Van Gogh Earring - YOJ Week 19

Well I've been busy making jewellery this week but not on theme. I'm still messing around with the Japanese weave chainmaille. I decided to have a go with some stainless steel rings I bought ages ago.
Stainless Steel is a whole different ball game from sterling. It is tough! My pliers kept slipping, my wrists ached, and generally, I decided it is not going to be my material of choice. So back in the drawer all those Stainless Steel jumprings go....
The result from my efforts was one earring, and no it's not going to get a mate. I may convert it into a pendant one of these days though. Pin It

Ripples, Depths & Shallows.

Week 16 of the YOJ is Ripples Depths & Shallows. I had a creative block with this one plus I was in a hurry to get it finished before I go away for a long weekend. I'm heading off to sunny Queensland (across the other side of the country!) for a flying visit to help celebrate my niece's 21st Birthday.
I wanted to try some etching but that will have to wait. Instead, I hammered some pre cut sterling oval discs, lightly domed them, put the holes in (I've got some cool hole-making pliers that make that job easy) and joined them with jumprings to make this bracelet. As luck would have it - it fits me perfectly!
It was a first for me as I used Liver of Sulphur for the first time to oxidise the piece to represent the depths & shallows. Wow, was this fun or what! I had dabbled with oxidising metal with an egg but this was so quick in comparison! I was chucking every bit of scrap metal I could find in to the LOS to blacken it just so i could scrub it back with the steel wool. Yes, I need to get a life - I know! Pin It