Sitting Pretty Pendants

It's been a while since I blogged but I'm still here! I have just started a new part-time teaching job and with that, and my other part-time job and all that goes with being a mum and a wife, my jewellery making has had to take a back seat. I still go to bed thinking about designs as I fall asleep (which I find much more relaxing than thinking 'What do I have to do tomorrow?') but those designs will have to wait a while, whilst my life settles down.

Anyway, here is a pendant I made a couple of weeks ago and have just listed in all my online shops (Etsy, Folksy and Dawanda). It is based on my 'Sitting Pretty' earrings I made last year but this time with a sparkling gemstone adorned in the centre of the fine silver flower.

SITTING PRETTY IN GREEN

Peridot Fine Silver Flower & Hammered Circle Pendant

Here's another Sitting Pretty Pendant I made for myself. I love rhodolite garnet. It seems to satisfy my need to wear pink without being too 'girly' and co-ordinates beautifully with my ever-growing purple wardrobe! (I have a current addiction to purple clothes - any shade considered).

SITTING PRETTY IN PINK

Rhodolite Garnet Fine Silver Flower & Hammered Circle Pendant

The Collective Charity Auction

This week I donated a pair of my 'Fine Silver Flower Textured Disc Earrings' to The Collective charity auction. Every penny bid will go directly to the 2 chosen charities Headway and Royal Free Hospital Kidney Patients Association.

There are some amazing auction lots available with jewellery from Beady Pool, Beverley Hicklin, Kookie Designs, Ray Skene, KS Jewellery Designs, Flame and Glass and Kebo Jewellery, as well as beads from: Laura Sparling, Tina Scott, Emma Ralph, Moogin, Cheeky Cherubs and Pixie Willow Designs. There are also 2 sets of Mini Moo business card that the lovely Moo people have donated.

Please do take a look at the Charity Auction page to see the details of each lot to bid on. The auction closes on Monday November 2nd at 8:30pm GMT.

Fine Silver Textured Charms and Discs – custom orders welcome

Recently I was contacted by another jewellery designer about my Fine Silver Leaves Textured Disc Earrings and asked whether I would consider making the discs in different sizes to be used in her own jewellery designs.


I welcomed this new direction to my jewellery business and have decided to offer this to any other jewellery designer who might be interested in some handmade charms or discs. They can be used in all sorts of projects such as earrings, bracelets or necklaces. I can make them to pretty much any size you want and pre-drill as many holes as you need.

If this sounds interesting to you, here are some of the textures I can make: leaves, hammered, pebbles, water, triangles, flowers, drain cover, puddles, diamonds and circles.

Please feel free to contact me via my Etsy or Folksy shop to discuss any custom requirements.

Sitting Pretty

I've been busy busy busy, creating for the table sale on Sunday. Have I got enough stock? Will I sell anything? Will anyone turn up? Will I even make enough to pay for the cost of the table? So many unknowns... I shall just have to see.

Anyway, here are some of my latest jewellery pieces starting with the first pair of earrings I am calling 'Sitting Pretty' (fine silver hammered rings with little silver clay flowers 'sitting pretty' at the bottom). Next are three of my 'Blooms' earrings (patterned, crystal and shiny), little flowers all made from silver clay and sitting on integral earwires.

If you're a jewellery fiddler like me (in other words, if you can't resist touching and fiddling with the jewellery you wear), then these are the earrings for you as the little flowers spin around.

Returning to silver clay

A friend of mine recently bought a pair of my 'Hammered Fine Silver Disc Earrings' but when they arrived she decided she actually want them to be much bigger. It's been a while, but I got out my silver clay and tools the other evening and got to work. I had forgotten how much fun it is to work with art clay silver and soon had used up a whole 20g pack creating different textured discs for earrings and pendants.

Here are the 'Hammered Disc Earrings' I made. They are significantly BIGGER than the original pair (nearly 2cm in diameter). My friend was happy with these and wore them straight away.

Next up are my 'Pebbles Textured Disc Earrings' - slightly larger than I normally make.

And finally, (for now, as I still have lots more pieces to brush, sand, burnish, hammer, polish...) I tried a new shape. These are my 'Aubrietia Flower Earrings', named after the beautiful purple flowers that have been spreading in my garden. They are dainty little earrings that sit just below your earlobe. I was really pleased how these turned out as I managed to find a way to secure the flowers to my handmade ball earwires so the flowers don't slip off the earwires when you're not wearing them.

The last two pairs of earrings are up for sale in my Etsy store.

Fine Silver Texture Disc Earrings - which is your favourite?

Here are my latest Fine Silver Texture Disc Earrings made from Art Clay Silver. Described in order as: Water, Triangles, Diamonds, Lines, Flower, Leaves, Drain Cover (!), Puddles and Circles.

Which is your favourite design?

Art Clay Silver - Pendants and Earrings

Here are the pendants after firing and burnishing. Picture 1 is the hammered heart and picture 4 is the second heart I made with the circles texture. As I said before, I am pleased with the result of the first one - it's funny how an accident can turn out in the end - maybe it was fate?!

I will incorporate these pendants into some necklace designs but at the moment am pondering about gemstone colours and also whether to go simple or more detailed. Also, I haven't drilled a hole in the leaf pendant until I am sure how I am going to use it.




I had a right argument with my husband whether to drill the holes before or after firing. I said 'after' and he said 'before'. I was worried I might crack the pieces if I drilled them before. So, ever trying to compromise, we tried both (the second heart I drilled before firing). I have to admit, I think he was right as, when using my little hand-held drill, it was really hard on the fired pieces and my wrists started aching immediately.


The sun discs turned out quite well and I have put them onto some of my 'loopy hoop' earwires. They remind me of Aztec suns. When I showed them to my seven year old son he said he thought I should put some gemstones on the earrings. Mmm... I think he might be right, maybe carnelian for the fire of the sun. Although I have some great natural turquoise beads that might look quite good. I think I will have a play around with these earrings before I put them up for sale.




The other earrings I made have a circles texture. I love the way burnishing highlights the raised parts and the indented areas stay with the satin finish from the brushing. I'm happy with these earrings as they are and will be listing them on Etsy, eBay and Artfire later today.

More haste, less speed

I've been busy today with my silver clay and am certainly learning the lesson of 'more haste, less speed'.

I wanted to try out my new mould making stuff called 'Oyumaru'. It's amazing - little strips of neon coloured plastic-like material that softens in hot water. I made a few moulds from some rubber stamps I had from a while back and was really pleased with the detail. Below are the pieces I made after drying and filing.

After taking this photo, I went on to fire them on my gas hob and when I did my heart went 'pop' (quite literally!). Obviously I hadn't left it to air dry completely. Well, in fact I had tried to speed up the process by putting them in my oven at a low temperature but foolishly hadn't thought that the heart would need more time to dry. The result was the heart had a little volcano shape popping out of it near the bottom. I tried to file it out but it changed the texture pattern. All was not lost, however, as I ended up filing and hammering out all the texture and then re-texturing it with my little pointed hammer. I'm actually quite pleased with the result. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

p.s. I've now made 'heart #2' from the same mould and have sensibily left it to air dry overnight!