Tag: gold

Amber necklace

Mum's amber pendant

This is a little amber pendant, made for my Mum.

It replaces one that I made for her several years ago, although I think this one’s a little bit smaller. The pendant settings and stone all came from Kernowcraft.

I don’t quite know what to say about this one.

I made it because my parents’ new house was broken into, and almost every single piece of my Mum’s jewellery was stolen. She still has the matching earrings to this pendant only because she happened to be wearing them. Unfortunately the rest of her jewellery can’t be so easily replaced, but at least for now she’ll have one matching set to wear.

Leather earrings

Leather earrings
Pretty little oak leaves, ever so slightly metallic.

Did you know that Ren, she of the incredible Fairysteps, also sells her offcuts of leather? Ever since I bought my amazing gold boots, I’ve been terribly paranoid about scuffing the toes and making a hole in them. Not due to any lack of sturdiness in the boots, I might add – I’m just very clumsy! So when I saw that there was a bag of metallic leather pieces for sale I snapped it up, thinking it would be useful to save a piece for the eventual mending of the boots.

Leather earrings

I think these are my favourite. I might try a pair with the colours the other way round.

And then the parcel got lost in the post, Ren gave me a refund, and I was a little bit sad for a while. No shiny leather for me. Until last week, when the parcel unexpectedly arrived! Hooray!

While the parcel was on its mystery travels, I’d been thinking about what else to make with the little leather bits. The first thing that came to mind was earrings, as leather’s so light.

Leather earrings

I’m not sure about the proportions of these. I think smaller jump rings would be better.

I had some craft punches that Paul’s Mum had given to me, and they turned out to be perfect for cutting out little matching shapes! It was a bit of a faff though, I have to admit. The punches are really designed to be hammered into card, and the thick leather was a little bit of a challenge. The pieces are quite fiddly too – the dragonflies are about an inch across.

The antique gold findings are all from Hobbycraft, made by Beads Unlimited. They say low nickel, so I’m hoping I won’t be allergic to them. I thought they suited the colours of the leather better than a bright gold. Apart from being a little unsure about the proportions of the gold dragonfly pair, which I’ll probably change at some point, I’m really pleased with how these have come out. I don’t think I’ll be making many more – my poor cutting mat can’t stand the hammering – although I do have plenty more ideas for things to make with the leather.

Corsages, doll shoes, perhaps a belt… watch this space!

Sarah’s Angel

Sarah's angel

My friend Sarah saw the stamped Fimo pendants I made a few weeks ago, and asked whether I could make one for her Mum.

The brief was simply “pale yellow, with an angel”, and this is what I made.

The pendant is just less than two inches long, and made from pale yellow Fimo. The angel isn’t stamped, but rather drawn into the clay with a sharpened pencil. The whole pendant was then washed with a coat of metallic gold acrylic paint, to give it a slightly “aged” look, and the angel impression was also painted with gold. I hung the pendant on gold organza ribbon, and finished it with a gold bolt ring and matching loop.

Thankfully it turned out to be exactly what Sarah wanted – and I hope her Mum likes it too.