The bouclé chain necklace

I made this necklace for the Vintaj monthly challenge, but never submitted it as I didn't think it was good enough. The focal is a boro glass cab that I set in a "Whimsical Spray" Fastenable riveted to a brass blank. The cab is a little bit too fat for the setting in my eyes, but it's not too big to be securely fastened. I just wanted the prongs to show a little more.

Anyway, the part I was pleased with was the chain. I've woven space-dyed rayon bouclé twice through a ladder chain (also by Vintaj). A very simple technique, but I really like the result. Especially when being careful to let the yarn/floss "wind" between the links when you weave the second layer. The result remind me of braided cords (e.g. a simple kumihimo braid) and if you don't overdo the weaving, the chain will still be subtle and flexible. I think the wavy texture of the yarn works especially well here.




The variegated thread makes the weaving more visible and also pick up several of the colours in the cab. So far so good. Only thing I worry about is that rayon is notoriously frail compared to many other fibres and bouclé is a very loose type of yarn, meaning there's both an issue of snagging and of abrasion when weaving, but also when using the finished piece. I do hope the yarn is heavy enough to stand up to some wear and tear because I like this chain.

How I suspended a brass sparrow

I won this brass stamping in the shape of a flying sparrow at the Vintaj blog. The easiest way to use this stamping as a pendant is just to attach wire, jump rings or a stringing material of your choice to the corners where wing meets tail. The way you can see it done in Vintaj's own examples. I was playing around with my swooping swallow, not sure what I wanted to do with it. I had been interested in getting one to make Melanie Brooks' cool Arteria Arcanum Pendant, but I don't have the supplies to make anything similar.

Instead, when sorting my Vintaj loot -- som bought, some won -- I found some leaf charms I'd bought to make a necklace never realised. What if... I thought. Soon I had begun bending by leaf charm to make the suspension you can see above. Here's some instructions for how I made it.


First I put the charm through the corner of the hole between one of the wings and the tail, flipside up and placed so the leaves where pointing inwards and the loop was beyond the tip of the wing/tail.

Then I just bent the soft, malleable brass charm so that the leaves now faces outwards, laying over the loop. I pushed the two sides of the charm together to minimize the gap and thereby not risking the charm falling off. Then I repeated the steps with another leaf charm around the second wing tip.


I carfully manipulated each leaf, moving it to one side or the other while holding the rest of the charm still, until I felt they were in the right position. As I use the same charm on both sides and the charms are asymmetrical, I didn't want the leaves to look as though one was just an identical but upsidedown version of the other.


The holes between the wings and tail are so large I could use the charms as hook-and-eye clasps, hooking the leaves around the tail, but I was afraid the thin soft charms would too easily be bent when using the "clasp", which could lead to the charm snapping from metal fatigue.


Now I'm ready to make my pendant into a necklace. I'm thinking an all brass piece of jewellery here. Don't really know why, but when I look at it I keep getting associations to the 18th century. Not least when adding the "flowers" and leaves I plan on using in the necklace. Perhaps it's the leaves together with the shape of the bird (especially that tail) that reminds me of the motifs used in interior decoration and frames in those days. They'd use gold or gilded materials: this brass looks like patinated antique gold or gilding I suppose.

I'm still working on the details -- this is a work in progress -- but when I get that sorted I'll post a pic or two of the finished necklace. Let's see if I can keep that 18th C feel throughout the design process.

Just bragging a little...

I've shown you my Marsh marigold necklace (only centrepiece shown above), which I entered for the Vintaj blog design challenge. It didn't win the vote, but today when I checked my e-mails, I got the message that my necklace had been chosen as Editor's Pick. The motivation, as stated in the blog post, was:

We were inspired by your golden wire wrapped flowers around our Branch and the clever use of the Violet Sprig Fastenable as the closure! Your color palette, improvisation, and written inspiration for you design sealed the deal.

I was such a lovely surprise! I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately so this really cheered me up. While I did run into design problems, especially when wiring the branches together, I fully enjoyed making this necklace. So it was fun to see that others liked the result as well.

~*~

And for those of you who also wants a chance to win or get to become Editor's pick, check out the newest Vintaj design challenge Daffodil Walkway (due May 7th). You can read more about rules etc here.

How to make links and spacer bars from brads

~*~Instruktioner på svenska hittar du här. ~*~

I've already shown you my brads bracelets. Today I thought I would show you how to turn brads into jewellery components, using only a pair of round-nose pliers. In my example I will use clamshell style brads from Vintaj. You can also use studs or Decorivets, provided they have two peripendicular prongs to loop.

Here you will just find instructions for how to make the links -- how you want to use them in jewellery is up to you. Be creative! For a couple of examples, see my brads bracelets in the link above.


