Cinnamon Jewellery

I had a break recently and took the opportunity, once I'd caught up with lots of other things, to make some new stuff. I wrote a post a while ago about making metal wrap beads  in copper with the thought of doing a sterling silver version and that's one of the things I did in my break. I had the idea of having a set of three bangles with three beads on just one of the bangles and the other two plain with a hammered finish. Then I decided it would look a bit more contemporary {to me anyway!} to have just one bead on each of the three bangles. I started with some silver sheet I put through the rolling mill until it was about 0.25mm thick. I used the wrap bead template I made myself...... ...and cut three lengths for the beads. I used the smaller size this time. I made three bangles using 3.25mm copper wire that I textured with a hammer. I then flowed some solder onto the the silver sheet on the side that would later become the inside of the bead. Then I...

I was asked by a customer recently if I made copper pendants and if so could I make a spiral pendant for her. My customer wanted the pendant to match the bangles she'd bought from me a few weeks previously. Of course I said yes! There is a distinct lack of pendants in my Etsy shop and on my website at the moment due mainly to lack of time. They are something I enjoy making but always seem to get pushed to the back of the queue when I decide to make new items - I'll always favour earrings if I have the choice. So it was quite nice to make a pendant for a change. My customer wanted a spiral design in copper using the same gauge wire as the bangles with some silver wire coils and twists and a thick black leather necklace to hang it from. I had a bit of a practice with copper wire to get the coils and twists spacing right then made the silver wire version, soldering the coils in place once I'd finished the wrapping. I added a sterling silver bail and oxidized ever...

A couple of weeks ago I made these earrings...  I love this retro-style groovy shape so decided I'd make a bangle using the same sort of shapes. Here's how I did it together with the moments of enlightenment I had along the way :D I started with a 20cm long piece of copper which would be stretched when it was put through the rolling mill so would end up plenty long enough for a medium bangle.{Or so I thought....} I continued with the strange fetish I have for spending a fair amount of time with a scalpel and masking tape in order to get the thin strips I needed for the stripe texture. I rolled the metal through the rolling mill and removed the tape to reveal the stripes. The next stage was to mark the points where I was going to cut into the sides of the copper and then use the saw to do just that. I also had to decide where I was going to put the solder join - in the middle of a section or at the point where it narrows. That was my #1 moment...

I started making copper bangles sort of by accident. I had some thick gauge copper wire and didn't know what to do one night at a jewellery class I was at so decided to experiment. And I haven't looked back. They have proved to be very popular especially with men buying gifts for their copper wedding anniversary -  usually leaving it to the last minute!  So it makes sense to expand on the designs I make which is why I experimented with this loop bangle recently. I cut a length of 2.6mm {10g} round copper wire and annealed it so it would be easier to shape. I guessed the length I would need - I had no idea how long the wire would need to be at this point. I used a bezel mandrel to form the loops starting at the centre point of the wire. I had enough wire to form six loops with some left for the straight section. I annealed the wire again and hammered the curved sections then used a texturing hammer to add some pattern to the loops and the straight wire. ...