Argentium Silver Bangles

So far, I’ve made them using three different sizes of wire (16, 14, and 12 gauge round) in argentium sterling silver. I made several of the skinny ones (16 gauge) and tried out three finishes: smooth, plus two different hammer textures. I think the 16 gauge and the 12 gauge styles will make it into my etsy shop, and I’ll offer them both smooth and textured. 14 gauge doesn’t look all that different from 16 gauge, so I don’t know if it’s worth offering it as an option, since I love the super-skinny look of the 16 gauge. (Wire gets skinnier as the gauge number gets higher, in case you are confused….) 12 gauge is much more substantial.

The fun thing about bangle bracelets, in my opinion, is wearing a whole bunch together, so I’ll be making a bunch! Expect to see bangles with gemstone dangles [along the lines of the upcycled bangles I did a few weeks ago] along with all-metal styles, perfect to mix and match, stack, or wear one at a time – whatever works.

Fire Sculpted Pendants and Earrings

Two of my favorite techniques to use in jewelry making are fusing and sculpting abstract shapes with wire. A while back, I was experimenting with ways to combine the two, and came up with a technique I call fire sculpting. It’s a little sculpting wire, a little fusing/melting, followed by more sculpting, and I think the results are really beautiful and interesting.

The photo above shows two of my fire sculpted pendants and an earring, all made from fine silver. I’m in the process of listing these and some other similar pieces in my etsy shop (the first one is already there). One thing I love about working in this style is that each thing I make is truly one of a kind. Because part of the process is out of my control, I’m surprised and fascinated (though not always in a good way) by the results. Making pieces for this series is alternately frustrating and exciting, and makes me want to continue pushing myself as a designer.

This is a really good thing for my business – it is so important, as a designer and maker, to be excited about doing new work. Here’s another pendant, probably the most abstract piece in the series so far, but one of my favorites because it doesn’t really have a front or a back, so it’s a couple looks in one:

Fire Sculpted Fine Silver & Pearl Pendant

Sterling Silver Water Castings

It is really easy to do and all you need is a torch, scraps of metal, something to hold the metal while you melt it, and a dish of water (I used a large ceramic bowl).

I’m mostly using argentium sterling silver in my work these days, but I have lots of leftover “plain” sterling silver, in the form of wire and scraps, so I used some of the wire for my castings. If I had a crucible, I’d melt scraps down & pour them into the water, but since I don’t, I just held wire in my soldering tweezers and held a flame on the end, melting up a ball until the melted ball got too heavy and fell into the water. You can see the results above. I like the golden color on the outside of the silver, so I might not bother doing any polishing/finishing. Maybe add a coat of wax to protect the finish?

You need a pretty large flame, so be sure nothing that could be heat damaged is too close to your torch. This plastic bag was at least a foot away:

Semi-Melted Plastic

What to do with water castings? I think I’m going to drill holes in mine and use them as beads to dangle from earrings and pendants.

I’d like to play with this technique more, but I need a crucible for melting the metal in order to get larger castings, so I’m not sure when it will happen.

I did try a little argentium silver, and got very different results using essentially the exact same technique:

Argentium Sterling Silver Water Castings

No oxidation, which is one of the properties of argentium silver that I love when I’m doing my fusing work, and it melts differently so the shapes and textures came out different from the regular sterling.

I haven’t tried fine silver yet, but I bet I’d get different looking results that way too…something else to try!

If you’ve done water casting, I’d love to see how yours came out. Leave a link in the comments if you have pictures of your water casting somewhere online or have seen good examples.

Circles and Squares

Shopping info for Circles and Squares:
(1) Hammered Circles Necklace by Silver Smack
(2) Twist Ring by Capital City Crafts
(3) Itty Bitty Hoops by Michon
(4) Fine Silver Square Necklace by Marcie Jane Designs
(5) Cranberry Necklace by 3 Squares

Pure Silver

Shopping info for Pure Silver:
(1) Silver Pod Bracelet by Isuezabo
(2) Bark Ring by Capital City Crafts
(3) Window Ring by Little Bug Jewelry

You Can Never Have Too Much Jewelry

Shopping info for You Can Never Have Too Much Jewelry:
(1) Tomato Chalcedony Necklace by Marcie Jane Designs
(2 Adjustable Silver Ring by Michon
(3) Lacy Chainmaille Bracelet by Shazzabeth
(4) Dragon Necklace by Dammas
(5) Snowflake Earrings by Silver Canyons

....and more jewels

Shopping info for …..and more jewels:
(1) Stacking Rings by Silver Smack
(2) Silver and Blue Drop Earrings by Vitrine
(3) Brown and Silver Beaded Bracelet by Cool Jewelry Design
(4) Bali Silver Bracelet by Flaunt Designs Jewelry
(5) Pinecone Necklace by Petrie Evie

T Bar Studs

These studs, currently in two sizes (7-8 mm and 1.5 cm) are handcrafted from argentium sterling silver. As you can see in the pictures, when worn, all that is visible is the textured silver bar, but when not being worn, these earrings look like the letter T. Both styles are up for sale in the Michon etsy shop. More sizes, finishes, and other variations are in the works – I will post them if I like how they turn out!

The small size looks great on its own or worn with other studs for people with multiple piercings. The larger size is better, in my opinion, on its own worn horizontally across the ear.

Update: found my large t-bar studs in a treasury curated by Ovgillliesdesigns. Here’s a screenshot!

Etsy Treasury with my earrings in it

Copper Hoops

Fused Silver Pendants

pricelist:
1 cm copper hoops: $12.50
1/2 inch copper hoops: $13.50
1 inch copper hoops: $15.00
curvy pendant with chain: $45.00
drop pendant with chain: $40.00

I can make copper hoops in any quantity (within reason) but the pendants are one of a kind! Shipping is $2.25 anywhere in the US.

Modern Silver Earrings

Just a preview of some new modern all-silver earrings designs I’m working on. They should all be in my shop by November 1st for holiday shopping! I’m also working on some more styles of stud earrings, which are great for stocking stuffers

Hoopy Earrings

They come in four sizes (so far) ranging from 1 cm circles (a bit less than 1/2 inch) up to 23 mm circles (2.3 cm or 7/8 inch). The hooks all come down slightly more than an inch in back, which should make them stay on well (but I supply translucent nylon earring backs, just in case – some people lose a lot of earrings). They are all made from argentium sterling silver using my chemical-free metalsmithing techniques. I’ll be sharing some process photos later in the week, if you want a peek into my studio!

So far just the large size is listed on etsy, but the rest will be there soon!

Mini Pearl Ring

I made it pretty small, actually about a size smaller than I intended, so it’s now a lovely pinky ring for me. Sometimes slight errors mean I get to keep a piece of jewelry for myself!

Ring, on Model

It is made from argentium silver wire and cultured freshwater pearls.

Black Pearl Ring

This ring is made from argentium silver wire with cultured freshwater pearls that have been color treated to look like black Tahitian pearls. I do my wirework freehand, so each ring has slight variations that make it unique even when I make two in the same style. I love the look of black pearls, and these two are beautifully colored, one more purple-gray, and one with green undertones. This ring looks great on:

Black Pearl Ring - On a Model