A Labradorite Pendant, Copper And Prehnite and Enamel Earrings

This is the pendant I made as a commission recently. It was a slightly different request from the custom work I've done before in that the buyer wanted me to use one of her own cabochons. She also wanted the pendant with a shiny silver finish.

If you read this blog regularly you'll know that I don't normally do shiny. One reason is just that I prefer the oxidized look especially with patterned silver. The other reason is getting a smooth shiny finish on plain silver is difficult!  When the piece features a textured silver top layer and quite a few balls it's even more difficult to get a good polish on it. Getting into the crevices even with radial polishers was tricky as they caught the edge of the top textured layer and would have worn the pattern away if I hadn't stopped. But, after a lot of finishing work I did get a decent finish on it and I'm happy to say the buyer was very happy with it and it arrived in time for her birthday which was nice :D

I felt the urge for some enamelling yesterday and produced these....

The pair in the middle were a bit of an experiment as the pink transparent I'd sifted over a decal came out cloudy. I was very tempted to chuck them in the bin but thought I'd try something else. The earrings started out with two layers of purple opaque then the decal then the transparent pink. I then sifted a layer of green opaque over the transparent and over-fired them so the transparent started pushing through the green layer. It came through as a rich red colour and produced small dots {and one bigger one!} giving the earrings an almost ceramic glaze look.

I also did a bit of sgraffito on the bottom pair then etched the enamel to give them a matt finish.

The etching cream applied thickly for 15 minutes before washing off and applying to the back.

I also use a glass brush to clean the surface once I've rinsed them.

The finished matt surface. The texture is very smooth and feels like eggshell. I recommend trying etching cream on enamel as it really is so easy to do. I bought my etching cream from MDP Supplies.

The finished earrings...

I also finished a pair of copper earrings too. I used some sweet prehnite rose cut cabochons as I love their pale green colour with the oxidized copper..

I'm currently on a mission to make several thicker gauge silver bangles that will need hallmarking. I've been a bit reluctant to make heavier silver stuff as hallmarking seemed so expensive and a bit scary {yes I know I'm being silly} but after being reassured by a fellow jewellery maker {thanks Claire!} I've decided to go for it. I'm already registered with the London Assay Office so it will be full steam ahead very shortly.

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Etched Copper Pendants with Enamel and Turquoise

I recently finished two copper pendants that had been waiting on the sidelines for quite a time while I finished some other orders. I'd managed to cut them out and file and sand the edges then some findings orders arrived and they were return to the "to do" pile. But at last earlier this week I managed to finish them!

I used a mendhi style stamp I got from Hobbycraft for a £1 with Stayz On ink to stamp the design onto the copper then etched for about an hour. I love these type of detailed designs. My ferric chloride was on it's last legs and took longer than usual - it would normally take about 40-45 mins to get the light etched look that I prefer.
*Tip!* If you're planning to use stamps for etching I've found the fine line designs work and look better than the thicker line ones.
I then sawed around the edge of the design, filed and sanded and made the bails. Strangely enough I have never made a bail like this before. I've made hidden bails and p shaped ones but not the type that solders to both sides of the pendant. I really like the look of it with this type of pendant and you can decorate them anyway you want by hammering, stamping or etching. I soldered the bail on first then the silver ball and the bezel last.

I'd made the pink enamel "cabochon" a while ago and hadn't got round to using it for anything else and the colour looked ok with the oxidized copper so at last it was given a home. I made turquoise version too. I say "turquoise" but the cab isn't real turquoise but some kind of stabilized (what does that mean?) or composite material dyed to look like turquoise. It still looks nice though :D

Making this type of bail has given me ideas for extending the front section to form part of the design on a pendant, maybe using contrasting metals or textures. Definitely an idea for my sketch book for a later date.

I'm currently working on some more enamel pendants with pierced out heart designs that I really enjoyed doing which obviously means someone has taken over my brain. I used to absolutely hate sawing metal and now I actually look forward to doing it. Whoever has taken over my sawing brain still breaks blades though..............

Etched Silver and Copper Wirework Earrings

I managed to catch up with myself last week after a couple of biggish findings orders recently that kept me busy for two whole days and made a few pairs of earrings. I used some copper and silver I'd etched and ventured into wire work territory that I don't do a lot of these days. Just simple bead loops but it was fun getting my beads out again and choosing colours and the quickness of making them was a nice change!

