Sunflower Necklace

I am so pleased to have finally made this necklace for myself. I bought the hollow beads from Andrea Guibelli when we were in Venice in May. He makes them on a hollow mandrel and the end that isn't on the mandrel, he heats up and blows through the mandrel to blow out a hole. Very clever indeed. These beads are steel grey. I made the tiny spacers to match. The stunning silver focal lentil bead is one of Rebecca Crabtree's. She makes some beautiful beads using silver clay. You can see her work in her Etsy Shop.

Here is a close-up of the focal;



And a close-up of one of the hollows;



I've finised the necklace off with some byzantine weave. The clever thing is that the chain clips off so I can easily swap it onto other necklace frontpieces! Now I can have lots and lots and lots and lots(!) of necklaces without spending an arm and a leg on silver. With the way the price of silver has been rocketing lately, I'm quite pleased with my ingenuity!

Byzantine Necklace

I haven't managed to make any new beads this week, although I'm itching to get a session at my torch. I will have to wait until next Friday now. I have made so much Byzantine weave this weekend that I can still see it when I close my eyes! I had a commission for a bracelet, which is now finished, and I made one for the Jinney Ring, and I've just finished this necklace, also destined for the Jinney Ring some time soon.



The beads are black, with silvered ivory highlights, and encased in lovely clear glass. I've used my own handmade bead caps, and lots of silver. This is such a versatile necklace I'm tempted to keep it for myself. But I won't...

I managed to take a break from chainmaille (it's a hard life...) and we went for a walk by the river this morning and fed the swans. We managed to dodge the rain and had a lovely relaxing walk. There's something about being close to water that soothes. As always, the camera was at home so I have no swan pics to share, but there were absolutely loads! We did, however, remember to take bread.

Flower Garden Ring & Charm

I had another play with silver clay yesterday. I only intended making the ring, but then I thought I'd see if I could make a matching charm.



The ring is based on a project in "Beads and Beyond". I'm quite pleased with it, and it fits perfectly, which is a bonus after all the effort! I've hung the charm from the Byzantine maille bracelet that I wear almost every day. It seems quite at home there, and I shall definitely be making more. In fact, it was with charms in mind that I decided to try silver clay in the first place. The rings have just been a diversion - but a nice one.

I bought 20g of clay, and I've managed to make two rings, one 20mm charm, one 13mm charm and I still have about 7g left! It goes a lot farther than you think it will.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to have a beadmaking session, and then it will be fun combining my beads and silver clay into something pretty.

Well it's a gorgeous day outside so I think I shall take my book outside and make the most of it! I hope your day is sunshiney too.

Experiments in Silver

Today I played with silver clay. I had a great time! Silver clay is pure silver, mixed with water and binders to make it pliable. Once fired the water and binders burn off leaving just the silver metal behind. Straight from the kiln the silver is matt white, which is the natural colour of silver. After sanding, burnishing and polishing it becomes the shiny silver we're all more familiar with.

Now these pieces were my first experiments this afternoon, and they need lots more polishing, but I was impatient to show them off! I knew I would be unlikely to make "the perfect ring" the first time I played with silver clay, so I've deliberately made this an easy-to-wear chunky ring, with randomly filed surfaces that reflect the light. It fits a treat, which is my biggest surprise! Silver clay shrinks, so getting the correct ring size is a bit of a challenge.

Then I made a little birdy charm to hang somewhere with some of my glass beads. He's around 18mm in diameter and needs lots more polishing. I need to give it the oxidising treatment too so that the little birdy stands out more.



I admit I was fairly daunted by the teeny weeny packet of silver clay that had cost me an arm and a leg. I was afraid to add water to it and consequently I worked it a little drier than I should have done. Next time I'll be braver. Ah yes.... there WILL be a next time!

Latest Offerings

This week I've returned to subtler colours and with the exception of "Rose Garden" my beads have a more organic feel to them. I really wanted to make some bright fritty beads, but the wrong glass kept jumping into my hands.

I have had a complete nightmare adding these to my website. I use Mr Site software, and I've listed these beads three times before loosing the listings and having to start all over again! Ever had one of those days?

Rose Garden



Eris


Fens


Blush


Simple Stones


Hill & Dale


Enjoy your weekend. It's the first day of Summer today! You can tell by the grey clouds!

Chiffon Necklace

Well my sister took a shine to the Chiffon set of beads, so I made them into this necklace;



I didn't think the beads needed too much dressing up, as there is quite enough going on with them by themselves, so I just added some sapphire swarovskis and some spiral silver tubes.

Thank you to everyone who has bought beads this week. You're great! I will try to restock as soon as possible, so keep checking back.

Bumpy Beads on Flickr

I now have an online gallery at Flickr.com. Flickr is a gigantic world-wide photo album, and it's possible to link up with people who share similar interests to showcase your work and view theirs too. The world just gets smaller!

Please take a look at Bumpy Beads on Flickr, leave your comments, and feel free to list me as a contact!