Back to school - and it was FUN!

I thought August might pass at normal speed once my life became less impacted by school terms but I was wrong - it still flew by in a flash!

But it was a good month with some significant highlights.

I’ve already told you about the pilot silver clay class which I taught and which went well.

Then, a few weeks later, I became the student and spent 4 lovely, fun-filled days at a jewellery Summer School. I packed my bag and my lunch and took myself off to school each morning (or Mother’s Daycare as one of my offspring kindly proclaimed it as on the day she had to drop me off!!)

I walked into a theme park of delights!

A room filled with gadgets and gizmos I have long dreamed of - all available to freely use over the four days. It was beyond wonderful!

My diploma last year, which had been an online course, was amazing but this was a step beyond. Having a skilled and experienced jeweller to support, assist and ask about the projects I was working on was simply perfect. Jewellers all seem to have slightly different approaches to the same technique, so seeing someone else demonstrate a particular stone setting in a slightly different way was extremely helpful.

And I have used so many new pieces of equipment and can now decide which might be useful and affordable for my own workspace and which might be a later investment.

Several of us students were interested in sand casting and I had gone prepared with a wax carving which I was keen to transform into silver. It’s for a gift and if all goes to plan, I will reveal fully towards the end of October.

But here’s the summer school projects I can happily show you:

A rolling mill works like a mangle, enabling a pattern or texture to be imprinted onto a sheet of metal - which is what I did with these earrings.

I was then able to punch out the discs using a disc cutter, rather than sawing them individually.

This is a jump ring stone setting where I used a fabulous hammer hand piece to set the stone (it works more delicately than it sounds!!)

Wave bangle and ring dies have long been on my wish list in order to make wavy rings and bangles - they will definitely find their way into my toolkit soon!

Though I’ll be using my trusty hammer and muscles rather than the less labour-intensive hydraulic press I used for these!!

This was sandcasted from the button at the bottom right of the picture.

The definition is amazing, isn’t it?

I was surprised at the level of detail and after some filing and tidying up, I decided to make a bangle with it. I have small wrists so it’s lovely to be able to make bangles which actually fit!

Sshhhhh - here’s a small glimpse at my secret project and the wax carving it was cast from. Again the detail is far beyond anything I was expecting and I am hopeful it will become exactly what I had hoped! Full story to be revealed in a month or two…

Dates for your diary… August has also been a season of preparation for Christmas. I have enjoyed making some lovely things, so now I need to prepare them ready for the busy season ahead. Here’s a summary of where I shall be:

• Thursday 9th November - Open House

• Saturday 11th November - Open House

• Friday 24th November - Christmas Fair @ St Paul’s Church Bursledon

• Sunday 26th November - Colden Common Winter Market

• Wednesday 29th November - Eastleigh College Christmas Fair

• Saturday 2nd December - Bishopstoke Park Christmas Fair

• Saturday 16th December - CRY Christmas Carol service and market @ KCC Hedge End

And don’t forget, you can always find me on Etsy, via email or Messenger!

Until next time, lots of love,