Another Porthole Pendant

I made another one for my friend. I didn’t like the other one.

Published in: on November 15, 2011 at 7:00 pm  Comments Off on Another Porthole Pendant  
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Enameled Bangle Bracelet

I gave up on trying to enamel round wire. For some strange reason, the enamel on round wire keeps popping off. I mean likes shards of it just flying off. It’s the weirdest thing. I tried several different experiments and this happened every time. So, instead, I tried some flat copper wire tonight and I had no issues except where I solder the wire together. I used silver solder since it’s supposed to be compatible with this enamel but I got some crazing. I put it back in my torch flame and heated it up so the enamel pulled away from that spot. It doesn’t look bad but in future ones I’ll either have to fuse the copper together or overlap the piece and rivet it together.

Published in: on November 13, 2011 at 9:35 pm  Comments Off on Enameled Bangle Bracelet  
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Copper Bangle With Enameled Flowers

I made this for my cousin’s daughter for her Christmas present. It’s kind of plain but I like it like this. I hope she likes it too.

Published in: on November 13, 2011 at 4:19 pm  Comments Off on Copper Bangle With Enameled Flowers  
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Porthole Pendants

I know this is a bad picture. I took it with my phone. I’ll have to take a better one later.

The bunny one I made for my friend for her Christmas present. I hope she doesn’t look here and see it. I didn’t do a good job pushing the tabs over on hers. I figured out a way to do it after I messed up. The smaller one was easier because the metal is thinner. I put a kitty picture in it so I guess I’m saving that one for myself. The picture is covered with a glass dome.

Published in: on November 11, 2011 at 11:33 am  Comments Off on Porthole Pendants  
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Enameled Wire Bangles

These are my first attempts at making wire enameled bangles. They weren’t totally successful. It’s hard to see in the picture. The enamel kept popping off in slivers, probably from thermal shock.

The bottom one is made with 6 gauge wire. It had the most enamel cracking off. I finally took my alundum stone and just filed down all the rough spots. Kind of made it look more organic. The top one is out of 8 gauge wire. The enamel stayed on better. I have more experimenting to do before I can sell these.

Published in: on November 6, 2011 at 9:27 pm  Comments Off on Enameled Wire Bangles  
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Enameled Pipes Pieces

I cut some pipe as thin as I could with a pipe cutter and enameled these pieces. I just hung them temporarily for this picture. Not sure what I’m going to do with them yet.

I played around with using different color base enamels then put on top some transparent enamels. If I overheat the enamel, it will bubble and bring up the bottom layer of enamel color. I think it gives the pieces more character.

Published in: on October 22, 2011 at 4:56 pm  Comments Off on Enameled Pipes Pieces  
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Ginkgo Leaf Pins

I used some of the ginkgo leaf beads I made last week in these pins.

I kind of like them.

Published in: on October 22, 2011 at 4:50 pm  Comments Off on Ginkgo Leaf Pins  
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More Hearts

I made another fibula heart pin. My friend wants to make some heart earrings and I remembered I made these smaller hearts before. I did a sample up so she could see it.

Published in: on October 15, 2011 at 3:42 pm  Comments Off on More Hearts  
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Another Fiber Enamel and Copper Bracelet

I made another similar to one I made before. This one has bigger beads and sari ribbon as the fiber.

Published in: on October 14, 2011 at 11:42 pm  Comments Off on Another Fiber Enamel and Copper Bracelet  
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Enamel Test Heart

Since I’ve been working with wire and making spirals on the ends of wire to enamel  – see below pix….

I thought why not try a heart like this. After I wound the wire around my heart shape, I realized that it would have been easier to make the heart with a side open so it would be easier to wind the wire around it so on the next one I’ll try that. I coated it with enamel the best that I could. I have a zillion colors but really tiny quantities which makes dipping big pieces into the enamel hard to do. I have to dip in sections. This one I used three colors, a dark blue, yellow and white. After I put all the colors on, I didn’t like it. I tried to reduce the enamel to bring out the oxides in it. I didn’t get good results so I fumed the whole thing with silver. It’s hard to tell but in person the shine from the silver shows. I like it much better this way. It gives it an organic look which goes with the heart.

Not sure what I’m going to do with it yet…..

Published in: on October 8, 2011 at 11:13 pm  Comments Off on Enamel Test Heart  
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