Supplies needed: Brads

Tools: round-nose pliers, nylon jaw flat-nose pliers (optional)



1. Start by looking at your brads. Do they look like the one above, with two prongs protruding straight from the sides of the brad: go directly to step 2.

If the brads on the other hand looks like the example below, you need to straighten the prongs first. Begin by bending out the prongs from the centre. Then use your fingers to pull the prongs straight, as in the brad to the right in the pic below. You can also use nylon jaw pliers to straighten the prongs, especially useful if they are hard.


Now it's time to begin making the links. I will show two different variations: one with loops on the back -- suitable for making spacer bars -- and one with loops on the sides, which is a better option if using the link as a connector.




2. Spacer bars: Grab the tip of one prong with the jaws of your round-nose pliers and begin rolling it inwards so it forms a loop. It can be tricky grabbing hold of the outermost tip without the pliers sliding. Don't give up if this happens. You may want to keep the jaws slightly away from the tip for better gripping, but not too far as the loop won't get a nice round shape then.



4. Keep rolling the prong until you reach its base and the loop rests on the back of the brad.


5. Repeat steps 2-4, looping the other prong. Check that the loops are equal size: as when making loops on wire it's important to begin the loops at the same point on the jaws of the pliers for the loops not to end up with different sizes.

6. Your component/spacer bar is now completed.



7. Connector: To make a connector, loop the prongs as in steps 2-4 above, but instead of rolling the prong inwards and under the brad, you will roll the loop outwards (as indicated by the pic above).


8. Keep looping until you reach the base of the prong. In this component, the loop should end up on the middle of the brad, as seen in the pic above. Repeat with the second prong and your connector is finished.

~*~

NB! Brads are not originally made for jewellery making and are not necessarily regulated by the same laws with regards to contents. If you are allergic or will be selling your brads jewellery, it's wise to check them first, not least for traces of nickel (within the EU it's illegal to sell jewellery that isn't nickel safe). Some embellishments on brads are not very durable -- that is also worth keeping in mind.

Marsh marigolds: My entry for the Vintaj blog April challenge

The theme for the Vintaj blog design challenge this month was "Spring Riverbed" and the word that immediatly popped up was kabbeleka, marsh marigold. This is a spring flower that thrives in wetlands and one that I have the pleasure of seeing each year as we got a few plants by the edge of our fen. Here, it blooms in May, but in e.g. Southern Denmark and Germany it buds already in April.

When making the necklace I saw a picture in front of me: the flowers stretching along the edge of the riverbed of a small creek, shaded by trees. The centerpiece of my necklace consists of two different branches wired together -- "debris" fallen into the creek -- and around it grows the flowers, accompanied by a few riverstones (= freshwater pearls).

I had no good clasps to use so I improvised, using a fastenable and hook. Also a way to keep to the floral theme of the piece.


If you want to vote for my necklace (big thanks if you do!) or any of the other entries, please go to the Vintaj blog and cast your vote by April 16.

Decoupage pendants

Yesterday I wrote instructions for how I make my decoupage pendants in my other blog, Manekis pärlblogg. Text is in Swedish but if you're interested at least there are some pics (and you can always translate using Google Translate -- checkout the "share" button at the end of the post). And I might be translating it for this blog later.

For the pendants and rings shown I've used Decopatch papers on Vintaj's brass blanks and steel (?) rings from Bra Pärlor. If you like the rings and you're Swedish, you might want to check out that shop. They have 50 % off as they close down on Sunday (14/3).

Apples in a bowl

A couple of days I go I made a comment on the Vintaj blog about beading on filigree. Which made me think of this little objet d'art I made back in October 2008. The bowl is a piece of dapped brass filigree ("Garden Trellis" from Vintaj), 40x40 mm, and the apples are made using 6 mm round soo cho jade beads with Toho 11/0 seeds in matte opaque chocolate. The beads are simply stitched to the filigree base using brown K.O. Beading Thread. I just use it as a small decorative item, but others have suggested it'd also make a nice brooch.

I thought the "jade" was just the right autumn colours for apples, eventhough the seed bead "calyx" make them look a tad like ripening currants in the end. Well, at least now I know how to make bead currants.

More brass blanks: Decopatch paper pendants

So... more Vintaj brass blanks and more decoupage. This time I've used Decopatch papers, which are rather thin (like printed tissue paper) so the dark brass shows through somewhat and makes the motifs blend with the background. Using a decoupage glue with a slight "antique" yellow tint made the blend even more effective. The glue is rather thick so applying it on the paper, the brush made marks making it feel almost like a painting.

