Spring in Paris II - Spectacle Chain

I was asked to make a spectacle chain in a design similar to my Spring in Paris necklace. It's one of my favourite necklaces I've made. I thought it was time that I showed you how much effort and attention to detail goes in each of my jewellery designs. Here's the original Spring in Paris necklace, however, because I never replicate any of my designs exactly, I made a few changes.

In both cases I started off with a handmade verdigris finish for the vintage brass filigree:

 Here you can see the verdigris finish with a layer of varnish to protect it:

The organza flower is an integral part of the design. Here are the petals, cut and singed, ready to go onto the filigree.

Next, I selected the beads I wanted to use in the design. I always mix them up in a bowl so I can see how they all go together. Once I am happy with the mix I start putting it all together.

Here's a closeup of the mix. I've used fabric covered beads, vintage lucite and glass, jade, ceramic wood, paper beads and beads with all sorts of finishes and textures.

Here I've laid them out on a beading mat. You can see that I have started assembling the beads.

 This is the finished spectacle chain. Complete with little loops to attach to the glasses.

A detail picture.

A design like this takes me around 5 hours inlcuding all the prep work but excluding drying times and choosing the beads.

This design was a commission but Spring in Paris (necklace) is still available and I am happy to make other designs for you based on a previous design or on colour schemes etc. Please use the contact button at the top to send me a mail for more details.

I've also made some rings but haven't taken any pictures yet. I'll post them soon. :-)

Spring in Paris

Spring is here - three days (at least) of sunshine and here's my offering to the goddess of Spring, Persephone:

Spring in Paris

This is another long necklace, but this time I included a clasp so it can be worn wrapped around your neck twice.

And doesn't it look just like Spring in Paris? It's elegant, romantic and a little whimsical with a shabby chic edge to it. Lipstick and sugar pinks, pale fresh Spring green, soft cream with a floral theme set off against stark black and with the vintage touch of the verdigrised filigrees.

I've added another organza/tulle flower, with layers in mint green, dark brown, burgundy, pale pink and cream and lovely gorgeous watery green Miyuki beads.


The flower is set onto a filigree with three more watery green Miyuki beads as a counterweight and so it looks pretty just in case it does turn the wrong way round. The filigree has been hand painted with a verdigris finish in acrylic paints and covered with two layers of special varnish.



Below you can see the details:

Little filigree hearts - painted verdigris - set between beautiful floral fabric beads that have gorgeous leafy bead caps in matte black. The fabric beads have come all the way from France again from the little beadhive shop on Etsy.

The pale green beads are amazonite rounds and the black ones are gunmetal beads.

The sugary pink beads are reconstituted pink turqoise and the bright lipstick pink ones are trade beads from Africa.


I've used two types of chain: one is a gorgeous matte black chain (new) that has little crescents strung together with (soldered) jump rings. The other chain is a vintage chain with a very dark patina and teeny tiny links.

The chain has a dangle that overhangs the small clasp with more watery green Miyuki beads.

I've also made a commission, but since it's for Mother's Day I won't show it on here till next Monday... just in case.

A Definite Heart Theme - and some insects!

Here are some creations I prepared earlier ;-)

Fly, Fly Dragonfly Necklace

I have a thing about dragonflies. They are so graceful and pretty, and like the ugly duckling they're not half as pretty when they're little.

I made this one from copper sheet, which I cut to shape, then I filed and sanded it to get rid off the sharp edges and also to add detail to the wings. Next, I had some fun bashing it with some filigree laid over the top of it to create lovely detailed indentations. More filing, since this caused some sharp edges to reappear.

The body is made from hollow square sterling silver tube that I sawed into shape, brushed to create a texture and then wired to the wings with thin copper wire. Finally, I added a 'body' with a vintage butterfly glass bead that is etched with gold. A sterling silver chain finished the necklace.

I could have left it at that as it was pretty, but it wasn't quite pretty enough. So I oxidised the wings slightly using diluted liver of sulphur and a brush. I took off most of the oxidisation except at the wing tips and close to the body, and, of course, it stayed in the indentations. The next step was some verdigris (see previous post for the method), some of which I removed with wire wool and a cotton bud. The final step was some varnish to prevent skin irritations, although, the back of the dragonfly is polished (although that will tarnish over time). I may have to experiment with some superfine glitter to create some iridescence. Yep, it's true, I am a bit obsessed with getting this just right....

Here's the necklace with it's chain:



An image of the pendant:



An image of the wings on the right to show the verdigris and texture:


Finally, the body with the vintage glass butterfly.


Black Butterfly Necklace

This was made in the same way as the Dragonfly necklace above, although the butterfly is of course much smaller and I've used the black vintage flower bead for it's body and black faceted vintage glass beads in the lower half of the necklace. The chain is sterling, the beads are wrapped with thin copper wire.

Here's the whole necklace:



The pendant:




The chain with the beads:

Rose Petal Earrings

I made these earrings when I had a little time before making dinner and just needed to do something creative because the whole day had been filled with things that should have been done yesterday... I am sure you know the kind of day I am talking about.

I created a leaf shape in sterling silver wire, wrapped the beads (red quartz and rose quartz) inside the leaf shapes, and added the swirly ear wires.

