the Akamai Knitter

Yesterday I was in a not so shiny mood.  Kind of a “I see the colors and I want to paint them black.” You know the song? It was no big deal really. We all have days like those and it soon passed.

What I did with all that energy though, was experiment with this.

I didn’t take any before pictures, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say that these earrings were really shiny before they were turned into this.

And this bracelet was mighty shiny before morphing into this.

I think if I ever do a big piece like that again I’ll need to use a bigger applicator then a Q-tip to get a more even look. In fact, even though it’s much more matte and even looking in person I might go over it again.

A bit about the bracelet, I made it over a month ago at (where else?) but The Bead Gallery during their Cuffcake Class. I got to use this gigantic roller machine to emboss a completely flat piece of metal with a pattern. Then I hammered that flat strip into a bracelet shape.  I love to shape metal with a big ol’ hammer so this was much fun.

I would have posted about this bracelet earlier,  but I normally oxidize my pieces with hard-boiled eggs. Although environmentally friendly, this process can often give unpredictable results. Like the finish will be uneven or the piece will only turn brown instead of black. I also find all this rather tedious.

With the Extended Life Gel, all I had to was apply a little bit of it onto the piece with a Q-tip then let it set. The bracelet blackened in less then 5 minutes. With the egging method it would have taken at least 20 minutes, sometimes more if you have to repeat the process.

Normally Liver of  Sulphur is considered toxic if it’s not disposed of properly, but with the gel you use so little of it, it becomes much more environmentally friendly. You can even use the rinse water to oxidize jewelry!

I also made a ring yesterday.

I haven’t decided whether or not I want to antique this one yet. I’m leaning towards oxidizing it. Thoughts?

Here’s another look. (Excuse the haggish hand.)

I think the next time I make this ring, I’m going to leave out the beads above and below the central focus bead. Unfortuantely I’ve run out of the type of wire I need to make those coils, so that’s going to have to wait. :(

In the meantime, I have lots of wire in other gauges to do many other things.  Not to mention the fact that the spinning wheels are still crying for attention and I just bought some yarn to make my mother the Daybreak Shawl.

I also have my once a year jewelry show on Saturday. I need to get ready for that.  By the way, I’ll be taking all my inventory from the shops. So if you have your heart set on something you might want to get it now. I’m not positive that I’ll be able to make more before Christmas.  I think I can? But I’m just not 100% sure.  I’m also not sure how well I’ll do at the show, but you never know!

To all you Americans out there I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a happy Wednesday to the rest of you! :D

P.S. There are no cat pictures because they all head for the hills when I take my camera out. Bastids!