple more pieces I made over the weekend, in copper.
I used my jewellery saw to cut out the graphic then sanded and tumbled and gave it an oxidized, brushed finish.

Next is another bird and branch necklace, this one was made the same way and I hammered the edges for a bit more detail.

That's it so far, I hope you like them :)

On another note, I am very excited as I will be starting my first metalsmithing class on Friday night which runs for 7 weeks.  I hope to learn some more advanced techniques and brush up on the things I have already taught myself.  I have started to collect a few cabochons ready for stone setting, so watch this space and I will keep you updated on how it is going :D

The Winner is......

...Congratulations to Louise of Dearest Jackdaw!

Thanks so much to all who entered my little giveaway and more importantly for continuing to follow my blog.

I always love to do giveaways so keep a lookout for the next one! :D

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Hello all, I thought it was about time for another giveaway and to mark my celebration of getting over 200 followers, hurrah! (Thank you to all my followers :D)
As you have probably seen, I have really been practicing my piercing so I thought I would give away this cherry blossom necklace. 
Yours will be freshly made and lovely, all you need to do to enter is follow my blog if you are not already and leave me a message below.

I will randomly pick a winner this Sunday (27th) and I will post the necklace anywhere in the whole wide world! :D

Hand pierced copper necklace on a oxidized sterling silver chain.

Stuff I really, really want...

So today I was just admiring my favourites on etsy, as you do, and thought I would share.
First up is this uh-mazing scarf from TheFaerieMarket in fact I love her whole shop but this scarf is my fave, although now I am having trouble trying to decide which colors I like best.

Long and Leafy Scarf with Embroidered Leaves By TheFaerieMarket

Next up is this purse/wallet from MoxieandOliver the reason I love this so much is because it is big and has 2 zips!  I live in France and work in Switzerland so I always have 2 currencies on me and I would like to keep them seperate.  Makes life much easier when you are rooting around for change!  I think this will be my next purchase, this purse makes me happy :)

Belle Cadilac Purse Wallet By MoxieandOliver

Hello gorgeous piece of silver, I love this cuff. Rough and organic, just my style from CyndieSmithDesigns

Silver Leaf Statement Cuff By CyndieSmithDesigns

Last but not least for today, this French Maison Set by ARTISANIEEurope.  Who doesn't want little villages all over their house? I do and I think this one is perfect.

French Maison Set By ARTISANIEeurope

Finished Cake Toppers

I finally finished this set of toppers, just need to add some finishing touches and then they will be shipped.  The photo quality is a bit rubbish as I took it with no natural light and flash was used, when you work full time what can you do? :)
All polymer clay as usual, now onto the next set!

Friday Cuteness

More metal work

As promised here are the other pieces I made this weekend, more pierced copper! First up is another hammered heart necklace, this one has a jump ring in the centre rather that a bail on the back.  I love to use my hammer and bash away and I also love the texture it gives.

 

Next is a little apple which was fun to cut and helped me practice my curves along with the heart.

And last but not least, one of my faves, a little house!  I love houses and I love seeing them in jewellery.  I would really like to do a series on houses but more like little 3D houses made from silver clay, something for the future no doubt.

At the moment I am practicing a lot with copper sheet and hope to start using silver sheet in the near future, as it is expensive I want to make sure I am not going to destroy it first!

New metal piercings

As promised here are a couple of pieces I finished this weekend. I  am really happy how they turned out and I think my piercing skills are improving as well as my finishing skills!
First up is the bird on a branch piece which I blogged about earlier in the week saying it was my next challenge.  My first attempt went wrong as I cut out a piece I wasn't supposed to so this time I planned my cuts and all went to plan.

I love that one!
Next is a cherry blossom which is slightly domed and I put in a rivet for the centre part of the flower, a very sweet and dainty piece.  I am really loving the oxidized look on the copper and I think it gives the piece a lot more depth.

 I think I will add both to my etsy shop today, I have another couple of pieces but I just need to edit the pics so they are for another post.
I hope you like them :)

New Tools!

Or rather new machines? anyway I finally bought a rotary tumbler for my jewellery and I also bought a crock pot and some pickle.  For some reason it took me this long to buy a pickle pot and pickle and I don't know why, maybe it's because I am now doing more soldering.

As for the tumbler I have wanted one for ages, not just for polishing but for work hardening the metal as well.  I make all my own ear wires, so I am looking forward to some tumbling this weekend and finishing of the piercing projects I started.  More pics to follow over the weekend!

Work in progress- cake toppers

Here is an update on my cake toppers which I am hoping to get finished this weekend, all being well.  I have 3 dogs to make yet as well as the groom :S

I couldn't resist getting the saw out again, I received some new blades in the mail and the size I am using now is much better so made life a lot easier!  I have finished off the 3 from my last post and will post pics at the weekend but above is my next piercing project.  Can't wait to get started on that one now!

Sawing Metal..

I have spent most of today messing around in my studio sawing metal and practicing my piercing.  The photo shows what I have made so far.  I think I have figured out that my piercing skills are not so bad, it is the finishing I seem to struggle with.  Trying to get that line perfectly straight or curved is tricky!  I need to figure out the best tool to use on my flex shaft for this.  If course I am using copper at the moment to practice on and hopefully I will have a couple of pieces finished tomorrow ready for Etsy shop.

Anyway I really shouldn't have been playing with metal as I have cake toppers to finish, oh well tomorrow is another day before Monday arrives and the week starts all over again :)