I plan on keeping the pendant on the right as it is, but wanted to make something more with the square pendant. Using the decoupage as a background. At first I thought I might add one of my paper flowers, but after preparing it (dipping several times in different lacquers) I didn't feel it matched the pendant. Instead I began thinking about adding more brass. For example a tiny swallow charm, also from Vintaj.


I also made a tiny pendant, only partially covered by a blue and golden piece of decopatch paper. This is more a first try, not so sure I'll use it as it is right now. I think the paper I used above would blend better and make a smoother "fading" from paper to metal.

Blackening brass

When reading about ways of giving brass that gorgeous brown patina, I stumbled across a few short instructions of how to blacken brass (via B'Sue Boutiques). Kind of like how iron is blackened using heat and linseed oil. I think the instructions want you to polish the black away, which can be done rather easily, but I like the black surface. Just have to make it permanent.

For my experiment I used paraffin (mineral) oil, a small cat charm and an abused Vintaj blank. Both uncoated brass, though the later has been treated to give it a brown patina. I had already played with the blank and sanded it with coarse paper so not much of the original patina remained.

I think the results would be better and more lasting if I just bothered to clean the metal first... Though I like the uneven mottled colour on the brass blank. I held the pieces with pliers, hence the light patches around the hole/loop.

Whispered words -- my entry for Vintaj's February challenge

Now the entries have been published over at the Vintaj blog so I will show a couple of pics of my entry for the February design challenge, "Lover's Bouquet".

I got this idea last minute, but oddly enough I didn't send in the entry the last minute. One day before deadline -- that must be some sort of record for me! Anyway, I guess it's a bit conventional, but adding more to it didn't feel like me. Besides, I'm already planning what to do for the next challenge so hopefully I'll have more time for that entry. I like these challenges for two reasons: a) I love working with brass and b) I have a chance to win brass jewelry parts. I'm such a brass junkie...

So... Back to the necklace and the voting. Here is how I described my piece (text can also be found in the challenge gallery):

I wanted to make something romantic and serene with a vintage touch. An uncomplicated bouquet of flowers, like a whispered word of love -- perhaps from a shy lover or admirer. For the focalpiece I cut and bent a lovely floral Deco Vines Filigree apart and attached a few czech pressed-glass flower beads in a soft amber and pink hue. To that I added an Ornate Chain for a princess length necklace, saving one link to suspend the bead drop at the bottom of the filigree. The shape of the finished necklace reminds me of a patinated jardiniere.

Please check out the Vintaj blog to cast your vote, either for me (aiding me in my brass addiction, that is a noble cause) or someone else's entry that you like. I won't vote -- feels a bit odd doing that when participating plus I wouldn't be able to choose just one entry. I've got at least three different favourites this month.


*UPDATE: My entry finished third with just 1 % fewer votes than the runner-up. Thank you all, who took the time to vote for me!*

*SECOND UPDATE: If you want to learn how I created the filigree focalpiece, see Manekis filigranstomme. Text in Swedish as I've not yet translated the tutorial, but the instructions include several photos.*

Vintaj and Karen-Marie Klip

What would I have done if I had not gotten all those Vintaj blanks? I'm having so much fun experimenting with them!

This time I wanted to use my sheet of laser-cut paper motifs from Danish Karen-Marie Klip. As I was mostly just experimenting I didn't bother too much with the designs, I just wanted to see what the mix of dark brass and thick off-white paper would look like. So I simply cut out the leaves and glued them to the metal using decoupage glue. Rather fiddly as I don't have any tweezers -- special fine tweezers can be found among the papers in my Panduro shop, but it wasn't until I started using the tiny paper motifs that I realised it would be sooo much easier had I not thought the tweezers where too expensive and not that important...

Any way, here are my first three pendants, waiting to be sprayed with a matte sealant. Photo is a bit blurred, but I hope it's not too bad. I really liked mixing the brass with the sweet little cut-outs and will probably keep experimenting with it.

Rose in filigree

I'm having a bit of a Vintaj theme this week, I feel. Here is another pendant I've made using my last natural brass filigree piece I have in my stash.

Here is yet another way for me to use my blanks from the giveaway. I selected a large round pendant and decoupaged a cutout from one of my favourite scrapbook papers, Paul (SCRB 256) from Calambour onto it. I pierced a hole in the paper so I could still use the hole in the blank.

When dry I put some 0,5 mm Vintage Bronze wire through the hole and pushed the wire ends through a hole in the filigree piece. I then wrapped the filigree "petals" around the blank. Because of the wire, the filigree is a tad off-centre, but not so much it's annoying. The filigree not just added a frame to the floral motif, but added interest to the back of the pendant.

