Making Molds for Copper Clay

I have been playing with 2 part silicon to make molds of old jewelry. Then, I press metal clay into the mold and make charms. Here are two of my favorites made out of copper clay, an old cameo that belonged to John's godmother and a Welsh fisherman's ring that was in my family.  The texture on the ring represents the buttons on the fisherman's coat and was worn by his betrothed.

Branch Coral Bliss

Don't you love branch coral? I bought a graduated strand and I was worried, since the branches were tiny, that wouldn't add much and it wouldn't go very far, but a little is all you need to add a delicious

   organic 'pop' to a jewelry design.  I am still playing with my new camera and I confess, I ordered another one to try out before I commit. It reminds me when I was on a Zappos bender, and  I must have had 10 or 12 pairs of shoes in the running. I came home one day and my husband had created a  giant pyramid of shoe boxes in the foyer to greet me.  Everyone that sees my cute little Elph wants it and I have to say it is fun to use. I am trying to get more things up onto my etsy shop  so I need to keep clicking away. I bought this nifty light box a couple of years ago off of eBay. I like that the lighting is consistent since I am not much of a photographer and the light is soft so the silver doesn't shoot off blinding reflections, but I need to experiment with natural light . Thanks Kellie, for showing me some features on the camera I didn't know I had. 

    

I was a teenage Bowerbird

I love bowerbirds. They are those nest interior designers that tweak their abodes to attract the ladies. They collect flowers (that they refresh when they wilt), bottle caps, scraps of ribbon, berries... anything to make their bower an adequate expression of who they are. When a potential mate comes along they dance like banshees.

I am not much of a dancer, but one day I had my jewelry findings, glass bead remnants, and odds and ends spread out before me. I left my unhealthy production mode and entered the bowerbird worldview picking and weaving bits and pieces to make a necklace just how I wanted it. It was a little nutty but fun and I love my new necklace.