My very first cufflinks

These are the very first cufflinks I made - yes, I know I said I would show you these at the weekend, but I had to find where T had hidden them so I could photograph them! They are made from silver art clay and have B's fingerprint in the middle - and that took longer to do than I expected!


I had been told that it was better to make a mould of B's finger print and then use that to make an impression into the art clay as that would give a better impression, so I mixed up some two-part moulding compound. B loves playing with play dough, so you'd think that getting him to press an index finger into the moulding compound before it set would be no trouble at all, but it took a few attempts! I then used fimo to make a 'finger' that I could bake and then press into the art clay. It's not that that clear in the photo, but I also scratched B's name and the date into the back of the dried cufflinks before I fired them. The finished cufflinks were lightly oxidised to make the fingerprints easier to see. Thankfully T did like them alot after all that work!


By the way, the cufflinks that I posted on Friday are finally on the website here!

My cufflinks!

There is a category on the front page of my website labelled 'Bridal and for him', and up until now it's been empty apart from a sign saying 'coming soon'. At last I have something to put in it! I've decided to take out the bridal part, as I realised that alot of the designs I was thinking about putting in there are ones that I'd put in the Limited Edition section anyway, and I don't see the point in having the same items listed twice, it only makes the site more confusing. Anyway, the bridal commissions I've done so far have been either completely new designs or variations of existing designs that brides have seen in the Exclusives or Limited Edition sections.

So, the category has been renamed 'For Him' and these are the first items going in. Each cufflink has been made using silver art clay, so the front design is fine silver while the chain and bar on each is sterling silver. I love the feel of finished silver art clay - it is so tactile. I've lightly oxidised them to give an antique effect and given them a satin finish, but I'm also going to make some that aren't oxidised.

I have a confession to make though - these aren't the first I've made, just the first I've actually photographed and shown you! The first pairs I made were for T and my Dad for Father's Day. I've made some for Spice Art Studios too, and just finished a couple of commission ones, but I can't show you those yet! I'll photograph T's to show you tomorrow as I'm really pleased with them!

P.S. It was my neighbour's funeral today - it went as well as these things ever can. There was a lovely turn out, and I'd say about a third of the households in the street were represented - a lot in this day and age. All this has definitely made me want to get to know my neighbours better. You can't predict what your neighbours are going to be like when you move into a new house, and we have definintely been lucky with ours.

P.P.S. I haven't been able to post since Monday. To cut a long story short I'd tried out a new comments box that blogger had come up with, but I didn't like the look of it in the end. I couldn't upload the backed up original of my template that I had thankfully remembered to save until I remembered older versions of IE sometimes work better with blogger templates than the latest, so uploaded the backed up template through that - and here I am! Maybe now I'll learn not to mess around with my template - maybe!

Work in progress

It's been another busy Thursday here. I'm doing a craft show with other Wessex Guild of Craftsmen members on Saturday at Chichester, so I've been pricing and organising and making some last minute bits and pieces. I was going to take some photos too but my daylight bulb blew yesterday and it's been horrible weather here (again!), so for now you'll have to make do with a picture of some work in progress I'm afraid!

First thing this morning I used silver art clay to make lots of bits and pieces. By this afternoon (with help from my hairdryer!) they were dry and so I've spent the last hour or so sanding them down. What you can see in the picture will by this time tomorrow be stud earrings, pendants, drop earrings and cufflinks - yes, I'm adding cufflinks to my repertoire at last! There's been a section for men's jewellery on the website for a while now, so I thought it was about time I filled it! I have made some cufflinks before now, but they've ended up the galleries or being given as presents. I've mentioned art clay before, but if you're not familiar with it have a look at this site http://www.silverclay.co.uk/.

Anyway, the show on Saturday is at the Assembly Rooms in North Street in Chichester. It runs from 10am until 4pm, and if you come along and spend £30 or more on my stall and mention my blog I'll give you 10% off. This only applies to my stall though! Other crafts exhibited by the Wessex Guild will include ceramics, fused glass and woodwork.