A Day in the Studio

Another day spent hammering pennies - did I tell you how much I love my job?  After creating the cute little copper and mixed gemstone bracelet yesterday, I did what I haven't done yet - I thought "line of jewelry".  Yup.  Shocked myself, I tell you - but still I thought it was a great idea.  All because of that copper plumbing thingy and the bracelet created from it.  Go figure.  I love the look of the copper wire wrapped loops and the slightly smaller rondelle beads in the bracelet, and I think it makes for a mix and match possibility you don't really get with chunkier bracelets.  Plus, when I wear bracelets I end up looking like a gypsy woman, I pile so many of them on. 

So, some pennies - flattened, drilled and buffed - ready for words, names or just random letters to be put on them (once I get in my order from Harbor Freight - oh I DO love tools!!!!)

some fabulous little 'red velvet crystals' from my fabu local bead shop (Beads on the Kennebec), wrapped in yards of 22 gauge copper wire, and closed with a cute little copper heart clasp. To wear alone or.........

with one created with a mix of gemstones (wonderful strand I got from Turquoise Magpie - hands down the BEST place to get your gemstones)..............or maybe

you're like me and you'll wear them all at once.  Why not?  Life is short - make it colorful and bright!

One down, eight hundred to go!..........

Ok, maybe not eight hundred, but from everything I've crafted with the help of my new bench grinder, quite a few projects to be done!  I created a bracelet with some of the pennies and flattened wire pieces and am looking forward to doing many more.
I used 16 gauge brass wire for the links along with some wonderful little copper washers I got from magpie gemstones to create the base of the bracelet.........

wired in some aventurine beads on the domed pennies (beads from magpie gemstones)

added a few wheat pennies that I drilled

and finished it off with a handcrafted copper clasp.  I'm thinking of adding a patina to this bracelet - what do you think?

Copper and Magnesite Set

Still loving the hammering of copper - using some 12 gauge copper wire, I made some over sized jump rings and hammered them flat. To add some depth to the flattened links I coiled some 20 gauge wire around them to hide the join, then connected them using some 18 gauge square copper wire (love it - it works with everything!). I had some large faceted magnesite rondelles which I wrapped with copper wire and joined with some large twisted copper rings. I made a chain with some square copper wire and some small coiled copper rings (got the twisted and coiled links at Magpie Gemstones), added the hammered pieces and the beaded pieces in an asymmetrical design...........a handcrafted copper "S"clasp serves as closure. Although the bracelet has different copper components, it still works as a set.