Cuttlefish Casting

I've been meaning to try casting with cuttlefish bone for some time and I finally got everything together so here is my first attempt. 

 

I used reclaimed sterling silver from a variety of sources after testing it first for silver content if it wasn't marked. 

I'm glad the first piece I did turned out because the next three didn't and I might have given up.  I learned from the flops, though, and as soon as I get some more cuttlebone I'll be at it again.  One of the things I learned is that the stench of burned cuttlefish bone doesn't leave the studio for hours!!! so next time I'll do this outside.

More Patina Play on Copper

I'm trying to get into the habit of posting on my blog more regularly but life has a way of getting in the way and that's okay cause it's all good.  All I have to do is schedule myself a bit better.  Ha!!

I had a bit of time to play in my studio this weekend so I spent some of it playing with some more patina on copper penny earrings.  The first one, Liver of Sulphur, is pretty common.  I used the gel so all I had to do was stir it into some hot water (1 tsp of the Liver of Sulphur to 12 ounces of water).  I heated the copper a bit with the torch first so when I immersed the earrings in the solution, the colour developed very quickly and got quite black.  After rinsing and drying, I sanded the high points lightly for some contrast.

Copper earrings with Liver of Sulphur patina

On this next pair I decided to try layering a  couple of different techniques.  First I did a heat patina using peanut oil and the MAPP gas torch.  I lightly oiled the copper with peanut oil on a paper towel and then heated the earrings just until I got some colour variation - shades of brown and orange mostly.  Then I cleaned off the oil partially and spritzed the earrings with water, sprinkled with some salt, and left under a glass cake topper overnight with a small dish of ammonia.  This added some lovely turquoise blue colour to the mix.  Perfect compliment to the turquoise nuggets I added to these earrings.  If I had scrubbed more of the peanut oil off, I would have had more blue.  Maybe next time.  I love how they turned out anyway.

Copper earrings with peanut oil and MAPP gas patina topped with patina made with ammonia and salt

Jewelry making is so much fun!

Adventures in Jewelry Making

I've been having a blast in my studio creating designs for my own jewelry, primarily using upcycled, reclaimed, and recycled stuff.

Cool stuff

I believe I now have enough older Canadian copper pennies to last my lifetime or until my arm gives out from hammering them flat on the bench block.  It takes about 50 blows with a 24 oz hammer to flatten each penny.  Oh, to be ambidextrous!  Friends and family know what kinds of treasure I covet so they watch for cool stuff wherever they go - old jewelry, beads, electrical wire...  

I first started making simple beaded jewelry about 25 years ago but I was more passionate about collecting pretty beads than I was about actually making the jewelry.  More recently, I became inspired by all the beautiful creations showing up in jewelry making publications on the market and started looking for more information.
 
I loved the look of metal but was intimidated by all the technical information.  I was wishing I could afford to take a course somewhere when I discovered a wonderful book called "Making Metal Jewelry" by Jen Cushman, an awesome designer and writer, who delivered the information in such a friendly way that nothing seemed too difficult to try.  That was my course!  I highly recommend this book.

Of course I had to set up another zone in my studio to accommodate my newest passion.

Jewelry making zone (shared with encaustic painting cause I really didn't have the space for another zone without giving something up and that's not likely to happen!)

One of my favourite techniques is creating a patina with the heat from my MAPP gas torch like on this pair of earrings that I made from copper pennies.

It's a good thing I did this blog post cause my work space was a bit of a mess and I had to tidy up to take the pictures.  Now I have enough room to spread out again, so... back to the studio!