For my mum

Hello hello!

Aren't mums great?

My mum is basically my biggest fan (whose mum isn't?) and every time I make something she tries her best to snap it up straight away.

I've made a few pieces over the months that she now wears on a regular basis and she takes every opportunity to tell people where she got them (in fact she may have just scored me my first craft fair - but more of that if anything comes of it!).

So, I thought I'd let you see some of the pieces she's been so keen on.

First up, this shaggy loops bracelet made from sterling silver jump rings, size 6 seed beeds and a handmade fine silver toggle clasp.  I was going to keep this one to myself but she talked me round!

This one was a birthday present made with a handmade fine silver lentil bead texured to look like the moon's surface, blue goldstone beads and some lovely lampwork beads by Chrystal Rose.  The lampworks are fantastic and look like they have little galaxies swirling around inside them.

How much of your business comes through other people wearing your work and is this your best form of advertising?  

School days!

Hi again,

More from my jewellery making class today.  We're only a couple of weeks in so our lecturer doesn't feel brave enough to let us loose on silver yet...we're working with copper and brass.  Sensible man, we're fairly going through the metal and some of the results aren't exactly perfect! He's saving us quite a bit of cash by not letting us make costly mistakes.

So, week two we had a go with the rolling mill and tried our hand at piercing!  Fun, fun, fun!

First up is a hand pierced disc textured by hammer:

Next is a flower textured with lace through the rolling mill:

A different kind of flower textured with emery paper through the rolling mill:

Finally, a (slightly wonky!) star, positive and negative images:

My attempts aren't perfect but I think they're a fair start.

What say you?? Am I doing OK or should I put down the piercing saw and step away from the workbench?!

Fi x

Silversmithing 101

Hi again!
As part of my jewellery journey I've signed up for a 10 week beginner's course at a local college.  I've committed to getting out of my bed early every Saturday until the middle of December - that's how keen I am!!
My first class was two weeks ago and we all walked out at the end of the three hour class with a finished piece of jewellery.  Result!!

Our lecturer presented us all with a piece of sterling silver D-wire which we made into a ring.  I shaped, sawed, soldered, hammered, filed and polished and ended up with this:

Apologies for the shoddy photos (the OH is the expert at those and he's not in).  However, I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with the result.  I had never soldered before but I've been wearing the ring for the past two weeks now and the solder join has held.  Woop woop!

I'll update you on the results of week two soon!

Hello and welcome!

So, welcome to my very first blog!  I've finally dragged myself into the 21st century and thought I would have a go at recording my jewellery-making exploits.

 I've been making jewellery for about a year and a half now.  I started off the beads and semi-precious stones, dabbled in chainmaillie, then moved on to working with Precious Metal Clay (PMC).

 At the moment my jewellery-making is a wonderful hobby but ultimately I'd love to sell my pieces (not just to friends and family!)  The thought of people liking my designs enough to buy them and wear them makes me smile!!

 However, I'm still learning. One of my favourite recent pieces combines both semi-precious stones and PMC.  This necklace teams amethyst, quartz, freshwater pearls, abalone shell and Swarovski crystals with a fine silver toggle clasp made from PMC. The toggle is designed to be worn at the front as a feature.

I'd love to hear what you think of it. Do you like it?  If so, why? What would you have done differently?  And please, feel free to follow me!


Fi x