Ideally I would have wanted to use a different style of filigree, but I had to use what was in my stash. I'm still pleased with the results though.

Sparrow's compass scroll pendant

Remember the Vintaj blanks I wrote about earlier, the ones I got from a Vintaj blog giveaway? Well I've been playing some more with them.

This time I was looking for a way to use my lovely Sparrow's compass (23 mm). I didn't want to link it, glue it or just suspend it with a jump ring or bail. The latter would also mean it wouldn't hang the way I wanted. Yesterday I found that one of my blanks was the perfect size to use as a backdrop to the compass, also providing a hole for suspending the pendant. As said, I didn't want to glue the compass in place so instead I got the idea to take a large four-petal bead cap and use it to capture the compass, similar to filigree wrapping.

I flattened the bead cap and rolled the tips of the petals inwards. Slightly tricky, but not difficult to add the blank and compass. And a result I'm pretty pleased with. I added scroll to the name as I thought the rolled up petals reminded of paper scrolls.

2-hole beads and filigree

I don't use 2-hole beads or slider beads very often. Probably as I think just making multistrand stringed pieces aren't fun -- I didn't use to have that many other ideas involving these beads.

That is, until I found a bunch of purple 2-hole beads with flower motifs. Very pretty with kind of a vintage style. For months they were just hidden away until I bought half a dozen silverplated filigree connectors from the US. I soon got the idea to link the connectors with the beads and that is how Victorian Amethyst was born (below).

I was afraid of bending the stiff filigrees -- thought I might damage the plating -- so it feels a bit "angular", but still nice enough to wear as a choker, using a ribbon as closure. As you can see, I ran out of filigrees and and to finish the choker using "3-to-1" necklace ends attached to drops in the same style as the filigrees.

I liked the style, but felt the choker had a few minor design flaws so later I made my "Victorian Amethyst v 2.0", or Herrgårdshöst as I named it. It had an English title too, which was longer, as it was my entry to one of the monthly challenges at Vintaj blog, Golden Harvest in November 2008. This time I used brass filigree that I felt more comfortable bending and some new beads as the once I used in my first version was no longer to be found in the shop anymore. Instead, after much research I found similar matte beads in the US (of cause, now this shop no longer carries any floral 1-hole beads...).

I will probably make more jewellery in this style, if only I could find shops selling the right beads. The other 2-hole beads I own are eiter the wrong shape or have holes too close to one another to fit the connectors. Or, in rarer occasions, the beads are vintage or vintage-style, meaning the prices are too high for me...

Playing with my Vintaj blanks

I'm a lucky girl -- not so long ago I won my third giveaway from Vintaj's blog. This time I got a lovely mix of brass blanks, a whole 27 pieces (their Altered Blanks Sampler Pack). I love blanks so getting these was great!

Best thing about getting these for free is that I don't have to worry about money. Otherwise I tend to be a bit cautious as I'm afraid to ruin expensive materials. And because of the price I normally just buy one or two of each item so there isn't much room for experimentation. Now I got enough not to feel anxious about screwing up. You can't succeed every time, but the not so successful trials are important too. So daring to fail is very much a part of success.


My first odd idea for these blanks I got from Melinda Barta's book Custom Cool Jewelry. She uses stickers as an etch resist when using Etchall on glass pendants. I took some peel-off stickers and did a similar thing. But instead of etching the metal, I got some polishing cream and polished off the oxidation from the brass. When I peeled of the stickers again, only the areas covered by them were still dark. Why polish away that lovely patina? Because I could, and I wanted to test my idea. In the future I'll probably not remove as much of the patina as I did this time. But I will probably try it again, with smaller motifs.


One of the pendants was very boring so in a late night session, I decided to add some interest. Unfortunately I don't have that much interesting materials at home so I ended up grabbing what I hade: light brown and forest green StazOn ink pads. Adding the brown ink on the pendant didn't do it. So I got some copper-coloured embossing powder and sprinkled it around the leaf motif. No, not good either. So I drenched it in green ink. *sigh* and polished the pendant a bit so the green didn't cover the drops of embossing powder. Not pretty, but at least I got to try some new things.

The blank on the left hasn't been coated or anything so it'll soon start oxidizing (as you can see). I will let this happen just to see if I can get a nice, lighter patina in "exposed" areas.


Peel-off stickers is the only thing I've got a lot of right now so next I took out my Chinese-themed sticker sheet where I found a couple of pretty round dragon stickers. I simply put one on each side of a large, round blank. Haven't coated it yet, but it needs to be sprayed with protective lacquer before using or the stickers will soon fall off. The motifs don't look totally centred in the photo, but when I measured them, I found that they're actually spot-on. They just look a bit off the mark...