Really need to finish.........

These are photos of a ring I started working on last year and really need to finish.I am using two sections cut from an open snowflake element,having soldered them together they make a perfect seat for an oval stone.Ive added a leaf like detail (also cut from the snowflake element) as an extra embelishment as well as to fill in the empty space between the shank and the really high setting.The finished design will have tiny fused balls soldered all over it,I think this ring really manages to combine the "old fashioned" Victorian style that I admire so much with a more contemporary look,one of my main aimes in this collection.Fusing history with contemporary design.I dont know if this ring will turn out successful,as setting the stone with special looking "claws" seems quite dawnting!!!!Hope I can do it!If I can it will be spectacular!

More trinkets II !

This is a picture of a piece that I started some time ago and have not completed even though I want to badly..... There is nothing about the design I want to change,it will consist of four sections of hand pierced silver plate that is slightly domed to fit the shape of the wrist and attatched by long siver hinges,I love it and think it will also be part of my "winter" b-tech collection but I cant for the life of me finish it and I dont know why.Perhaps its just one of those pieces that sits around waiting and waiting until all of a sudden inspirtion hits u and u pick up ur saw frame and carry on with it.Or perhaps its too similar to a piece I made in 3rd year that was also hinged and thats why I cant finish it.... Whatever it is,here it is waiting,waiting.....

Snowflake sphere necklace

Snowflake sphere neck piece - an amazing seller! Here is a picture of the how the pierced spheres look as a necklace.I had initially, hung them from a normal snake chain and tried a couple of variations but the lariat effect emphasized the actual ball the most.This is the kind of piece I can always count on selling, it really looks good on all age groups, even though at first glance it seems like quite a modern sort of trendy piece that only the younger demographic would wear.
They come in a flattish sort of sphere or a perfectly round ball. As well as, in two different sizes (this is the larger size) Strange how the simplest designs can sometimes be the most successful.....

More Trinkets!

As the new working year is well under way and I would like to have all of last years work up on my blog before I get stuck into my new collection I am going to try and get the bulk of things done today.There are too many ideas and thoughts bubbling up inside me and I need to make space for them.... My "Spring" collection will obviously be floral with a variation of pattern, size and repetition, maybe some 22ct thrown in to keep in the sunlight style! but I'm not exactly sure what i want so Ill explain my thoughts properly later on.
For now here are some more of last years pieces.....

Snowflake and crystal briollette earrings in polished silver as well as blackened silver I made them in two sizes but the smaller size seems to look and sell! better.

Synth Smoky Quartz pendante

This piece I am keeping for my b-tech work although its currently decorating the neck of my mother. I only need it at the end of the year anyway so it doesn't matter. Its a variation of the "Victorian Brooch" piece. Ive had this lovely large synthetic smoky quartz for some years now and never knew what to do with it, while I was making the first piece this one popped up in my mind and I had to do it!
I tried it out with the cultured pearls but it seemed too over the top as the stone is 25x18mm, quite large. So I kept it simple and made a matching bail cut from a section of the same patterned metal and left out all the detail like the tiny fused balls and extra stones.
I am currently making one for a customer but with synthetic Peri dot, pale green definitely gives it a new twist and is reminding me that if I am to leave frosty Winter behind and let Spring in with all its colour and light and hope!I better start letting some bright colours creep onto my bench and see what i can make of them!

Victorian brooch pendante..

Here is a piece that I really enjoyed making, I got a huge sense of achievement when i completed it, like my work was really going somewhere and that i was finally making jewellery that spoke to me... I love the Victorian feel it has and the way I fused tiny balls on the end of the wires in order to keep the pearls in place. It feels like it should have or could have been a charming brooch on some great lady's high lace collar. What a stunning feeling! I'm sorry I didn't get more photos of it (especially on the body) before I sold it, shall have to make another one.

I pierced out the Fleur de lis sections of one of my snowflake patterns and domed them to create this design, soldering them to the tube setting for the 10mm white cubic zirconia.There are white fresh water pearls that have been secured in all four corners of the piece and a white crystal briolette hanging from the bottom of it. Unlike most of my other pieces, no bail was made, as I felt it added another section to the piece which was too much. It also reminds me more of a brooch this way.

The last image was taken when I was still playing with the design, I thought I would include it here anyway. I think they would make rather stunning but rather heavy earrings!