New on Tuesday: New Earrings!

Black Lanterns Copper Hammered Drop Earrings

As promised, here are a few of the newest earrings in my shop on Etsy! Click on the photos to go to the site and get all the details!
Above are the Black Lanterns Copper Hammered Drop Earrings, just added to my shop today! Sexy, shiny and full of swing, it's no wonder that these earrings are one of my best sellers! Also available in Gold (below) and I have another, similar pair in sterling silver that are awaiting photographs.

Black Lanterns Gold Hammered Drop Earrings

I also make them with different dangling beads: crystals, crystal pearls, and gemstone beads. If you would like something custom made, just contact me!

Long, dangling earrings are very in style right now, as is evidenced by just about every star wearing some form of long, graceful earring.

Jessica Gold Treble Clef Celtic Swirl Earrings

 Back in stock are the Celtic Swirl Treble Clef Earrings. I make them in 14 karat gold filled wire (above), sterling silver (below) and copper with sterling silver ear wires, though they are waiting for photographs.

 These are very light and graceful, and wear well with jeans, as well as a nice dress (great for date-night!).

Jessica Sterling Silver Treble Clef Celtic Swirl Earrings

Please visit my shop on Etsy to see these, and more fabulous pieces of jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleStudioJewels

New Cuff Bracelet in the Works!

 I've been very busy this last little bit with the Farmers' Market in Merrickville and with my lessons at Rain's Art in Metal for my metalsmithing courses. This is the last piece I did at her studio, and it is still in progress as I have quite a bit of work to do. I took a piece of 16 gauge copper sheet, sawed it into a 6" x 1" length, sanded the surfaces and filed the edges. I then took a piece of beautiful antique lace and wrapped it around the cuff blank and put it through the rolling mill, which exerts high pressure on the metal (and the lace, in this case), to imprint the lace pattern onto the surface of the metal.

 Here is the pattern close up! It doesn't look much like lace, to me it looks a bit like snake scales, but I love it either way. Now I need to get a rolling mill for my own workshop!! The only issue is that, with my being so busy with my baking, I kind of forgot about the cuff bracelet in my bag and when I took it out I noticed that it needed some cleaning on one side. Not a big deal, I just took a scrub brush and warm water with dish soap and started scrubbing. The only problem came when I turned it over to do the other side...

Alas! It has apparently been resting against a piece of copper that I had recently etched, and the etching solution mustn't have been properly rinsed off. Now I'll have to sand that part down, leaving that part potentially with a reduced image on that area. Oh well, live and learn. Now I know NOT to put anything that has been etched anywhere near any other pieces I'm working on!
See you all soon,

Newest Leaf in Copper!

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long (where did the week go?), but I hope to make up for it with this teaser of my newest piece.

You may remember another recent post with my first copper leaf pin, and here is a similar (but not exactly the same!) leaf in copper, with a torch finish, but this one is a pendant! I soldered a piece of copper tubing on the back so that it hangs in approximately the same way as it is pictured above. I still have to get it on some nice chain, and make a nice clasp to go with it, so I'll have more photos when that is done too :)

That is all for now, I have a marathon baking session ahead of me, or I'd spend much more time here with you all.
Have a great day!

Copper Lilac Leaf Brooch with a Fire Finish

 Well, I must say I am so excited to show you all this newest piece of jewelry that I just finished last night! About 5 weeks ago I started a metalsmithing class to learn some new techniques (and refine some old ones!) and, after taking last week off due to a stomach bug, I have now finished my first piece. This beautiful pin/brooch is made from a copper sheet which I traced my design onto (a lilac leaf in this case, with the veins in the center). I then used a fine jeweler's saw to hand saw the outline of the piece, and then punched a teeny hole in the  center so that I could saw out the veins, giving a bit more dimension to the piece. Then I used files to file the outer edges until they were nice and smooth. I then used 400, 600, 1000 and 1500 grits of wet/dry sandpaper to carefully sand in one direction, then the other, until all of the previous marks were gone. Once the marks were gone on one side, then I'd sand the other. Once both sides were done in 400 grit, I would then move onto 600 grit and so on, until it was smooth, even and soft.

