Post by sparkles on Feb 16, 2009 12:57:06 GMT -5
Hiya Folks,
I’ve been up to my neck in it for the last few weeks, work is driving me nuts! But there’s an up side... I’ve been tinkering and playing with all sorts of ideas. Here are a couple from this weekend.
As it was a weekend for romance, Mrs Sparkles was treated to a new jewel, this little heart wrap was really enjoyable to make, I had to design it in two halves to be able to shape and polish in that V groove in the centre, my little 6in flat lap won’t allow concave surfaces, so it was a case of grinding 2 stones to match each other.
I had a small chunk of Rhodochrosite and this seemed the perfect project for this project. It’s the first time I’ve worked this material and it was surprisingly soft, although it shaped easily, the slightly “waxy/chalky” texture of the material meant that shaping had to be taken gently. I still had a small chip from the back edge and had to shorten the point a little as the material dictated what was going to happen, the finished stones are about 1/2 an inch tall and nearly an inch wide (about 15x25mm). Apart from the cutting concerns the remaining polishing and wrapping went well. I hope you like it - Mrs Sparkles surely did! ;D
After my success with the heart wrap, Mrs Sparkles piped up with “how about a butterfly?”... Well not one to refuse a challenge I marked out some shapes on paper with the template and went to have a look in the rock pile.
I found some nice Brazilian Agate slices that I bought in polished but broken form (very cheaply), and thought they’d make nice wing cabs as they were thin and nicely banded. I selected a tiny chunk of Tigers Eye and Haematite, graciously received from Lori - Thanks Buddy! And of course the ubiquitous chunk of Ocean Jasper forms the body.
The design was to make a brooch, and therefore I had no constraints on the wiring, and decided to improvise the antennae by wrapping the design around from the head end. I have a few minor tweaks still to make to the wire work (it’s so much easier to see when it’s photographed!), but the finished design is nearly 2 inches high (5cm).
More designs will be forthcoming soon, I’ve been working on a project that just won’t come together properly, I’ll keep playing and show you what I’ve been up to, I’m also enjoying cutting a few leaves for the RTH tree, it’s great fun to participate on a group project and I can’t wait to see Adrian bringing it all together, it’s going to be one awesome groovy project!
Have Fun and Thanks for looking!
Cheers,
Sparkles.
I’ve been up to my neck in it for the last few weeks, work is driving me nuts! But there’s an up side... I’ve been tinkering and playing with all sorts of ideas. Here are a couple from this weekend.
As it was a weekend for romance, Mrs Sparkles was treated to a new jewel, this little heart wrap was really enjoyable to make, I had to design it in two halves to be able to shape and polish in that V groove in the centre, my little 6in flat lap won’t allow concave surfaces, so it was a case of grinding 2 stones to match each other.
I had a small chunk of Rhodochrosite and this seemed the perfect project for this project. It’s the first time I’ve worked this material and it was surprisingly soft, although it shaped easily, the slightly “waxy/chalky” texture of the material meant that shaping had to be taken gently. I still had a small chip from the back edge and had to shorten the point a little as the material dictated what was going to happen, the finished stones are about 1/2 an inch tall and nearly an inch wide (about 15x25mm). Apart from the cutting concerns the remaining polishing and wrapping went well. I hope you like it - Mrs Sparkles surely did! ;D
After my success with the heart wrap, Mrs Sparkles piped up with “how about a butterfly?”... Well not one to refuse a challenge I marked out some shapes on paper with the template and went to have a look in the rock pile.
I found some nice Brazilian Agate slices that I bought in polished but broken form (very cheaply), and thought they’d make nice wing cabs as they were thin and nicely banded. I selected a tiny chunk of Tigers Eye and Haematite, graciously received from Lori - Thanks Buddy! And of course the ubiquitous chunk of Ocean Jasper forms the body.
The design was to make a brooch, and therefore I had no constraints on the wiring, and decided to improvise the antennae by wrapping the design around from the head end. I have a few minor tweaks still to make to the wire work (it’s so much easier to see when it’s photographed!), but the finished design is nearly 2 inches high (5cm).
More designs will be forthcoming soon, I’ve been working on a project that just won’t come together properly, I’ll keep playing and show you what I’ve been up to, I’m also enjoying cutting a few leaves for the RTH tree, it’s great fun to participate on a group project and I can’t wait to see Adrian bringing it all together, it’s going to be one awesome groovy project!
Have Fun and Thanks for looking!
Cheers,
Sparkles.