Ring a Month 2019 - November

This is my November ring for the Ring a Month Challenge 2019.

The theme for the month was Gemstones.

This is 

Rainbow Doughnuts 😁

Why Doughnuts I hear you ask??

Well I'd bought some super whizzy new moulds for making tiny embellishments and this particular mould makes little open circles. In talking to someone about them they said I could make lots of baby doughnuts!! lol It seemed like a good name to use!!😉

The moulds are made by Cool Tools in the USA (so they are molds and not moulds - lol) and are available here in the UK from Metal Clay Ltd  (at which point they become moulds!!!). 😂

First of all I made a load of little embellishments using Art Clay Silver 999. The clay is pressed into the mould and left to dry. Then the little shapes can be popped out. 

Then I made a flat ring band. As I hadn't really worked out my design in advance I went with a very wide band...

...then I played around with the doughnuts until I found a design I liked. Of course if I had done this part first I could of made the band the right size to start with, but hey, why make life easy 😉

I carefully measured up and worked out that the design should fit quite nicely around the ring so then I started to add the doughnuts to the flat band. I used water to join them...

...and continued around the ring - and it worked out right!! Phew! 😌

Then I started to remove all the excess silver clay...

...working around both edges of the ring first with a scalpel.

I used files and baby wipes to refine the design close to the edges of the doughnuts and neaten it all up. 

Next was choosing which stone colours to use. I LOVE this bit!!! 😊 Should I go with the small stones in differing colour pairs or..

....the same in each pair. I liked this second option better. The stones are 2mm and 4mm and are a mix of lab grown, nano and CZs. They are all fire-able. 

I drilled out the centre of each doughnut and used stone setting burrs to make the seat for each stone.

Arguably I could of made this ring using my usual method of creating stone settings, but I like that each setting is rounded on the top so this does give a different look. 

I set all the stones into place

Lots of different colour combos

all around the band 😊

I was pleased with the end result. 

Turned out it wasn't the easiest ring to photograph though!! lol

So now we have made 11 of the 12 rings for the year long challenge.

Only 1 ring left to go!!!

Have fun!

Joy x

49/52 Bits and Bobs!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Where did 2015 go??? Wow...that year seemed to go so fast!!! 

So we are now at the start of 2016 and I thought I'd do a round up of my year long challenge :D 

I know...this is only post number 49 so I'm 3 short of the 52, but I do have several things to show you in it though :D That's my excuse!!! I decided it was better to round if off as we have passed the year end, but I'll still be posting regularly and I have lots of ideas still unfinished so you'll be seeing them in 2016 :D

I thought I'd finish with a few other things I've made which had slightly different things in for me, but that I haven't posted here yet. I made these in December.

First off we have another spinner ring. This is the second one I've made using my new technique. It wasn't until I was well into making this that suddenly I realised I had created little sets of eyes all around it! That wasn't planned! They look like eyes either way up as well!! :D

Next we have a moulded shell. I know...we all make those...but this one was made in full 3D from a very special shell for a client, and it's the first shell I've done with this type of bail attached to it :D

Next is a simple ring - but I'd never made a Z ring before - again this was for a client. I think it turned out quite well. It has a wavy back to it - forgot to photograph it from that side though!

Then some little sparkly drops set with 8mm stones. These are from my Bag of Bling!

Finally we have a turquoise pendant. I actually made this one as an example while I was teaching an Art Clay Level 2 diploma recently...so why is that different? Well using turquoise and gold together was on my challenge list. I really like the combination of the two and will make more using those them.

BTW the spinner ring at the top was also made while I was teaching that L2 workshop. It's the bonus of a 1-2-1 workshop, I can often fit in demo-ing a few extra things ;)

So that will be it for challenge entries and whilst I didn't hit 52 I don't mind as I have really enjoyed it! I've learnt lots of new things and had fun - what else can I ask for!!

2016 marks 10 years for my business, and 10 years that I've been using silver clay - so watch out for posts about special offers as I'll be celebrating all year long!!!

Have fun!

