EtsyMetal charm swap 10

I took part in the 10th EtsyMetal charm swap and my charms are complete and shipped off.  I am now waiting to receive 20 charms back all from different members of the team, I can't wait!
Here are some pics of me making them, hope you like them :)

If you are interesting in a charm, you can also purchase one from my Etsy shop too.

New website, new pieces

First of all I have some new items in my etsy shop which I haven't blogged about yet!

Another pierced bird necklace with some stamping and also I have riveted on some sterling silver flowers.

This next one is slightly smaller and has the silver bird riveted on to a copper background, also with some stamped leaves.

Finally some poppy post earrings in oxidized silver which match this ring.

I have also made a new website with Big Cartel, at the moment it only has a few pieces in that are made to order items but I hope to be adding to them soon.  Etsy will still be my main site though and will have contain more of my intricate pieces, here is a screen shot.

A cuff!

Finally something new to write about! I made my first cuff, it is copper with silver flowers riveted to it, first time I have tried riveting which is exciting, definitely more to come.  I stamped, pierced, hammered and oxidized.

This cuff also won me Cookson Golds, design of the week competition so I was doubly happy :D

I hope you like it, it is in my etsy shop as usual.

Four A Month- January

I joined the Four A  Month (FAM) challenge on Flickr, and here is what I made for January.  The theme was birds and branches so I made 4 pendants from copper and pierced them.  I am pretty happy the way they turned out too.

I think it is a really good challenge as it pushes me creatively and it also means I get at least 1 new listing in my Etsy shop each week :)
Now I just have to think of a theme for February and you can find these necklaces in my Etsy shop.

A New Necklace

I have just finished making this new necklace.  It is a pierced copper pendant strung on sterling silver and it is now in my shop, hope you like it.

Another Cherry Blossom Necklace

You can probably tell that cherry blossom is one of my favourite flowers, not sure why, I just love them!

I made this larger pendant at the weekend and next up I want to make some cherry blossom earrings.

I hope you like this one :D

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

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 :)

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 :)

Riveted

I made this new necklace, I think it is pretty cool! My first go at riveting too.
It is 2 copper pieces, the first with my pierced design and the second I have oxidized and attached underneath so the patina shows through the design.  It is quite a heavy piece so I think I need to experiment a bit more when my new supplies arrive.

Happy weekend all :)

First piercings

I have been busy trying out my new saw, gotta say it's pretty cool!  First of all I made the above, the flower was the first thing I cut out of copper and soldered to some sterling wire and added the copper leaf detail.

I then made this cherry blossom necklace,  I like how this one turned out:

Finally I made a little hammered heart, well just because I love hearts, cute and simple.

Even though I have never used a jewellers saw before, I highly recommend this one, changing the blades is a breeze.  Out of all 3 pieces I only broke one blade and I wasn't even sawing, I was trying to lubricate the blade, haha!

I hope you like my new pieces :)