Last term at Central St Martin I did a colour and textures course in Jewellery.  One of the briefs was a textured pendant.  This was my design which was partly based on some earrings I posted for week 5.

I had some sterling silver sheet which i stamped, cut out the circles and domed before soldering one dome inside the other and adding the pendant bail.

I then added some translucent enamel which was kiln melted.  I love translucent enamels because they add colour but you can still see the underlying texture.

The pendant is my current favourite for everyday wear.

Well, the website isn't finished yet - but I've finally opened a store at ETSY.  The store is called NattyJewels after me and by jewellery partner in crime Natalie.

We only have four items listed at the moment but will slowly add more pieces over the next few weeks.

Please pop by and have a look

Julie

Another Connie Fox design.  This one is made with glass cane beads, bali silver beads and sterling silver wire.  I really like the idea of incorporating the clasp into the bracelet and am pleased with the way this one came out.

Another Connie Fox style bracelet.

I really like these and am beginning to find the style quite addictive.  The bracelet is sterling silver with some Bali silver beads and a couple of hand made glass beads (not by me).  This was my first attempt at twisting my own wire and i was so pleased with the results.

When making this i came up with the usual dilemma - to oxidise or not. 

I really like the effect of these bracelets when they are oxidised (YOJ week 8 posting), but my friend who made one (her bracelet is the one with the brown beads) loves them shiny and was adament that she did not weant hers to be oxidised.  Since I made  this to sell not to keep, it kind of threw me a little as i thought everone prefered them oxidised).  The solution - I'm going to make another and oxidise one and leave the other shiny so the public can decide for themselves.

just catching up with my year of jewellery pictures. 

Made this pendant at the weekend based on some Eni Oken Instructions.  The bead is a clear AB Swarovksi button about 25mm large, wire wrapped in sterling silver. 

I struggled to get the fit quite right - and if you look closely you can see a gap just to the left of the spiral.  Luckily because its a button, i could secure it on the back so its pretty solid and won't fall out!!!!

My friend Cathy is a designer specialising in Celtic cards and stationery, and she very kindly let me use some of her designs for this project.

I have been taking a jewellery class at Central St Martins this term in colour and texture.  As part of the course we did some acid etcing, but it was acid etching with a difference.  We each had to bring in some black and white images which were then photocpoied onto some special paper.  The paper was then ironed onto a piece of copper, and the images were transferred onto the copper.  The copper was then placed in an acid solution and the image acts as a resist whilst the acid eats away at the rest of the copper. 

The result was this incredible dragon, which I then oxidised in tourmaline for the contrast.

I also tried acid etching this butterfly, and this celtic circle   (The circle is one of my favourite designs of Cathys and I had it as a tattoo years ago), but unfortunately when I ironed the trace on, I missed a couple of spots so they don't look so great.

I haven't turned the dragon into a piece of jewellery because its too large, but i think it would look great as a wall hanging. 

If Cathy lets me, then next term, I'm going to use some of her designs, to make some silver brooches and pendants.  I love this technique, but its not something i would do at home because of the acid.

I have always wanted to try a Connie Fox style bangle, and actually had all the materials I needed for one.

The bracelet was made in sterling silver, with some bali silver beads, some hand made glass beads (not mine), and a hand made swan clasp. 

This was my first real attempt at oxidising, and i really like the results.

Finally catching up with all my jewellery postings.

A couple of weeks ago, somebody on the UK Beaders Forum had posted a lovely memory wire bracelet using rubber tubing and crystals.  It was such a simple but incredibly effective idea.  I decided to give it a go using different beads to see how different it could look.  On two of the bracelets, I used some cane glass beads and frosted czech beads on on the third, some AB Glass tiles and some silver foiled round beads.  The different beads make each bracelet look totally different. 

I was looking through some old emails today for a friends address when I came across this photo that i'd forgotten about.   Last year I went to a Harry Potter Party.  I was Madame Pomfrey and my friend Matthew was Hermione (or Mathewetta the witch as he was also known).  This is Matthew getting into character.  If you want to check out his full oufit its in my photo section.