Friday, April 1, 2011

Fit for a princess...

Some of my favourite silversmiths work mixed metal magic with sterling silver and brass...
(there's Lenita, and Jo, and Sandi, and Sabrina & Dante to name but a few)

I have been wanting to try my luck mixing these metals for some time,

so it seemed rather serendipitous that some sweet little raw brass flower charms arrived on my doorstep the other day...
(Remember my surprise parcel from Rings & Things...!)


I decided today was the day.

With visions of a huge, steaming, (painfully expensive) pile of slumped sterling and brass,

I set out to create something small and dainty and fit for a princess...

...a certain three year old princess, to be precise :-)


So, I started with a single flower...


...and gave it a trim...


...this won't hurt a bit, trust me...


...a little bit of filing and sanding, and Voila! A beautiful bloom!...


....I just so happened to have the perfect piece of scrap sterling silver to adorn with my newly trimmed flower...


...a little sawing...


...and I had a match made in heaven...


...the ring band came next, ready to be soldered...


...hot, hot, hot!...


...ring band, done!...
(the tiniest ring band ever, I might add...cuuuuute!)


...time to give that scrap piece of silver a new lease on life...


...can you spot the brass flower, ready for sweat soldering...?


...and in the blink of an eye, success!...


...ready to be worn after a few hours in the tumbler...


...just what every princess needs...


...particularly pink pen wielding princesses...


...but just don't try and take it back off her because she'll turn you to stone with her steely gaze... :-O


This little project has definitely whet my appetite for more mixed metal creations...

Thanks for coming along for the ride...

let's do this again soon, ok ;-)

19 comments:

  1. Love it. And I know another little girl who would too ;-)

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  2. That is gorgeous! I have been wanting to try and make a ring like that with my itty bitty blanks!
    Its gorgeous Belinda :) Well done!

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  3. Oh, you're so sweet, Belinda:) Your little princess is such a beauty, and what a cute, dinky, little ring. I've thought about making Isabella a ring too~ I can only imagine how tiny the band has to be! Have a wonderful weekend xx

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  4. How adorable is your princess Belinda ~ my daughter is nearly ten now (going on 15 sometimes :/) and would love a ring made (think I may not show her this lol)

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  5. So sweet :) The ring and your little princess too :)

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  6. Definitely fit for a little princess and what a doll she is. Thanks for the shout-out!

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  7. What a lovely little ring!! Your little one looks beautiful wearing it :)

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  8. Louise, I think this ring would be equally cute for not-so-little princesses ;-) It reminds me of those stacking rings which seem to be so popular right now!

    Kath, it definitely saves time using stamped blanks...you should give it a try!

    Thanks Jenny :-)

    Lenita, the ring band is definitely tiny! I made this one a size 4, so India has a little bit of room to grow into it :-) It's very special being able to make jewellery for our little princesses...I would love to see what you would create for your gorgeous Isabella! -xo-

    Jo, I think India is 3 going on 13 sometimes...she carries on like a teenager at times! I'm sure your little princess would love her very own jewellery made by you ;-)

    Thank you Agi! :-)))

    Sandi, sometimes she's a doll, and sometimes she's a diva! There's no doubt that she's a girly-girl though ;-)

    Thanks Michele! :-)

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  9. Wow, the ring is so pretty with this little princess.So cute.Lovely work.Well done.

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  10. That has to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen. The ring, the little girl -- oh. My heart is singing.

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  11. What a lovely sweet little ring! Beautiful job and sure to be treasured :)

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  12. Schux, thanks Lori! -xo-

    Thank you Mellisa! India hasn't wanted to take her new ring off...I think it's definitely a winner ;-)

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  13. So sweet, both of you are....and the ring too:)

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  14. Thank you Jane :-) That would be lovely of you to link in a future post!

    Thanks Carole :-))) Indie is such a girly-girl...I can see that this is only the beginning of a very large jewellery collection for my little girl ;-)

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  15. SOOO Cute! Your little girl and her new ring ;-) ...What a lovely gift.

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  16. Wow, that's so pretty with this lovely cute princess.Beautiful ring which is so simple and elegant with wonderful work.Lovely ring with cheers...

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  17. So so adorable! I should try something similar for my daughter :)

    http://jewellahry.blogspot.com/

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment!

B.
-xo-