I then used a spoon form to lightly hammer my leaf to give it the rounded shape and make it look more lifelike. I had to be VERY careful not to scratch my piece or I would have to start the sanding process all over again!

I then soldered sterling silver wire onto the back of the pin to make a pin and clasp section. That was the first joint I had ever soldered! The torch was a little scary (ok, it still is), as it makes a rather loud POP! when it turns on and off (it is acetylene), and I am always afraid of burning myself or the house down around me when the flames start to go, haha. I managed to do one practice solder joint, and then I did the second on the leaf. It turned out great!

Then I had a dilemma: should I go with a mirror (shiny) finish, or should I break out the torch and give it a more lifelike (though unpredictable) fire finish, using flux and the torch to burn the flux away, and then continuing to burn the copper until it makes the fire pattern you see on the pin. You then quench it in water and, once dry, lacquer it to a beautiful shine. I could have gone with the mirror finish, and perhaps in the next piece I will, but I went with the fire finish. I went with the fire finish partly as I like the more natural look of it on the leaf shape, but also because I wanted to get more comfortable with the torch in general.

I know I am probably biased, but I think it turned out incredibly well. I even signed the back of it with a flexshaft tool (like a Dremel, but thinner and with foot control). It is a pretty messy signature, but this pin, this first piece, is all MINE, and I don't mind if it looks like a 5-year-old Meghann signed the back, I know it was made by me, and I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself. I would like to make more of these beautiful leaves, in copper and sterling silver, with both mirror finishes, and with the torch finish. I'll also do different types of leaves; oak, maple, birch, etc. Keep an eye out for those!

New Bracelet: Eco Chic Upcycled Copper Bangle

I just retook these photos and thought I would relist this bracelet and show you :)
Have a great day!

Tuesday's Treasures: Viking Weave Necklace is Complete!

It's Done, it's DONE! I am so happy and proud to show you my first completed Viking Knit (Weave) project! I chose to make a copper weave to keep the costs down in case I messed up my first project in this style, but it turns out the weave is actually very easy to do and quite fun too. I made a custom bail for my new Viking Monkee, Thor, made by Glass artist extraordinaire Louise of Fireseed.
It starts out as loops on a wooden mandrel, and you keep going until you have 10-12 inches of this (you gently pull it off the mandrel as you go so that you have enough of the dowel to weave on).
When you have enough length, you pull it through a draw plate (initially I just pulled it with my hands and it elongated and became tighter), until you get the desired diameter of weave. Mine ended up about 17 inches long, a little longer than I wanted it, but I wanted it to be a small diameter, which explains it. Next time (for me anyway) I'll weave a shorter amount of wire to make a slightly shorter necklace. This necklace took about 25 FEET of fine, 26 gauge copper wire to make this slim, graceful and very soft woven necklace. Pretty neat!
Here is my little Thor, all done up on his custom bail (the part that suspends the pendant from the necklace). I used a small spiral at the bottom to complement the chain, and made a simple wrapped loop at the top to hold the pendant onto the chain.

This one is mine, but what do you think? Would you wear a similar styled necklace? What about the bead? What kind of bead would you have? Should I keep this one or sell it? I'm kind of inclined to keep this one, but would you buy something similar?

I'm off to try this in sterling silver, I have another of Louise's beads that is perfect for a bracelet, though it isn't cute like my Thor bead, it is a beautiful, fluid round bead. I'll keep you updated on that.

I want to thank Louise for inspiring me to make this necklace, without you, I'd still be blankly staring at the components!

That's all for now!

Thoughtful Thursday: New Project Update!

Here are a few interim photos of the new project I'm working on. This is a modified version of a project from my new chain mail book. In this bracelet, I am making my own rings (yup, all 200 of them), and then weaving them into a loose Byzantine chain mail weave...
In between the Byzantine weave units, I am attaching bead units that are actually a part of the chain weave. These are Czech glass fire polish beads in Crystal AB that are strung on small pieces of wire with their ends hammered flat. Then I take the other end and twist it into a double ring and attach it into the weave of the chain. After 3 hours of ring making, filing and chain making, I have about 6 inches or so done. I should be able to get the rest done today.

