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gaernavi — Strawberry Earrings
Published: 2013-01-31 13:51:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 307; Favourites: 3; Downloads: 0
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Description
"Fraises des Bois" refers to the wild or Alpine strawberries that grow in European forests and are a seasonal delicacy. These earrings go with a pendant, and are perfect for a baker, gardener, or nature enthusiast.Each earring is made of pure silver, with vintage 2mm ruby-colored glass cabochons from Western Germany. The earring wires and links are nickel-free, silver coated brass.
They are for sale in my etsy shop! [link]
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Comments: 4
Well here is your first comment on this set. Wonderful. I'm dying to find out how you do the silver but that can wait for another day. Keep up the good work.
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I have been meaning to do a detailed blog post about making the silver pieces, but I can give you a rundown:
1. I come up with a design (for my current set I am doing one plant, one animal, and one gemstone/color)
2. I sculpt the original in Sculpey on a ceramic tile, usually as individual pieces that then go on a base. This part is the longest and can take a week or more to finish, but I refuse to use commercial molds.
3. A mold is made of the original out of 2-part RTV silicone
4. Silver clay (PMC3) is pressed into the mold and removed to dry
5. The silver clay is sanded, holes drilled, signed, etc with files and fine grit sandpaper
6. The silver clay is fired in a kiln up to 1600 degrees for 30 minutes then left to cool for 30 minutes. The paper binder in the clay burns away, leaving pure silver.
7. The silver pieces are brushed with a wet brass brush to start bringing out the shine, and then go into a rock tumbler with stainless steel shot and soapy water to be polished and tempered, usually for a couple of hours.
8. If the piece needs a patina to darken the recesses, it gets a bath in liver of sulfur solution and then polished with silver cream to remove the tarnish.
9. Stones not fired in place are glued in, links and earring wires, etc are added to finish the piece.
I hope that helps, and I'll try to get a post with photos up soon.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Wow Thanks. It sounds like a lot of work but the end result is worth the effort. I appreciate the detailed response.
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