Keepsakes and Goggo Insect range

 

A collage of a few of my  Keepsakes stained glass Goggo Range insects. 

These have all sold out over the years and I only have a few left in my collection. They were available as ornaments or brooches and each one was totally unique, no two ever the same. Each little insect or animal took 2 - 4 hours to hand-craft and although they might look fragile, they were surprisingly sturdy and strong, yet I recommended that they be handled with care to ensure a long and happy life for each little animal.

A few Goggo insects, silver wire bracelets and a vintage clock face with Amber stained glass jewels bracelet.

Also in my Keepsakes collection is a vintage clock face with Amber stained glass jewels bracelet.

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Crochet dabble - Round tablecloth

Back in the day I dabbled in a bit of crocheting, churning out anything from table cloths to blankets, bedspreads, scarves, handbags, coats, lampshades, coat hanger covers, toilet roll covers, tissue box covers, throw pillow covers, waistcoats, table runners, aprons and even a skirt! Every kitch item you could think of!

This is a round bedside table cloth that I did a couple of years ago.

Découpage tray

Wikipedia defines Decoupage as follows : “Decoupage (or découpage) is the art of decorating an object by gluing coloured paper cut-outs onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf and so on.” I think the “and so on” would refer to the other materials used in this craft like Modge Podge (the glue for sticking the cut-out pictures onto the item you are decoupaging) and Crackle-It, the agent which causes the crackling or antiqued effect.

You can decoupage virtually anything, from trays to lampshades, boxes, furniture and anything else that grabs your imagination! Here I have used some Arum lily images I cut out. This was done many years ago and is now showing signs of wear and tear as it is still in daily use.

Commonly an object like a small box or an item of furniture is covered by cutouts from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with varnishes (often multiple coats) until the “stuck on” appearance disappears and the result looks like painting or inlay work. The traditional technique used 30 to 40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish.

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I'm still around

Just in case you have wondered, I'm not gone, I'm very much alive and still very much on the blogging scene. It's just that I don't do jewellery anymore and I have exhausted all the images of everything I have ever made. Three years ago we moved from Gauteng and in the process, I got rid of all my jewellery equipment and left-over jewellery. I sometimes wish I could've brought it all with me, but unfortunately that was not to be. 

In the meantime, feel free to visit me on Instagram, where I spend most of my time these days (besides in my garden and walking on the beach), but I also still frequent FaceBook, Twitter and Pinterest and, of course, sell my art on RedBubble, so do feel free to pop in and spend some time with me.

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I can see clearly now - Brooch and earrings

Brooch (on the left) and pin earrings (on the right) - Clear glass jewels inset into copper for a crisp, no-clutter look. Both the brooch and the earrings have been patinaed for a vintage look.

The hook earrings are fashioned from silver wire, filled with silver solder with blue glass beads and silver baubles dangling from the top centre. A coat of black patina has also been applied for a vintage look.

The brooch displayed on a lace table cloth showing how clear the glass jewel is.

Earring extravaganza

Hand-crafted from copper, silver solder, wire, stained glass and glass jewels.

 

Amber Glass Jewel Earrings and Brooches

A collection of amber glass jewel earrings and 2 brooches (top left). The round brooch is adorned with filigree hand-crafted out of silver wire. The teardrop-shaped earrings are with pin and butterfly, the other three pairs with hooks.

Using bezel frames

The bezel frame above was quite a challenge for me as it was the first time I soldered anything to a pre-formed object. It is made of some unknown (to me!) metal which doesn't take easily to solder, it tends to just melt away with excessive heat.

First I cut two pieces of clear glass to size (one for the front and one for the back), put some copper foil around (so that the solder can take to it) and also cut a photo to size, which I sandwiched between the two pieces of glass. Soldering the two pieces of glass together took some doing, trying to prevent the flux from seeping in between the two pieces of glass and spoiling the photograph.

Then came the job of fitting the glass into the space and then carefully, tacking it to the frame in short bursts so as to not over-heat the piece. Then some filling and smoothing and finally it was finished.

I can't say I enjoyed that, so I have done very few of them!

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Stained Glass panel - Flying Duck

A South African Shell duck depicted in glass.

This stained glass panel (1m x 1.5m) was also commissioned by a client and here I tried something new, doing it in 3D, which means that the one wing sticks out from the panel.