Tell me, what do you think (honestly)? Would you like it in silver plate or sterling silver, or 14karat gold filled? With different colored beads? Let me know, I value your opinion!

That's all for now, tune in tomorrow for a Fabulous Friday Feature.

Thankful Thursday: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

~Weathered Copper Bangle~

Last year I was given some great copper wire from a friend of mine, with the hopes that I would do something with it. It had originally been copper wiring, but had been removed from where ever it had spent its original intent and stripped, allowing it to patina naturally and wait for its new purpose.....I ran into some problems when it took me 5 minutes to cut through it (cramping my hands in the process), but kept it on my jewelry table anyway, waiting, watching, hoping for some inspiration. Imagine my surprise when I realized that, yes, sometimes the simplest design is also the best! Here is the first of a few VERY limited bangles. I sanded the wire lightly to wear away some of the patina, and gently hammered it to harden it slightly and further smooth the edges. That being said, it will easily adjust to almost any wrist size. Simply slip it onto your wrist and you are ready to go! Talk about eco-chic! Now you get to help the environment and look great doing it :)

This would also look good as an upper arm bangle - just slide it on up your arm and voila! It will adjust in size with a little bit of pressure.

I should mention that this is bare copper wire and may cause some color transfer to your skin, though some non-sticky hairspray or clear sealant may help prevent this.

I hope you like it, it will be added to my Etsy store sometime today, so please check it out!

Time is Running out!! Sign up for my newsletter to try and win a pair of magnificent earrings from my NeoAmour Marie Antoinette collection (You have to sign up for the newsletter first to be eligible to win!!), see the full contest details here.

NeoAmour - Boudicca's Heart Necklace

~NeoAmour Boudicca's Heart Celtic Heart Copper Necklace Closeup~

~NeoAmour Boudicca's Heart Celtic Heart Copper Necklace~

I created this necklace after being inspired by a movie. What the movie was I can't for the life of me remember, but this necklace was the wonderful product. I am always inspired by the Celts, and Boudicca the Celtic Warrior Queen is one of those people that, despite the totally oral nature of her culture (she had to be recorded by the Romans, certainly no mean feat), has been remembered for the last 1700 years due to her sheer will and determination, and yes, great love of her people.
Made a Regent Queen after her husband died, she was thrust into power in a time when (though the Celts allowed women rulers) women were NOT to be in power according to the Romans, the largest threat to the Celts at that time. They actually believed that the fact that Celts allowed women to rule made the Celtic people more barbarous than ever! The Romans came, publicly beat Boudicca, raped her daughters in front of her, took her husband's belongings, tried to take her tribe's lands, and attempted to force the Celts to become slaves for the Romans.
Boudicca had other ideas.
Outraged at these atrocities, she fought back, winning a few major (and very bloody) victories before the Romans finally conquered her tribe, and left her to fade into obscurity. No one knows what happened to her, but I can imagine that after all of this heartache, she would have welcomed a life in the background.
I thought of her courage and decided to make a necklace made of hand formed hearts. I took copper wire and cut it into 21- 4 inch sections, then hand formed each section into a Celtic styled heart. I then hammered them flat to give them a slight luster finish and durability. To connect them I used silver rings and made a custom hook and eye clasp from sterling silver wire to connect it. For a final finish I attached Czech glass beads in a black dagger shape to dangle from a few of the hearts - as a tribute to her final 'heartache' at not being able to save her culture from the invading Romans.
This piece is currently for sale on my Etsy store, under the NeoAmour Boudicca Celtic section. I am able to lengthen or shorten the necklace if you desire, and I can also remove the dangles if you would prefer. I can even make it out of sterling silver wire, or 14karat gold filled wire, all you have to do is ask :)
Thanks for joining my time-travel adventures today!

