Menu
Caprilicious Jewellery
  • Home
    • Caprilicious and I
    • T & C, Payment, P & P
    • Testimonials
    • Care of your jewellery
  • Statement Necklaces
    • Gemstone and Wire
    • Mixed Media Necklaces
    • Soutache and Beadwork
    • Leather Jewellery
    • Bling! Party Wear
      • Formal Party Wear
    • The English Country Garden
    • Leafy Glade Collection
    • The Out of Africa Collection
    • Tribal Necklaces
    • Eastern Promise / Mini Tribals
    • Oriental Inspiration
    • She Sells Sea Shells
    • Lagenlook Jewellery
  • Mini Statements
    • Copper Bracelets for Arthritis
    • Pendants
    • Earrings
      • Diamante / Party Earrings
    • Mixed Metal Jewellery
    • Hair accessories
  • Silver Jewellery
    • Silver Necklaces
    • Silver pendants
    • Silver Earrings
  • Blog
  • Publications
    • Free Mini Tutorials
      • Decoupage for Virgins - a Mini Tutorial
      • Colouring Polymer Clay with Chalk - a Mini Tutorial
      • Faux Drawbench glass bi-cone beads - a mini tutorial
      • Sunflower Smile Tutorial
      • Gold Rush Necklace Tutorial
      • Using Pebeo paint on polymer clay
    • Articles / Tutorials / Press
  • Home
    • Caprilicious and I
    • T & C, Payment, P & P
    • Testimonials
    • Care of your jewellery
  • Statement Necklaces
    • Gemstone and Wire
    • Mixed Media Necklaces
    • Soutache and Beadwork
    • Leather Jewellery
    • Bling! Party Wear
      • Formal Party Wear
    • The English Country Garden
    • Leafy Glade Collection
    • The Out of Africa Collection
    • Tribal Necklaces
    • Eastern Promise / Mini Tribals
    • Oriental Inspiration
    • She Sells Sea Shells
    • Lagenlook Jewellery
  • Mini Statements
    • Copper Bracelets for Arthritis
    • Pendants
    • Earrings
      • Diamante / Party Earrings
    • Mixed Metal Jewellery
    • Hair accessories
  • Silver Jewellery
    • Silver Necklaces
    • Silver pendants
    • Silver Earrings
  • Blog
  • Publications
    • Free Mini Tutorials
      • Decoupage for Virgins - a Mini Tutorial
      • Colouring Polymer Clay with Chalk - a Mini Tutorial
      • Faux Drawbench glass bi-cone beads - a mini tutorial
      • Sunflower Smile Tutorial
      • Gold Rush Necklace Tutorial
      • Using Pebeo paint on polymer clay
    • Articles / Tutorials / Press

The Caprilicious Jewellery Blog

Beautiful Handmade Statement Necklaces and other Fabulousness from Neena Shilvock - Inspirations and Designs From the Week Gone by

Fold forming, Soldering, Wire work and Beading - the Whole Enchilada

21/7/2017

2 Comments

 
Hello folks, thanks for dropping by. This week, with a few days off from the day job, I had time to try everything my heart desired - I whacked copper into kingdom come with hammers, soldered wires onto the hammered jewellery, embellished a pendant with wire work and then hung it on a beaded necklace. I've said this before, and I'll say it again - it gives me so much pleasure to make my own components, much more than using shop bought.
Picture
Picture

The Copper Beech or Sylvatica Purpurea​​

Last week I played with hammers and fire, and boy, was that addictive. I had a few days off work and caught up with all the chores I had set aside for this week, all the time champing at the bit to get back to the conservatory and play with fire again. I cannot trust myself to use a torch in my craft room - for one thing I share it with Michael and our sizeable collection of books and waving a torch about in it would not be the sensible thing to do.
Copper jewellery, fold formed leaf by Caprilicious Jewellery
Copper jewellery, fold formed leaf by Caprilicious Jewellery
I made this leaf following a YouTube tutorial by Nicole Hanna, who apart from being a whiz with wire is one of the most generous people I know. She gives of her knowledge so freely and is extremely helpful to newbies in the wire world.
I set an aventurine onto the leaf in a fine silver bezel wire - I only melted one bezel, so that was pretty good going as this is only the first time I've attempted soldering a cabochon since I went to a class with Anna Mazon over a year ago. 
The hardest task so far was cutting the copper sheet with the shears without injuring my fingers with the cut edges of the sheet of copper, and filing the edges of the leaf once I'd finished forming it. My hands looked as rough as a bear's backside by the time I had finished, but at least I hadn't cut or burned myself, or the house down.
Fold forming, botanical jewellery, leaf jewellery, wire work and fold forming by Caprilicious Jewellery
The next step was to decide whether I'd done enough and use the leaf as a simple pendant, or to carry on embellishing it - and of course there was no contest. Given the chance I embellish anything that is stationary long enough for me to attack it with frills and furbelows.
​I once again took a leaf out of Nicole's book and embellished one edge with copper wire work, and then antiqued the piece with Liver of Sulfur and shone it till it gleamed, with steel wool. When I was done, the piece resembled a leaf from the copper beech tree in my neighbourhood. The simplest thing to do would be to hang it from a jump ring as in the picture, but I decided to try and put it on a horizontal slant.

