Here we go - the very first piece from my
Challenge for ME challenge (need to work on that name...). The first piece I made is a bracelet. This is actually the very first thing I envisioned when I saw the pulls at the antiques market and I am just thrilled with the way it turned out. I'll take you through the steps I took in order to complete the piece. To see the original drawer pulls take a
look here.
First I used my jewelers saw to cut the central medallion away from the side pieces. Then I figured out where I wanted my holes for jump rings and drilled them with a hand drill. I used my
Euro Power Punch tool to punch out the center hole in the center of the medallion. All rough edges were filed at this point with needle files to remove any sharps points.
I wanted something really special for the center of the medallion and I think this antique button fit the bill.
Here is a back view so you can see how I attached the button. Nothing too fancy, I just took two cotter pins off of a few antique buttons and they work very nicely to hold the button in place. And since the medallion is domed the pins are up higher and won't touch the wearer or be annoying in any way.
The next step was to curve the side pieces. I used a small jar that holds beads to gently form the the pieces. Then I dug through my mother-of-pearl button stash and was thrilled to discover a matching pair with a sweet little floral design carved in them. I attached them with wire that I twisted in the back and pushed flush against the metal so it would not be irritating to the wearer.
Lastly I linked some peacock freshwater pearls together to form the rest of the band and connected everything with jump rings. Ta-da! Done! And it fits like a dream...
Once I had my plan of attack in mind the whole thing just kind of fell together. Now, on to the next project! What will it be.........
I have no idea....
Here we go - the very first piece from my Challenge for ME challenge (need to work on that name...). The first piece I made is a bracelet. This is actually the very first thing I envisioned when I saw the pulls at the antiques market and I am just thrilled with the way it turned out. I'll take you through the steps I took in order to complete the piece. To see the original drawer pulls take a look here.
First I used my jewelers saw to cut the central medallion away from the side pieces. Then I figured out where I wanted my holes for jump rings and drilled them with a hand drill. I used my Euro Power Punch tool to punch out the center hole in the center of the medallion. All rough edges were filed at this point with needle files to remove any sharps points.
I wanted something really special for the center of the medallion and I think this antique button fit the bill.
Here is a back view so you can see how I attached the button. Nothing too fancy, I just took two cotter pins off of a few antique buttons and they work very nicely to hold the button in place. And since the medallion is domed the pins are up higher and won't touch the wearer or be annoying in any way.
The next step was to curve the side pieces. I used a small jar that holds beads to gently form the the pieces. Then I dug through my mother-of-pearl button stash and was thrilled to discover a matching pair with a sweet little floral design carved in them. I attached them with wire that I twisted in the back and pushed flush against the metal so it would not be irritating to the wearer.
Lastly I linked some peacock freshwater pearls together to form the rest of the band and connected everything with jump rings. Ta-da! Done! And it fits like a dream...
Once I had my plan of attack in mind the whole thing just kind of fell together. Now, on to the next project! What will it be......... I have no idea....
Comments
And so innovative