July Four A Month - Bronze Rings, but nearly Silver!

My Four A Month Challenge pieces for July are rings!! Bronze rings to be precise - BUT they very nearly were silver rings :)

In my last blog post you will recall I showed you a stack of lovely shiny silver rings all made in fine silver using Art Clay Silver and I had planned to make four of those my FAM. However, I have also been doing a bit more experimenting and testing with the new Goldie Bronze clay and I wanted to see if I could make my usual styles of rings using that. 

DON'T PANIC - Art Clay Silver is, and I suspect always will be my absolute favourite, but with the cost of silver as high as it is, it makes a nice change to have a play with something else and expand the repertoire a little.

So these are the four rings I liked best out of the ones I made.

Stone Set Snake Ring, this has an embedded bronze prong setting to hold the stone in it which worked very well.

Sunburst Ring, a nice solid chunky ring, more suited to a man I think. I have not made many square rings but I really like the style. The design was carved in the clay state.

Spiral Ring, the texture around the band on this one is a texture I created using Scratch Foam. For more information on creating those textures have a look at this tutorial by Wanaree Tanner.

Last of the four is Stoneburst Ring. I really like this design. The textures on this are made using Rolling Mill Resource textures, and again it has an embedded bronze prong setting.

In case you are more of a silver lover here is my photo of the four rings that were going to be the Four a Month.

The ring below is called Rustic Red, and was my most favourite ring I have ever made! I was definitely going to keep it for me. The red stone is one I brought back from my trip to Japan in 2010. Luckily I brought four of these stones back because I wore this ring to the next fair I went to and sold it off my finger!

The raised setting for the stone had a lovely rustic look to it...

...with a finish that looked like it had been hammered, and the pattern around the band was made using a Rolling Mill Resource texture...

...and the stone was the most gorgeous red and sparkled beautifully.

Yep, that really was my all time favourite, but as my husband always say - no problem - just make another.

I think I will do just that ;-)

Phew that was a long post - well done and thank you if you made it this far!

Bird a Month 7/12 - Shore Bird Decoy

 

My Bird a Month for July is a tiny bronze decoy bird on a wooden stand. It is made with a new clay I am testing called Goldie Bronze™. The bird itself measures approx 30mm from beak to tail and it about 18mm high. Goldie Bronze ™ clay will be available to buy in September this year.

I plan on making more little decoy birds soon :)

New Rings & Ritzy Rings!!

I have been busy making rings! I am finding that rings seem to sell very well at the moment so I shall be making lots more! The ones above I made last week. They are all fine silver made using Art Clay Silver. You know me, I love my colours and textures even though there is no enamel on these.

I have also finished my next class on CraftArtEdu and it is now up online. It is called Ritzy Rings!!

The ring below is the piece I make in the class...

... and these ones are all made by the same method. In the top photo the two on the right and the one at the bottom centre are also Ritzy Rings. As you can see you can add a lot of variety with this technique :)

You can find the information all about the class and a preview on CraftArtEdu here ;-)

I have also just updated my list of Craft Fairs so maybe I will see you at one soon?

My Brother's Bed & Breakfast in the City of London!

OK, please excuse me if you are not interested, but now we have a shameless advert :)))

London City B & B is run by my brother and sister-in-law and if you are looking to stay in London this is REALLY central and a great price!!

Here's some blurb - you will find lots more info and how to book on the website.

In what must be one of London’s most exclusive and central locations, hosts Sue and David offer two comfortable rooms in their home, perched on top of a historic working church in the heart of the City of London in EC2. Close to the Bank of England, the Guildhall and the Museum of London, you can experience a taste of life in the capital’s busy financial district. 

All central London's main attractions are within easy distance: Tate Modern, Museums, West End, Oxford Street, London Eye, Theatres, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London.

A double and twin room make this the ideal base for a family stay, and guests are welcome to use the spacious sitting room.

Close to underground stations (Moorgate, Bank, Mansion House and St Paul's) and easy access from Stansted, Heathrow or Gatwick.

We are located in the heart of the City of London, within 10 minutes walk of four underground stations, and on numerous bus routes. Nowhere in London is more accessible.

About one hour from any of the main international airports, we can welcome you to heart of London within hours of your arrival in the capital and your holiday begins immediately.

High above the city buzz, the location is unexpectedly tranquil, but you may be lucky enough to catch one of the area’s regular civic events ­ a sample of the pomp and circumstance Britain does so well!

We offer a 'home from home' style accomodation and service.

Do check it out and I think they even still have a few dates left if you are coming to the Olympics!

I have added a link on the right of my blog so you can find it again in the future if you are visiting London and are interested.

Right, advert break over, now back to the shiney silver stuff!! :)

Bird a Month 6/12 - Twit Twoo

Twit Twoo!! My cute little solid silver owl sculpture is my Bird a Month for June. I am very excited about this one as my step by step tutorial for making him is the the newest issue of Metal Clay Artist Magazine which is just coming out. It is the third anniversary edition of MCAM Vol 3 Issue 3 and it includes some wonderful projects including Lesley Messam and Gordon Uyehara, and a great article about Wanaree Tanner who is producing some fantastic work at the moment! 

Even better - I also have a feature piece in it about undertaking challenges!! If you do not already subscribe you can buy an issue via the website and here in the UK it will be available in W H Smith soon :) 

Above is another piece I have made for the Guild of Enamellers exhibition in Whitby in July - I have called him Tropical Tree Frog :)

I just seem to keep enamelling rainbows at the moment and the set below, Swirling Rainbows, are also for the exhibition.

Tomorrow I shall be at the Riverdell Country Fair at Burwash in East Sussex. It should be a great day.

Maybe I will see you there?

June Four a Month - Feeling Jubilant!

Having watched all the celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this month it seemed natural to use the red, white & blue as a theme for my Four a Month Challenge pieces.

There is no theme in the style, just the colour!

All the pieces are made using fine silver (Art Clay Silver ) with enamel. The piece above is called Jubilation. The pendant is made using silver clay and enamel, and it has a small lab sapphire cabochon set in the centre. I made a chain to go with it using traditional methods. This piece is one of my pieces for an Guild of Enamellers exhibition in Whitby, but more on that soon :)

The earrings below are a style I have made in various colours before, and I called them Nouveau Jubilee.

Another style I have made more of recently are the stone set pendant and earrings set below. Called Jubilee Swirls they have lab rubies set into the centre of them.

I have called the whole Four a Month set

Feeling Jubilant!

Bright and cheery - I hope they make you smile ;-)

In Print!

I was excited to receive the latest edition of Art Jewelry magazine in the post this morning. My pendant is featured on the back cover in the Fire Mountain Gems advert!

The pendant is called That Anglo Saxon Feeling and is made using Art Clay silver and enamel. It is a really heavy weight and has a small garnet set on the textured reverse so it can be worn either way around. 

BTW this piece is available in my website shop ;-)