Sylvatica 

A string of green turquoise slab nuggets were pressed into action and Sylvatica, named after the copper beech appeared.
Fold forming, botanical jewellery, leaf jewellery, wire work and fold forming by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold forming, botanical jewellery, leaf jewellery, wire work and fold forming by Caprilicious Jeweller
Fold forming, botanical jewellery, leaf jewellery, wire work and fold forming by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold forming, botanical jewellery, leaf jewellery, wire work and fold forming by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fulani earringsFulani Earrings from Mali
And I was hooked!
I made a pair of earrings - the copper sheet was fold formed into little half hoops, and I then soldered a sterling silver wire to one end and a jump ring to the other to make a flamboyant, but very light pair of earrings that resembled Fulani earrings from Mali, on a smaller scale, of course.

Fold formed Fulani style earring components by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold formed Fulani style earring components by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold formed Fulani style earring components by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold formed Fulani style earrings by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold formed Fulani style earrings by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fulani women wear the larger, heavier earrings like this
Fold formed Fulani style earrings by Caprilicious Jewellery
Fold formed sculptural shapes by Caprilicious Jewellery
I made a couple of other little bits but they have yet to be refined and made up - as I said the worst part of this is filing the really sharp edges that appear when the metal is bashed repeatedly with a hammer.
My website is still playing the Scarlet Pimpernel, now you see it, now you don't - the good folks at Weebly are supposedly looking into it, but nothing has changed so far and I am fed up talking to them. I get a new person each time and have to begin the story all over - they don't seem to have any notes, or previous history they can look up - oh, for some continuity of care! I now know how patients must feel and yet I appreciate why I cannot deal with the same person each time. However, at least I have notes that I can refer to beforehand when I see my patients.

That's me for this week folks, have a lovely week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
xx

Follow
2 Comments
Divya N link
22/7/2017 02:21:13 pm

The leaf necklace is out of this world and I can't believe that you set a stone on a folded surface in your second attempt. That being said you must always file your pieces before forming them. A rough filing before annealing and a thorough filing straight out of the torch when the metal is malleable. Also round sharp ends with shears before you hammer. This way you'll have less spikes and splinters. If you are cutting after folding first run the piece down with a dremel or on a sandpaper block and then file. Your doctor hands will thank you for it :)

Reply
Neena Shilvock link
22/7/2017 04:20:18 pm

Thanks Divya, by my second piece I'd worked out that I ought to file it before I opened the metal out - however, I'd forgotten the Dremel - I've now dug out the sander and am so thrilled that it has become so much easier.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Follow
    The Caprilicious Jewellery Blog 
    on Bloglovin'  
    ​Click on the link below 

    Picture

    Author

     I'm Neena Shilvock,  and I'm crazily addicted to jewellery. I've been designing and making quirky and interesting statement necklaces for the last eight years and my passion hasn't cooled off one little bit - in fact it has got worse, such that I'm even dreaming jewellery.
    I'd love to get to know kindred spirits like you, so drop me a line and I'll get back to you, and who knows, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Write to me at jewellerybycaprilicious(at)gmail.com

    Picture

    Find me on Instagram

    Find me on Pinterest  

    Contact me

     I would love to hear from you - please leave a comment on the blog or send an email  to jewellerybycaprilicious(at)gmail.com
    Picture
    In Berlin with my sweet better half, Mike
    Caprilicious Jewellery

    Promote your Page too

    Free Mini Tutorials

Caprilicious Jewellery

Picture
Contact us
About us

I am very proud of my body of work and what people say about it, here are some of the compliments I have received 

'Neena, the necklace has just arrived & I can't find enough of the right words to do it justice. Somehow "stunning" "gorgeous" "exquisite" don't seem to fit the bill! It's definitely a statement piece ..................'                 LJ

'Wow received my jewellery to day. Love them, so beautifully presented in a pretty green box and many thanks for gift of earrings, lovely, 
thanks :-)'         AT
 
 'Hi Neena, just been busy all week at a folk festival.....my Mme Butterfly drew lots of admiration, as did my Ice Queen and someone leaned over the counter in a store of healing and crystals and exclaimed at my beautiful lapis. I so enjoy wearing my pieces and the attention they receive. '          LB
 
 ' Neena, I can't describe how delighted I am with Scherezade - she is simply breathtaking.'  EW


Read more testimonials here and see pictures of happy customers here, here and​​ here