I think they turned out really well and they look delicate and the quartz beads are even prettier in real life than they are in the picture.



True Love Necklace

This is such a pretty little necklace. I haven't quite decided if I am going to keep it or if I can bear to let it go.

I started off with the heart shape which I cut out of copper sheet, then bashed into submission with some filigree to get the lovely textures on it. A little filing and sanding on the edges to make sure it was safe to wear.

Next, I created the custom bezel for it and added a little vintage brass heart and a vintage red heart bead - the same bead that I used in the Secret Heart. I made a lovely custom clasp for the necklace and added vintage ruby red faceted beads (round and rondelles) to the chain. Finally, I oxidised the whole necklace, then rubbed off some of the patina again to let the copper shine through. The satin smooth sheen of the copper and the textures I made with the filigree give the heart a look of old embroidered silk.



Here's the pendant in detail:



The pretty vintage chain and beads in detail:



This necklace is not for sale. Sorry. I am keeping it! :-)

Two Hearts Beating As One Necklace

The process for this necklace was similar to the True Love necklace. However, rather than using a readymade vintage charm, I made a wire heart shape of the same size to go with the copper sheet heart. I added three types of different vintage chain, lovely faceted vintage beads in differeent shades of turqoise and the turquoise heart was wired to the end of the chain. The necklace is designed like a lariat, it has no fastening. However I fixed the end with the turquoise heart to the other two hearts so it loops through, this makes the necklace hang better when the necklace is worn. Although there is no clasp, the necklace is long enough to just slip over the head.



The two hearts in detail:


The detail on the copper sheet heart:



Sold.

Verdigris - Going Green

I promised I'd post instruction on how to create verdigris on copper, brass or bronze. There's not an awful lot on the net about it and it was a bit of a hit and miss process. Alison gave me some good advice and so did Penny's husband (if you have cats, read no further just get the cats to have a little pee on your jewellery ;-)) and another little helper found some helpful info on the net where I'd failed to find it, however, in the end I experimented and this is what worked for me.

You will need:

• copper carbonate - pottery supplies should have this in powdered form
• vinegar - normal household stuff, although I used the white malt vinegar rather than the reddish brown stuff
• Salt
• a glass jar or bowl
• a flat bowl or plate
• some clingfilm
• an old spoon for measuring
• a brush
• some wire wool
  
• a warm place
• some paper towels or old tea towel
  
• copper, brass or bronze jewellery

The ratio between copper carbonate and vinegar is 1:5, one part copper carbonate to 5 parts vinegar or thereabouts.

Safety first, make sure cats, kids and other pets etc are safely out of the way! Work in a well ventilated area.

1. Take one part copper carbonate, add 5 parts vinegar, and a pinch of salt. I've used a 1/4 teaspoon copper carbonate, if you use more, add more salt.
2. Mix the ingredients together.
3. Cover the flat bowl/plate with clingfilm.
4. Prepare the jewellery by rubbing it lightly with the wire wool. Wipe off any dust/wire wool debris.
5. Lay out the jewellery with the side that you want to verdigris on top.
6. Brush on the mix lightly. Don't put too much on at once. You will need to do this several times until you achieve the amount of verdigris you want. Wipe off any bits that cover areas you don't want verdigrised.
7. Place the plate in a warm place like on the window sill, in the sun shine or on a warm radiator. I'd not put it next to an open fire, in the oven or on a cooker! No idea what would happen - chemistry was never my strong point - but I am thinking fumes here, and I am not sure how flamable the mix is...
   
8. Wait for the first layer to dry completely. The first layer is usually very disappointing, not much to see, but do not despair, just apply again.
9. Repeat brushing the verdrigris mix onto the jewellery until it has the desired amount of verdigris.

Since we're talking about jewellery here, I'd use a couple of layers of spray varnish over the top of the verdrigris so there will be no skin irritations when the item is worn. I'd also always apply the verdigris on areas that face away from the skin. Should you cover the back by accident, just rub it off with wire wool before you varnish the piece.

Hope someone finds this helpful. :-) I'd be happy to see and post your successes. :-)

PS. Watch out for new items tomorrow (hopefully).

Pear Blossom

My latest design. Took me all of a whole day to make this, but I think it was worth every minute. I had fun designing this as I tried out lots of new techniques and combined them with old and tested ones.

I started off with the leaves - lovely heart shaped leaves that I made from thick copper wire, then hammered flat, finally I added the veining with thin copper wire. When all three were done, I first scorched them with my new pencil torch, rubbed them with some wire wool, verdigrised them to an old family recipe (watch this space, I'll post the process), and, finally, varnished them to make sure the verdigris would not react with the skin.



The next step was the pretty chain for the necklace and bracelet. They are both made of figure of eight links in a mix of copper and bronze, and the ones for the necklace are graduating from very small to quite large. The links for the bracelet are made with links that are all of the same size in a ladder design. Some pretty handmade (of course!) clasps and then it was time for the next step.



The blossoms are made mainly from rosequartz - a large briolette, chips, a lovely smooth nugget, a pale pink glass bead, and some rosy seed beads (teeny and Japanese).


Now it was all ready for the final step, the assembly and here are the finished articles: