Post by sparkles on Jan 25, 2009 13:48:23 GMT -5
Hey Folks,
Yup - Sparkles has gone bonkers!!! It’s been a heck of a ride since the little light went on... I thought this project would be great fun, and it was! ;D ;D I planned to use African materials, I did have some Namibian Blue Lace and a small chunk of yellow Ocean Jasper, so that was cool! I also opted to wrap in copper as Mrs Sparkles likes copper and it shouldn’t bring her out in hives! So all seemed well, Until I started to cut it! ;D
The stones are all double domed and shallow grooved. With a 1mm bead to the back of the stone the edges are quite thin, and the elongated nature of the petals made the cutting and grinding quite tricky. The stones are reasonably even although the material has some pits and flaws (it’s not very high grade stuff), the petals were all cut as 22x8mm ovals with moderate domes. The central “boss” was a single 12mm double domed cab, similar to my usual “yo-yo” cabs (great name! - thanks Tony!). I was quite pleased with the cabs, but they were a lot trickier than I expected. However this was nothing compared to the fun that was to follow!
The wrap was a finger nibbling mind numbing feat of crazy dexterity, man alive I have TOP RESPECT for those “real wire wrappers” - you folks who turn teeny wires to works of art have my utmost admiration 1mm Copper wire formed the edging and was started with one bail wire length extra and enough wire to do half a petal. I worked around the boss fitting each wrap with a U shaped “bridge” to the next cab, the 8 U’s make a rough circle which fits the groove in the central boss. The final petal locks the design together and has a bail loop at the top.
Although it’s kinda wonky and a bit uneven, the overall effect is roughly what I wanted and I’m really glad I tried. I had a heap of fun and pushed my limits, and now I have a much better idea of how to further my interest. Thanks for reading, I hope you have fun looking at the results! ;D
Thanks so much for inspiring me to try this! I don’t know that I would have tried had it not been for the exciting and interesting designs we get to share on this marvellous forum - thanks RTH. Mrs Sparkles likes her chunky hippie groovy chick jewels, and this has already been stolen! I guess I'll have to have another go sometime! ;D
Cheers,
Sparkles.
p.s. Adrian - Thanks for the “leg-up” - I could never “stand on your shoulders” Buddy, but I can help you up a little further I hope ;D Cheers - H
Yup - Sparkles has gone bonkers!!! It’s been a heck of a ride since the little light went on... I thought this project would be great fun, and it was! ;D ;D I planned to use African materials, I did have some Namibian Blue Lace and a small chunk of yellow Ocean Jasper, so that was cool! I also opted to wrap in copper as Mrs Sparkles likes copper and it shouldn’t bring her out in hives! So all seemed well, Until I started to cut it! ;D
The stones are all double domed and shallow grooved. With a 1mm bead to the back of the stone the edges are quite thin, and the elongated nature of the petals made the cutting and grinding quite tricky. The stones are reasonably even although the material has some pits and flaws (it’s not very high grade stuff), the petals were all cut as 22x8mm ovals with moderate domes. The central “boss” was a single 12mm double domed cab, similar to my usual “yo-yo” cabs (great name! - thanks Tony!). I was quite pleased with the cabs, but they were a lot trickier than I expected. However this was nothing compared to the fun that was to follow!
The wrap was a finger nibbling mind numbing feat of crazy dexterity, man alive I have TOP RESPECT for those “real wire wrappers” - you folks who turn teeny wires to works of art have my utmost admiration 1mm Copper wire formed the edging and was started with one bail wire length extra and enough wire to do half a petal. I worked around the boss fitting each wrap with a U shaped “bridge” to the next cab, the 8 U’s make a rough circle which fits the groove in the central boss. The final petal locks the design together and has a bail loop at the top.
Although it’s kinda wonky and a bit uneven, the overall effect is roughly what I wanted and I’m really glad I tried. I had a heap of fun and pushed my limits, and now I have a much better idea of how to further my interest. Thanks for reading, I hope you have fun looking at the results! ;D
Osteospermum (African Daisy!)
Namibian Blue Lace and Ocean Jasper in Copper
Namibian Blue Lace and Ocean Jasper in Copper
Thanks so much for inspiring me to try this! I don’t know that I would have tried had it not been for the exciting and interesting designs we get to share on this marvellous forum - thanks RTH. Mrs Sparkles likes her chunky hippie groovy chick jewels, and this has already been stolen! I guess I'll have to have another go sometime! ;D
Cheers,
Sparkles.
p.s. Adrian - Thanks for the “leg-up” - I could never “stand on your shoulders” Buddy, but I can help you up a little further I hope ;D Cheers - H