Copper jewellery

Although the price of silver has been gradually dropping back a bit from it's all time high around this time last year, it's still well over £600/kg which is three times the price it used to be back in the good old days when I first started making jewellery for my stall at All Saints Art & Craft Market in Cambridge. I've been working increasingly with copper.

Here's the latest masterpiece which I'm really fond of featuring an equal four armed cross of St Brigit/Brigid handmade by myself in 20 gauge (1.8mm) wire. I've antiqued it using traditional patination methods. I have abandoned all the natural patination methods, they really don't work as effectively as smelly old liver of sulphur. The high points in the copper have been polished out using fine grade sandpaper and then tumble polished and sealed.

Some matching earrings (bracelet will follow)

and here's an orange double stranded bracelet with a handmade charm created using my rolling mill, doming block and the same artificial antiquing technique above.

All are available in my SoozJewels Etsy shop!

Striking bead and jewellery delivery lorry drivers!

I just heard a rumour that bead delivery drivers are going out on strike. Apparently jewellery delivery drivers may join in out of sympathy so I'm encouraging everyone to top up their supplies now!

Better buy beads quick from my SoozBeads Etsy shop

You can get jewellery from my SoozJewels Etsy shop

Please form an orderly queue!

Hot orange bubbles

A customer has asked me if I can make her some orange bubble beads - I'm giving her the choice of these prototypes. I'm waiting to hear which one she prefers but I like the one third from the left best and have made a set of these today, they are cooling in the kiln as I type!

These are hot stuff, just like the lovely warm weather we are enjoying this week! 

Boys will be boys

This little male Chaffinch has been keeping me company whilst I've been beadmaking all morning. He can see his reflection in the window and thinks it's a rival for the prime real estate of my garden (which is well stocked with bird feeders) and obviously the most des res in the area.

He keeps flying up and gesticulating frantically for the other male to depart but his efforts are in vain. He doesn't seem to be hurting himself but his persistence looks very tiring! I have tried to explain to him that rather than fight himself he should really be building a nest and then finding a nice young lady to settle down and have eggs with but he's not listening. I even tried taping white paper at the window so he couldn't see his reflection so well but it hasn't worked. He is undeterred.

I do hope he decides to have a family soon and so becomes too busy for such testosterone fuelled duelling. After a while it gets a little unnerving ... when he's still like this, it looks like he's staring at me. I've seen Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", when some goldfinches appeared on the niger feeder and THEN some pigeons on the bird table, I decided it was time to come in ...

Please excuse Sue from attending her stall at the market today

The weather forecast was so bad for Cambridge both on the BBC and xcweather (which is often more accurate), that I decided not to do my stall today. Standing around in the damp only to make a loss after paying for fuel and stall fee just didn't sound attractive when the alarm went off at 5.45am this morning.

Instead, I have been sorting out my glass shorts (gosh, I may not need to order any more glass for months!) and also doing some jewellery photography.

I've been really bad at updating my website lately so I've decided the only way to go is to list them on my other Etsy shop, SoozJewels and here are the ones that I've managed to do so far

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!