Woven Mixed Metals Pendant

Mixed Metals Woven Wire Pendant

This is my favorite piece out of everything I made during the Cold Connections Workshop I taught last weekend.

It started with sheet copper, which I cut and sanded, and then fold-formed. This is how the copper looked when the folding was finished, after multiple annealings with the torch, a soak in the pickle to remove all the fire scale, and after I drilled all the attachment holes. (compare the finish on the copper below with how it looks after tumbling (above).

fold-formed and drilled copper

Next, I cut 4 pieces of 16g sterling silver wire, and hammered them into "paddles." Then I attached them to the folded copper rectangle, one at a time, by coiling and weaving 26g sterling silver wire around the paddles and through the holes in the copper. It would have been very handy (no pun intended) to have had 3 hands during this step - the pieces wanted to do everything, and go everywhere, except where I wanted them to be.

Mixed metal woven pendant

I drilled holes through the tops of the side paddles, and added silver jump rings, so this piece is ready to hang from leather, ribbon, chain, etc. - or to be incorporated into a fabulous jewelry design of your own!

Here is the back of the pendant, showing a bit of magenta heat patination from all the annealing:

Back of the pendant, with magenta heat patination.

It's available in my Etsy shop!

It's always something

Down at the bottom of this post, I showed a picture of a project I was hoping to fiddle with the next day.

But I had forgotten that I was teaching a class the next day - so that day was shot.

Then, I got bead shipments, and had to sort beads, price beads, etc - this is ongoing and endless, it seems.

And then I took stock of the inventory on Friday, and realized I needed to place orders for findings and such - so the whole week was basically gone. And I think I spent a whole 30 minutes last week on my little fun project. I really, truly hope I can play with it tomorrow.


I actually took a class on Saturday - and made this:

It is technically finished (according to the teacher's instructions) - but I am not happy with it. The wire-coiling frame looks too dainty for this giant piece of impression jasper, and it actually isn't even stable - it will flop around the stone, because nothing anchors it but the wire going through the center of the bead. So basically, it is a flimsy, spinning, bead frame - which was not the plan.

So I am going to smack it with a little Sweet Freedom Magic, hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday, and make it better!

If nothing else comes up, you understand....

Something tells me both of these projects are going to end up in that HUGE box of half-finished projects in the back room - the ones I was all excited about starting, and then I got interrupted, and then I got distracted by a new project, and now my poor babies are abandoned.

It's not just me, right - does this happen to anyone else?

Is there a 12-step program for this?

Oh - Bailey is running a little poll over on his blog - if you get a chance, take a look - he fancies himself a big investigative journalist now. In fact, he posted some pictures on Flickr that may get his daily treat privileges revoked!

Thanks!