It's Been A Bit Of A Bronze Week

I managed to get a couple of pairs of bronze earrings finished last week that I photographed at the weekend and I also had a custom order for some bronze stacking bangles so it definitely has been a bit of a bronze week.

The bronze stud earrings above are made by melting bronze wire into pebbles then flattening the pebbles to create off-round and oval organic-looking shapes. After forming them into concave bowl shapes I tidied up the edges then paired them up and soldered them together with a fine silver ball for decoration and contrast.

I oxidized these then cleaned them up a fair bit so the dark areas are just in the crevices.

I also made some simple oval bronze earrings with an etched pattern and a turquoise jasper bead added to the earwires for a bit of colour.

I still find bronze a bit unpredictable compared to copper where liver of sulphur is concerned but I do love the golden brown colour you get when it does behave nicely and oxidize evenly :D

I also made a set of skinny bronze bangles with stamped letter disc dangles.

These were for a custom order and the initials stand for the names of the customers children. Not my usual thing as stamping letters in a straight line isn't a natural gift for me {!} but I can manage one letter!

I'm planning on making a set of leaf vein texture bangles using flattened 3.5mm {7g} wire very soon. My bronze bangle selection is a bit limited at the moment and needs more variety and as I'm getting more used to working with bronze and it's little quirks I feel a lot more confident in adding a few new designs. Watch this space!

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Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - It's 2015!

Photo: Richard Wezensky on Flickr {Creative Commons}

First things first - Happy New Year!! Here's hoping it will be a good one for us all.

The title of this post is from a song by Soft Cell from 1981. That was the year I left school and it was one of my favourite songs of that time. It made me think of seeing in the new year and saying farewell to the old.

I've been looking back at my posts through 2014 and I think one of the biggest turning points concerning my jewellery making was the decision to put a garden shed in what was already a pretty small backyard and turn it into my workshed or "shed of wonders" as my friend Nicki describes it.

This photo was taken shortly after I moved in to the shed in April 2014 when there was sunshine and it was warm enough to leave the door open.....At the moment I'm using an electric radiator in the shed which is ok and does take the chill off but it can get pretty cold in there at times, although a spot of soldering soon warms the place up and I have been known to turn off the radiator and open the door at times even when it's cold outside ☺

It's changed slightly inside now as new tools and other stuff have appeared - a flexshaft to replace the Dremel, a new disc cutter, things have been attached to the walls so I can hang other things from them, another of those red Ikea storage drawer units.... I also replaced the small very rickety table I used to make my findings on with a proper desk which is so much better. The plant in the photo {on the shelf} couldn't cope with the cold and kept dropping it's leaves like confetti when I was soldering so it's been replaced with a cyclamen which does likes the cold. I've just about used up all the space in there on the floor and walls so I don't think I'll be adding anything else very soon. Although......

And so what will 2015 bring jewellery -wise?

My word of the moment is bronze. It's not a metal I've taken much notice of when it came to making jewellery or findings but after whipping up a few bangles using 2mm round bronze wire yesterday I was delighted with the result. The natural shiny colour of the bronze is beautiful, similar to rose gold in my opinion and nothing like that ugly yellow tone you get with brass. Apologies to any brass lovers but I just don't like it for jewellery.

{Bronze bangles in their natural shiny state - the pink colour reflected in the metal is from my bright pink camera! Must buy a silver coloured one next time.....}

I'm very much a lover of oxidized copper and silver but I do really like the colour of the bronze in it's normal shiny state. I made these bangles to find out how the bronze behaves when soldering and being shaped and hammered. I'm glad to say it's very much like copper but needs a bit less heat for soldering. I haven't attempted to oxidize it yet but I do know it takes LOS just like copper which is good to know.

After a bit of research on Etsy I've found that there's not that many people selling handmade bronze findings which got me thinking.....and ordering some 20g bronze wire!

I'm planning on adding bronze bangles and findings to my Etsy shop in the next few weeks. I'm currently having a break from my shop and website so I can catch up with things and get some new stock made. This time of year always makes me want to get organized and act on ideas I've had but never had the time to get round to actually doing. So despite the cold weather and chilly shed working conditions I'm really looking forward to what 2015 will bring ♥