Joy x

40/52 Japan - Part 1

 Time to catch up on my blog and my annual challenge! 

I have several pieces nearly finished - but first I want to tell you about my amazing trip to Japan!. This is part one - yes there will be a part two very soon! I decided that it was all so wonderful it warranted two entries in my challenge! I hope you agree :)

The flight to Japan is around 12 hours from the UK so by the time I arrived I was already feeling a little weary having not slept on the plane. I had a couple of hours to wait for the bus transfer and I have to say Haneda airport in Tokyo is an excellent place to plane watch! I arrived at my hotel before noon, left my luggage ready to check in later and headed straight out to see some of the surrounding area. The hotel staff told me the easiest way to where I wanted to go was through Ikebukuro railway station - um... it is the second busiest station in the world!  Actually navigating it wasn't too bad, I found my way without getting lost! On returning to the hotel I found they had upgraded me for free - how nice!!! I was on the 22nd floor of the hotel and had a lovely view out across Tokyo - day and night!

 

Then I headed out again to find the exhibition of all the work from the Silver Accessories Contest 2015. The first surprise was when I saw the poster for the exhibition! Wow - how good is this - very me with all those lovely colours!!!
 

The venue for the exhibition was stunning, and looked great in the dark....

...and  all the entries were wonderful to see. The quality of the work was just amazing and very inspiring!! I really did feel a bit stunned and very honoured that all four judges had chosen my piece for the Grand Prix Award!!

Next day I met up with Dice Minagawa from Aida for a day of sightseeing and shopping! We started off back at the exhibition for another look and a few photos (photography was not allowed in the exhibition so I was very pleased to have these taken for me!). That poster again (of course!) at the entrance to the gallery...

 ...and inside the exhibition by my piece!!! :D

Then we headed off out across Tokyo to go to the jewellery area first. It wasn't long before I had purchased quite a few lovely jewellery tools and supplies (wonderful mini hammers!) and some beautiful turquoise and amethyst beads. 

The fish markets were so colourful. I really didn't fancy the red snapper eyes though which are apparently a delicacy!!!!

After seeing all that fish we had to have a fishy lunch!

Lots of beautiful fresh raw and cooked fish, pickles and rice...and we even cooked our own giant clam on the grill on our table! 

It was a very colourful place and I thought it was quite old, turned out it is a modern chain based on the old fishing village eateries! Oh well :) It looked the part and was very atmospheric!

I found it really interesting how the shops are grouped in areas in Tokyo. After the jewellery supplies  we went to the kitchen supplies area (loads of interesting things there!) and then the road where all the shops sell every kind of food dish you can imagine all made out of wax that all the restaurants use in their windows (it's all incredibly realistic!). We saw shops full of pottery and others selling masks! (Oh yes, more on masks in another post! ;) )

 

 So much to see...

This restaurant specialised in Fugu (puffer fish). Parts of the fish are highly toxic and they must be prepared by licenced chefs only - we didn't try it!

 

Finally we arrived at Asakusa - a large temple complex in Tokyo. My plan was to revisit that area on the Monday to explore further.

When I arrived back at my hotel this coach was parked outside - it seemed to sum up the day perfectly! :D

 

Day 3 was the main reason for my visit to Japan - the Silver Accessories Contest 2015Award Ceremony!

It started off with the official ceremony at 1pm that lasted about an hour. Lots of the award winners were there and it was wonderful as each person went on stage to receive their prize. I was last on and the only one giving a short speech, and I have to say as it drew nearer I started to feel a little bit nervous! When it came to it I think it was all fine though :)

I received my certificate, award and prize...here is Mr Aida reading my certificate before presenting it to me...

...and then I did my speech which Dice translated (no, I didn't have to do it in Japanese!).

 

Next we had the official photos taken, these photos were all taken for me on my camera (thank you Mark!).

 

After that it was time for everyone to enjoy themselves at the reception with a lovely buffet meal. I met lots of delightful people, so many excellent metal clay artists and everyone wearing their fantastic creations as well!

To be continued...!!!

Meanwhile..

Have fun!

Joy x