Falling For Fall Leaves

~Another Fall-Inspired Necklace~

I was inspired for this piece while on a walk with my dog. We live in a forested area and right now all the leaves are in various states of changing and falling. It is absolutely gorgeous, especially when the sun hits the canopy at just the right angle, bathing everything in golden autumnal light. Just such an occurrence happened earlier this week during my walk and even the dog seemed intrigued. The leaves all changed from yellows, reds, oranges and greens to luminescent variations of themselves. I immediately thought of this piece and knew I had to make it as soon as I got home. Unfortunately, this was at the beginning of our walk and I knew that I couldn't disappoint the dog, so we walked our walk, and then upon returning home I began to create.
I took 14karat gold filled wire, sterling silver wire, and non tarnish copper wire and formed various leaf shapes - a maple in gold, a birch in silver and an oak in copper. I then hammered each leaf to get it to lay flat and have texture. Then I suspended them from 14karat gold filled chain and added a green tree agate bead, amber nugget, and small garnet bead for added color and texture. This is a larger piece - great for the plunging neckline of an evening dress, or just a nice tank top. It is for sale on my Etsy store now, so check it out by clicking the link to the right.
Everything is still 20% off until the end of September so get it while you can!
Take care,
Meghann

Celtic-Style Hammered Copper Necklace and Earrings

~Necklace and Earrings Together~

~'Dagger' Drop Bead Detail~

~Spiral Clasp Detail~

This last week has been really something. I am now officially teaching some wire working jewellery classes at The Bead Store in Kemptville starting in September, I've been working on several jewellery projects at once, I've been cleaning and gardening, taking photos for a friend, and I've been really sick with my Fibromyalgia flareups.
The piece above was originally going to be a mock-up for a Fibromyalgia Awareness jewellery set, but after making a few heart-shaped links, it took on a life of its own (as so often happens with art) and I was inspired to change a few things and make the necklace in its entirety. I then had to make matching earrings for it (of course!). Over 7 feet of copper wire was hand-wrapped and hammered into 21 Celtic-style hearts that are connected with silver-plated jump rings. 7 'jet' Czech glass 'dagger' beads are suspended from the bottoms of select hearts for extra style and substance. A sterling silver spiral clasp is the perfect accent, and also hammered to match the copper wire's hammered finish. An additional 2 hearts are suspended from sterling silver ear wires, with an additional 2 Czech glass 'dagger' beads in turn suspended from the bottom of the hearts. This necklace is lighter than air, despite it's appearance.
I'm now working on a similar-but-different piece in 14karat gold-filled wire with amethyst beads for a necklace, with matching earrings and a different take on the piece for a similarly-styled bracelet. I'll do a similar set in sterling silver when I'm done. I'll have them all for sale, but I might just keep some for myself - they are that gorgeous!
I'll keep you updated on the progress of the new pieces. Check the web links to the right of the page to go to The Bead Store's website and check them out!
Stay adorned, and until next time,
Meghann

Rings on Your Fingers...

Rings on your fingers, Rings on your toes - Rings everywhere! Sorry for the delay since the last post, but I've been super busy with jewellery making, gardening, and general Fibromyalgia crud.
Here are some great new rings that aren't even on the website yet - they are available in copper (shown), sterling silver, and 14karat gold-filled wire, as well as with different stones and beads.
The simple spiral rings can even be worn as toe rings!

Above - Copper Ring with Cushion-Cut, Gem-Grade Cubic Zirconia (Left), with Back Detail (Right)

Above - Copper Simple Spiral Rings in Large (left) and Small (right)

Above - Copper Wire, Blue Agate and Swarovski Crystal Pearl (Left), and Copper Wire, Czech Firepolish Glass Beads in Jet and Peridot (Right)

Above - Copper Celtic Spiral Ring with Swarovski Crystal Pearls (Left), Copper Celtic Spiral Ring with Czech Firepolish Glass Beads in Jet (Right)

These should be on the website and available for sale shortly! Check it out at www.littlestudio.ca

Happy Browsing!

Meghann