Cinnamon Jewellery

Circles are a definite theme in my life. It started when I was old enough to grab a crayon and scribble on a neighbour's wall. My Mum said they always knew when it was me because the circles gave me away. I still love circles and sometimes have to tell myself to NOT make another pair of disc earrings! Hoops are also a favourite and something I come back to often. I finished three pairs of hoop earrings this week, one pair in silver and two in copper. I started with soldered hoops made with 2mm copper and silver wire and teamed them with some wire wrapping. I love coils of wire especially when it's oxidized and the contrast of dark and polished areas of metal really shows up.  I normally like to make at least one pair in copper as it's useful for working out how much wire I'm going to need and I always find copper is easier than silver. I don't really know why other than maybe as it's much cheaper I'm not afraid to make a mistake ( I think that ...

I know how to torch enamel and I know how to bezel set cabochons so I thought it was about time I put the two together! I've been thinking about it for "ages" and last week I actually got round to doing it. I started small (of course I did, I like to make life difficult!) and made four 9mm cabs from copper. The enamelling was a bit tricky and Klyre Fire was called for so the enamel powder stuck to the front of the cab and didn't slide off. I discovered it was better to gently (very gently!) dry the klyre fire using my torch than let it air dry as it is very easy to knock the cab once the klyre fire is dry and watch the enamel slide right off. I got there in the end and produced two dusky pink and two sea green enamel cabs. I was then slightly paranoid that they would crack but as they are formed (domed) and counter enamelled for added stability they were fine. I had to be a bit more careful than normal when it came to handling them and when I set them as t...

I think I've found the perfect wire gauge for hoop earrings - 2mm. This is just my opinion and probably many would disagree! But..................I've made hoop earrings from various gauges from 20g/0.8mm (big no there, way too flimsy) to 1.5mm and 2mm definitely feels just right. It forms sturdy feeling hoops that don't bend out of shape but aren't too heavy so are nice and comfortable to wear. I've always loved hoop earrings and I am wearing a pair right now. I've often seen the handmade hoops made from 20g/0.8mm wire with the hammered bottom section and thought they looked cool. These are the one's where you form a loop on one end and the hook on the other end of the wire. I did make a pair a long time ago but soon realised that they were much too flimsy and would easily bend out of shape as you tried to fasten them. I tried the same in 18g/1mm which were a bit sturdier but the 1mm wire was too big for the holes in my ears and actually hurt to wear s...

Purple has been my favourite colour for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I had a dark purple carpet, purple flower curtains, lilac walls and a purple bedspread in my bedroom - I loved it! When it comes to buying beads I'm always drawn to the purple ones and sometimes have to tell myself no. I didn't manage it when I saw these dyed purple freshwater pearls on Lima Beads though and ended up buying them! They are lovely, quite small (5mm) but a real electric purple and very shiny. I decided they would look great with oxidised sterling silver so I made these disc earrings last week using my new larger size disc cutter, slightly thicker sheet silver than usual (the price of silver these days!) and the pearls. I cut a hole in the disc slightly off centre then texturised and domed them, added the pearls, into LOS, cleaned and polished and ready to be photographed. I always find silver a bit tricky to photograph due to the reflect...