Well, the big day is finally here! For once, I finished a project ahead of time!! When I finally received the focal in the mail, (ok, it wasn’t an incredibly LONG wait, it just felt like it was, because I was SO excited to have been included in this!!) I was in in love with the packaging:
Yes, I actually took pictures as I unwrapped it! When the focal was revealed, I was in awe of the beautiful colors and depth of detail this simple, yet gorgeous piece of metal held:
I’m sorry about the lack of quality in these pictures-for some reason, I didn’t use my normal camera, and these are on a tired cell phone!This focal sat in my “new stuff” bowl on my desk staring at me for days…… I contemplated many different projects-bracelet? Necklace with this as the focal, wire wrapped and adorned with wire and beads? But the center begged to be a toggle, it seemed to me, and yet, it demanded to be the focus of whatever I came up with. I toyed with strung beads, handmade chain, leather, but it just didn’t seem quite right. Finally, as I was cleaning off my desk, I came across my box of copper washers, aka, links. 😉
I scooped up many, and off to the garage I went. After firing, I had the Muscle drill holes for me I admit, I am intimidated still by the drill press, two on each edge, opposite each other. Next, I torched them again, pickled, and then hammer the daylights out of them until I was happy with their shape and texture. All that hammering gave these pieces some awfully sharp edges, so I decided to tumble them for awhile with a burnishing solution. I used too much-my first time using it-and it made my barrel very unhappy and my stainless steel shot black and sticky! But a little tomato paste cleared it all up.
The pieces looked great. But I wanted to add a little color to them. I thought about LOS, Gun blue, and all the other things I’ve tried in the past, but none of them felt quite right-the color wasn’t quite what this focal needed to compliment it. Then I remembered something I had wanted to try-“painting with fire”! I strung all the little washers and the figure 8’s I made as connectors, and the toggle I made onto a scrap piece of 12g wire, and run my torch over it lightly, just until the color changed. Then I quenched them quickly in water. Perfect. The pieces were then sealed with a clear glossy polyurethane.
Adding beads was a major necessity. I felt they were required to help bring out certain colors in the copper pieces and the focal, and to make it a little more flirty, girly and fun! Pyrite nuggets from a distant bead show, and little red jasper rounds from Magpie Gemstones created sweet little dangle clusters. Two copper charms on either side completed the necklace!
I scooped up many, and off to the garage I went. After firing, I had the Muscle drill holes for me
The pieces looked great. But I wanted to add a little color to them. I thought about LOS, Gun blue, and all the other things I’ve tried in the past, but none of them felt quite right-the color wasn’t quite what this focal needed to compliment it. Then I remembered something I had wanted to try-“painting with fire”! I strung all the little washers and the figure 8’s I made as connectors, and the toggle I made onto a scrap piece of 12g wire, and run my torch over it lightly, just until the color changed. Then I quenched them quickly in water. Perfect. The pieces were then sealed with a clear glossy polyurethane.
Adding beads was a major necessity. I felt they were required to help bring out certain colors in the copper pieces and the focal, and to make it a little more flirty, girly and fun! Pyrite nuggets from a distant bead show, and little red jasper rounds from Magpie Gemstones created sweet little dangle clusters. Two copper charms on either side completed the necklace!
I was trying desperately to capture the great colors that torching the copper brought out, and how they compliment the focal!
Playing with different displays!
I love my new necklace!
So, that’s what I ended up turning that great little focal into! Please check out my partners in creating by clicking through this list of blogs and see what they all have created, too! Thank you for looking, and thank YOU, Kristi Bowman, for including me and sending me this fantastic creation of yours!
Thank you all for your fantastic, encouraging feedback! I think my head won’t fit through my front door now! =D
You totally did justice to Kristi’s donut. The entire design shows beautifully, and I love the way it looks on. This is truly a dream necklace!
Absolutely stunning, and right up my alley with the dangles!
This is one of my very favorite pieces in this blog hop! Wish I had participated, but I am a big fan of Ms Bowman, so I had to follow the hop. Nicely done!
Love this piece. Your hammered copper washers are the perfect mix with the focal toggle. I’m curious about the patina. does the the quench help hold the color in some way. Seems my gorgeous rainbow patina always fades.
I love your piece! I also used mine as a toggle clasp. Mine isn’t as stable as yours, but then mine is a very long necklace. Did you use any tricks to get it to lay flat? I do love how you extended your toggle way beyond the component, it looks wonderful! I also love the double “8” links. Very stylized and original. I also love the dangle clusters. You have such a great eye. It’s a wonderfully complete piece! –Diane
What?! No freakin’ way! You all just amaze me with just jumping into creating something to go with your pieces! You MADE your own hammered donuts and heat patinated them?! That’s amazing!!!
Ha ha, you picked up your painting with fire book too?! I have had mine for months and sadly it sat because I didn’t want to open up enamels in my bedroom/studio!
Wow, is all I can say! I also love that you modeled it worn as well! It really gives jewelry such live to be seen on a person!
Amazing work!
xo Genea
p.s. love that you too photos as you opened your piece too! he he. So did I!
What?! No freakin’ way! You all just amaze me with just jumping into creating something to go with your pieces! You MADE your own hammered donuts and heat patinated them?! That’s amazing!!!
Ha ha, you picked up your painting with fire book too?! I have had mine for months and sadly it sat because I didn’t want to open up enamels in my bedroom/studio!
Wow, is all I can say! I also love that you modeled it worn as well! It really gives jewelry such live to be seen on a person!
Amazing work!
xo Genea
Love copper…love this piece. GORGeous!!
Love how you used the toggle front and center and the copper washers are awesome! You got some great color out of those. The dangles make the whole piece sing.
I love that toggle, and making it the focal too couldn’t be better!! A scrumptious piece any way you look at it. Thanks so much for joining my hop!
Thank you, everyone! I had to show a pic of myself wearing it, so you can see just how great it lays when worn. I wore it all day after I finished it, even while chasing my kids, wrangling chickens, and general daily life, it stayed positioned nicely. Even if I bent, stretched or reached and it moved, flipped slightly, if you will, it laid right back down facing the right way, every time! It was great fun to make, and I look forward to the next one! *wink wink, hint hint*! =D
Wow! This is one of my favorite pieces in the whold blog hop! The color, the texture, everything is just beautiful!
That is such a Yummy piece! Seriously I am drooling on my laptop over here! I am actually at a loss for words and that never happens. Of course it is probably a good thing or I would choke on all this drool! Ha! Stunning!
I love your toggle! Have to say that first, because I played with several toggle ideas and didn’t like _any_ of mine!
And your textured, painted with fire copper washers are the perfect compliment for Kristi’s focal.
Love seeing it worn, too!
Your necklace is beautiful. I love the dangles between the connectors. Your coloring is beautiful on the copper. Great job!
Oh, wow – that’s such a great idea, making the gemstone dangles in between, it brings out the best in both the washers and the focal. Love it!
I love this!
LOVE this piece. festive and fossil like, and great use of the focal as the clasp. thanks for the shot of you wearing it too, because it hangs perfectly!!!!