I’ve been making pea pod necklace for a while now using freshwater pearls like this one HERE. However, I thought it might be interesting to make one using birthstones. At first I was unsure what type of gemstone/beads I wanted to go with, some can be very expensive and the sizes and colors will most likely not be consistent. Since I planned on offering this pea pod necklace indefinitely, I really wanted to use beads that I knew would be around for years to come. Hence, come in Swarovski crystals.
I just can’t live without my sandpaper these days. When I first started I had no idea what grits to use so remove the surface scratches off of my jewelry. So, I thought It might be useful to some to post some of the grades I like to use myself to get the surface scratches off of my sterling silver.
I like to start off with a grade of 220-280 sandpaper (this is really rough, I use it when I’ve got some major marks to remove) then move on to 400 (my favorite to start with) then 650-700 and finish off with a 1000 or 1200.
You can most likely find the sandpaper grit you are looking for in an auto supply store.
The sandpaper is fairly cheap and such a must! I don’t know what I would do without mine 🙂
I recently purchased a jewelry saw, thinking I would try a new technique. I have to admit I was a little bit intimidated. Yes, I broke blades 🙂 but I learned that the saw needs to be lubricated at ALL times! keep it straight and you’ll be fine. Oh did I mention Practice? Practice? Practice? I bought two huge sheets of copper, I couldn’t bear the thought of wasting sterling silver, especially with the price skyrocketing these days. But I did get enough guts to make a naughty cat charm. I turned it into a pendant necklace!
I thought I would post one of my latest creations. It’s a flower pendant necklace. I hand formed the daisy using fine silver, fused it and tumbled it forever. I just love the way it turned out! It’s so light and simple! I had a hard time trying to decide how to present it as a necklace with out taking the spotlight away from the daisy. I didn’t want to over do it either with unnecessary bells and whistles. So I just hung it on a sterling silver chain and added a 7mm white freshwater pearl. Enjoy! 🙂
