If I Had This Hammer, Could I Do This?

If I had this hammer


Could I do this?


And this?



Sweet Bead Studio, a jewelry artist I just discovered thanks to a post by Lorelei Eurto on Facebook, is having a giveaway. The hammer, the necklace, and the bracelet above. I can only assume the hammer, or one like it, played a role in producing the pendant and the bracelet? I see little dimples on the copper and brass that look suspiciously like they might have been made by the hammer. Checked out her Etsy shop and I just melted with covetousness, and envy. I'm not exaggerating, it made my heart hurt it was so beautiful. Seriously, look at this:




And look at this:


As if that weren't enough:
(do you believe this is only $42.00? for all that sterling, and handmade glass beads?)

I want to make jewelry like that, and I want to make it NOW!!! *Sigh*. The tools, you gotta have the tools. It's all about the hammer, right? Maybe I need some different pliers. And some more time. A LOT more time. And some classes. And maybe an art history degree. Probably need a torch. And some butane. Or propane. Or methane or whatever you put in a torch. And an asbestos shower cap.

I could add more photos from her shop, but it would just be sycophantic* and creepy.

As sometimes happens, I started this blog post purely for the sake of winning a hammer, and became a genuine fan. It's like a movie.

OK, just one more:



*Sycophant: A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.

Handy, and pretty too

FINALLY put together my first two hardware experiments. Hit the wall the other night and napped instead of producing. But last night I drank a bottled Starbucks Frapuccino and sequestered myself with the mini vise and a handful of delightfully hammered bronze lock washers. And some steel wire. And this bracelet is what I came up with:


I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Really does a lot for the pearls. I especially like the steel wire, the matte-ish texture really sets off the bronze and the pearls.

I made this the other night but hadn't had the energy to photograph it until last night:

The pendant is made from a hammered bronze lock washer with one of my hammered brass wire flowers hanging from it. That particular flower (made in the car) was oxidized with the ammonia fumes method. I put the item in a little open plastic container inside a ziplock back with a rag soaked in household ammonia, and seal it up. (Don't get any ammonia on the items, and try to keep moisture out of there or it will get black or green spots). Go about your business and come back in a couple/few hours and the brass will have turned a nice reddish shade of brown.

Barring another energy crash tonight I will try and make some more. I have some other washers in a different hue (I guess from being treated somehow), but I don't know if they're soft enough to hammer. Might do that tonight too.