I bought these czech glass beads a while ago from Lima Beads and I love the colours. They have a large selection of czech beads but I couldn't see the kiwi green colour anymore sadly.

I also used some of the sterling silver sheet I'd etched using nail art stamps. The etched designs are small so I was a bit restricted and kept it pretty simple.....

The shape of this pair with the garnet cabochons reminds me of little handbags (kind of). It's the first pair I've made with garnets and I love the colour combination with the oxidized silver. I put a piece of foil behind the cabs as the silver will continue to oxidize and will eventually go black. The foil keeps the area behind the cabs bright and also reflects the light making the garnets appear even redder.

I am back at night school again for my 2nd year of silver jewellery classes. It's nice as seven of us from last year have come back plus four new people have started. We've been learning to cast using delft clay and cuttlefish bone. I didn't fancy the delft clay method so I had a go at casting some of my scrap silver using the cuttlefish bone method last Tuesday....... more of which I shall blog about soon!

Etching Copper With Ferric Chloride

 I decided recently that etching is one of my favourite things to do with metal. I read about it online quite a while ago and immediately thought it looked cool but the thought of using an "acid" and having to find somewhere to store it (a perennial problem when you don't have a workroom) put me off. So instead I admired etched copper from afar. Until I got a bee in my bonnet about it again and bought Lexi Erikson's copper etching dvd.

Lexi Erikson is very good at explaining jewellery techniques and making them seem much more straightforward than they first appear. I already knew that ferric chloride was a salt and not an acid so wouldn't eat my flesh through to the bone if I accidently spilled some on my hand. The dvd made me feel much more comfortable about having a go so I ordered some ferric chloride from ebay and bought some stamps and StazOn ink from a local craft shop. My first attempt went ok but for some reason I left the copper to etch for an hour and a half without checking it at all. Don't ask me why I did that, I have no idea! The copper etched ok but a really deep etch that left it looking a bit chewed up and rough around the edges. Having learned my lesson I had another go and got much better results the second time.

These photos are from a recent etching session. Please note this isn't strictly a tutorial and I would recommend reading up on copper etching with ferric chloride in order to do it safely and learn what you can and can't tip down the drain!

Ferric Chloride in my glass etching dish, never to be used for cottage pie again!
I pour it back into the bottle when I've finished etching. It will eventually lose it's power and need to be replaced. When that happens I will need to ring the council and find out where to take the spent ferric chloride as it is classed as hazardous waste and cannot be tipped down the drain.

Some very cute Dovecraft mini letter stamps I found at The Range for 99p! They were available in other fonts too but I chose this one mainly for the heart (at the top next to the e). As you can see I don't do keeping things in order!

 Copper discs stamped with StazOn ink and the heart stamp. They're stuck to the packing tape ready for suspending in the ferric chloride. Before stamping the design I cleaned the copper with wire wool to remove any grease from my fingers.

Copper washers stamped and ready for etching.

The small copper discs suspended upside down in the solution. This allows the copper etched away to fall to the bottom of the dish. Giving the dish a wiggle or stirring the ferric chloride occasionally will help to loosen the particles of copper from the surface of the discs. I normally leave it for about 30 minutes before checking the etch. I use a piece of copper wire and gently scratch the design to feel how deep the etch is. At the moment it takes about 30-40 mins to get the depth of etch I like. As the ferric chloride becomes contaminated with copper particles the etching time will increase.

When the etch is deep enough I remove the tape from the glass dish and dunk the lot in a water and baking soda solution. Then I remove the copper pieces from the tape and clean under the tap with a toothbrush. You can clean the ink and mustard coloured residue off with wire wool then I like to pickle them to make sure everything is properly clean.
 I must admit I don't wear gloves to remove the tape from the glass dish as they stick to the tape and get annoying, but you may prefer to. I have got ferric chloride on my hands accidently and still have all my fingers but please remember chemicals need to be treated with respect.

A close-up of the etched discs, before and after cleaning.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with these larger pieces yet!

Below are some of the etched copper pieces turned into charms and earrings.

Copper studs

Etched copper washers with sodalite

Etched heart charms