Tipsy earrings - vintage and modern mix

I bought an old metal  necklace to plunder ages ago and finally made myself a pair of earrings with some of the links. Made some copper earwires and antiqued (darkened) them. As each bunch of grapes is identical, I opted to hang them in opposite directions - I think makes them quite jaunty, even tipsy (how appropriate!) Cheers.

Preparing for my new studio

The bottom of our garden was a fairytale thicket

 

 After a couple of days of hacking back we have enough material for a bonfire. Hmm, what would the neighbours think. Much as I used to love a blazing fire, it isn't environmentally friendly, so we'll probably hire a shredder or skip.

So now we are part-way ready for my new studio (*excited!*).

We've still got some tenacious stumps to get out, but they will wait for another day.

A winning combination

I was lucky enough to win some lovely etched lampwork rainbow spacer beads in  Lindsey's (Punky Puppy) giveaway  recently and this is what I did with them - I paired them with my handmade copper links and a lentil bead which I made ages ago, and which is decorated with a rainbow twistie which I won from Jolene Wolfe. Told you I was lucky!!

This is what the bracelet looked like this morning when I attempted to age and darken the copper with chemicals.

Nothing happened to the clasp. Then I realised I'd made it with coated wire which will not darken with any amount of soaking...so I knuckled down and commenced to make another one.  If you want to get this effect, you need to check the description of the wire before purchase - look for "bare copper wire". The aging solution (liver of sulphur) is mighty smelly, but I prefer the look of the end result - I think it sets the beads off beautifully.

Once I'd mixed the LOS, I quickly made some more clasps and dunked them and some other bits into the mixture (waste-not-want-not!)








Now I'll be ready to make some more eclectic bracelets - watch this space...







PS I'm wearing the bracelet as I type - it's certainly brightened my day!