Goggo/Insect Range - Thin-tailed Scorpion

Thin-tailed Scorpion

This Keepsakes range consists of insects (for the insect-lover!) to display as ornaments but some of them can also be fashioned into brooches. Hand-crafted with silver, copper, pewter, glass jewels and silver wire, *each Goggo/insect can take 3 or more hours to make.* Only materials of the highest quality is used and great attention is given to detail.

Although the items should be treated with care, each item is strong and sturdy. Taking care and cleaning of your unique insect is as easy as scrubbing gently with a toothbrush and Sunlight Liquid and giving it a good rinse with cold water, drying gently with a soft cloth. A natural patina develops over time, adding charm to the item. Each insect comes with its own descriptive card.

Thin-tailed Scorpion
these scorpions, of which there are various genera, have thin tails and large pincers. They are found throughout the country, usually under stones or in burrows. The sting is usually no more dangerous than that of a bee. Scorpions are nocturnal creatures, feeding mostly on insect prey.

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Stained Glass panel - Kalahari scene

In the early 80’s, I was the proud owner of a Craft & Gift Shop, offering lessons in various crafts, one of them being working with stained glass. During this time I was commissioned to do a stained glass panel for a Game Lodge in the Kalahari and the owner was very specific about what she wanted, describing the area in great detail, with me frantically taking notes – low mountains, a scarcity of vegetation, dry, hot and dusty landscape, the colours at sunset and little troops of buck and zebra eking out a living on the seared landscape. And the size – 3m wide by 2m deep! I had never made anything this big, except for a couple of window restorations and I must say I was a bit overwhelmed.
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I worked on this piece for two weeks and finally the customer flew up to Gauteng to come and view the finished article. I think I chewed my nails down to the bone waiting for her arrival. But I needn’t have worried, much to my delight she was ecstatic and my work now proudly takes pride of place in the reception area of her Game Lodge in the Kalahari

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Brooches in Copper and Silver wire

Making jewellery is a fascinating past-time. Holding a piece of copper or stained glass in my hand and imagining what it can become is exciting and exhilarating, gets the creative juices flowing and can lead to hours of immersion in the design. There's a certain thrill in looking down at the new piece just made.

.10mm Silver plated wire from Germany I mostly use. Other sizes are 0.8mm and 0.6mm, after that at gets a bit too thin.

Using wire and copper in making jewellery gives you endless choices in creativity. Wire allows you the freedom to get creative with twists, turns, and wraps and endless creative shapes can be cut out of copper. I mostly use silver plated wire from Germany, but also love the .20mm copper wire you can buy from electrical shops. It's thicker, firm, but still easy to bend into shapes.

A necklace with Green beads made out of copper wire

If you're interested in using wire in jewellery making, there are many tutorials on the internet, but I found this easy one for a 'Purple Passion Pendant' at Domestic Diva. At 'All Free Jewelry Making' you will also find some useful links.

I use copper sheeting bought by the roll from many craft shops, it's soft and pliable and very easy to work with and the solder takes to it perfectly. 5 Mil (.005 inches thick) 36 gauge, copper is thick enough that it will hold shape pretty well. You cannot tear it with your hands, but it can be be cut with scissors. It is very flexible and pliable. To use in jewellery as is, you have to have something solid backing it, but covering it in solder gives it the necessary rigidity for brooches and pendants. It is perfect for die-cuts and punches. 8 Mil (.008 inches thick) 32 gauge, copper is approximately 11 - 12 times thicker than typical household aluminium foil and 1.5 times thicker than the 5 mil. This is a heavy-duty tooling foil. 8 mil can be cut fairly easily with scissors and is still very pliable and holds its shape a little better than the 5 mil, but to punch it requires quite a bit of pressure. I rarely use 10 mil as it needs to be cut with heavy duty scissors or a utility knife. As with any sheet metal, the edges can be extremely sharp. Be careful when cutting or working with copper sheeting. Whenever I create pieces that have sharp corners, I usually use an old pair of scissors (so I don't worry about ruining them) and trim the corners so that they are slightly rounded.

Here is a fairly easy tutorial on "How to work with copper sheeting".

Hand-made brooch out of copper, wire and silver solder with a clear blue glass jewel in the centre

Two amber glass jewel brooches, the first surrounded with silver solder, the second with silver wire and silver solder and a ring for hanging something

Silver wire brooch with silver wire, filled with silver solder and two seed beads

Red glass jewel brooch with silver wire filled with silver solder

White glass jewel brooch with silver wire and filled with silver solder

An iridescent glass jewel brooch with silver wire and silver solder

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