(A Sprinkle Of) Imagination!

Hello!
My posts for April are all going to feature jewellery, thought it might make an interesting change! It also shows a side of me that people may not know, I'm a jewellery designer as well as the messy painty stuff......
I have been writing each month for Beads And Beyond magazine almost as long as I have for Craft Stamper, and I sell my stuff all over the place.
Anyway, you want to see the project! This is 'Imagination'....

Another thing people may not realise is that Vicki has probably the largest selection of Vintaj charms, blanks and jewellery findings in the UK. Trust me, I do a lot of findings shopping and I've yet to find a more comprehensive selection! With this in mind I thought I'd showcase lots of different Vintaj products so people can see what they could do with them!
Vintaj offer a selection of mainly natural brass products, but they do a smattering of copper too. I've used a copper ID bracelet blank to create my bangle.
Here's how.....
I have used metal stamps to create the word on the blank. To work out where to stamp them, I put a mark halfway on the blank.......

I then start with the middle letter and work outwards. I use a regular hammer, and place the blank on a steel block.....

Hopefully, (fingers crossed and if the wind is in the right direction) the word all looks straight-ish and is spelled correctly....

Now the next bit is very technical..... scribble all over the word with a permanent pen.....

I then use steel wool to polish off the excess pen....

(This polishing clearly also gets rid of the 'aged' look the blank had initially. Easy to get some of that back. Either heat the copper to get some nice colours going on, or use a product such as Liver of Sulphur to chemically oxidise the metal)
The flat blank now need to be gently bent into a bangle shape.....

I use a pair of bangle pliers (obviously, they're in the picture!) but this can be done by shaping the metal around a hard object of the right shape...a glass jar type thing!
I oxidised my bangle blank and gave it a little polish before the next step, actually making up the finished piece. I used purple waxed cotton cord, threaded through the holes....

Thread on a couple of beads, then knot the cord to make sure the beads don't move about....

Now we need to think of a way to fasten the bangle. The cord can be tied to a clasp, or simply tied around the wrist in a bow. I've chosen to use a little micro macrame.... square knots to be precise. The knots are tied over all four strands of the cord, keeping them all together. Position the bracelet on a board like this....

And then tie the knots around the strands, until you have a length of knots around 4cm long...

OK...I admit, this looks really complicated! Square knots are one of those things that look very 'eeeeeeeeeek' until you have a go. Once you've got the hang of it its very easy. The REALLY hard thing is trying to describe how to do it! My advice is Youtube....loads of fabulous tuts on there, and is so much easier to learn by watching someone!
Once the knots are done, snip the excess cord to about 1cm in length...

Once you've finished with the other loose ends, these 1cm ends need a dab of expoxy glue (not superglue as its too brittle and will come off when you move the cords!), right at the base. The ends can then be cut flush to the knots without fear of the knots unravelling.
The four cord ends now need a bead on each, and a knot tied to prevent the beads falling off...

The bracelet can then be 'opened' by pulling on the cords at the point just after the purple/copper bead combo, slipped onto the wrist, and then tightened to fit by pulling on the loose ends... gently, of course!
The finished bracelet looks like this from above.....

Hopefully that shows how the whole thing is constructed! This is what it looks like when being worn.....

and here is another arty sideways shot....

I realise jewellery making may be a bit alien to lots of you, so THANK YOU for reading this far!
Something a little different to look at, anyway!
Now......I've decided that rather than just sit in a box of 'stuff'.....I'd like this bracelet to go to a new home! So, if you would like it, just let me know in the comments section below this post. I'll use the random number thing and draw a winner the day before my next post, and announce it in the post the day after (15th April)!!!!
Please don't be put off commenting if you don't want it though....I promise I won't be offended!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For my next project, I'll be showing you how to use the Patinas  along with the metal blanks to create some fab art jewellery!
love Trish xxxxxxx