Cigarette Lighter case

Hand-crafted by myself

A cigarette lighter case crafted out of copper with a soapstone bead insert.

I cut a piece of copper that would wrap around the lighter and cut it to size and solder the edges together. The I cut an oval out of the copper and soldered it to the bottom of the lighter and added the soapstone bead in the centre. I then brushed on a coat of black patina for an aged look and buffed it with some fine steel wool.

The copper sheeting I use for my items

My studio where it all happens

Blue glass jewel brooch

I crafted this brooch by cutting a hole in the centre of a piece of copper, soldering in a clear blue glass jewel and then crumpling the copper with my small flat-nose pliers to get an interesting shape. A brooch pin was soldered on the back and I applied a layer of black patina and then buffing it with some very fine steel wool to achieve a vintage look.

 The back of the brooch

Brooch with blue glass hook earrings

 Blue glass jewel brooch paired with a clear glass jewel brooch

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Goggo/Insect range – Baboon Spider

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. These little animals are unique, one-of-a-kind designs not to be repeated.

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 a descriptive information card.

Ground-dwelling, these hairy spiders are among the world's largest, ranging from 2-6cm (body length). Various species exist in South Africa, all of them living in burrows. They have large fangs which can inflict an unpleasant bite, but without serious envenomation.

A collection of a few Goggos.

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A collection of art and jewellery

A collection of paintings and jewellery. The birds are painted in watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm.

The clock-face and orange jewel bracelet is from my "Keepsakes" range, as is the Pin Brooch with photographs and the necklace with photographs, lace and a rose petal.

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Black Stained Glass trinket box

Easy to make, this stained glass trinket box is constructed purely of flat panels of glass and soldered together, no curves or intricate patterns. The lid consists of one sheet of glass cut at an angle into four pieces and then soldered together, the bottom is one sheet of glass and the four sides are cut into strips and soldered onto the bottom sheet.

A single long hinge, constructed out of a copper metal tube with copper wire inserted through it, is attached to two copper wire rings soldered to the back of the box.

A flat piece of copper covered in solder is soldered to the front panel with a little wire hook for keeping the lid closed

A trinket box is also known by other terms such as jewel case or casket and has been used from medieval times on dressers to store anything from jewelry to all those little mementos such as photos and beads as well as precious ear rings, rings and anything else that has a priceless personal value to you.

You can read here on How Stained glass is made

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Blue flower brooch

A brooch hand-crafted out of blue glass beads, silver wire and solder. This is from my range of ‘Afrika Street Jewellery’.

Flower detail – blue glass beads held by silver wire with a solder centre

Detail of the leaves – one pink glass leaf and the silver leaves are made out of silver wire filled with solder

Back of the brooch

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Stained glass business card holder

Hand-crafted by myself

Materials used : Stained glass, clear window glass, silver wire, copper foil, solder

From my range of “Glass Art”.

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Clear Stained glass jewel brooch

A brooch hand-crafted from copper, crumpled into a pleasing shape, with a layer of black patina to give a vintage look. A clear stained glass jewel is used in the middle.

Back of brooch

Two brooches in different colours

Matching teardrop earrings with pin and butterfly

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Goggo/Insect range - Leopard Tortoise

A Leopard Tortoise hand-crafted with a shell, painted with oil paints, with soldered edge and feet. The head is a yellow glass bead.

Within my house of patterned horn
I sleep in such a bed
As men may keep before they're born
And after when they're dead.

Sticks and stones may break their bones,
And words may make them bleed;
There is not one of them who owns
An armour to his need.

Tougher than hide or lozenged bark,
Snow-storm and thunder proof,
And quick with sun, and thick with dark,
Is this my darling roof.

Men's troubled dreams of death and birth
Pulls mother-o'-pearl to black;
I bear the rainbow bubble Earth
Square on my scornful back
- Elinor Morton Wylie

Southern Africa is very fortunate to have the largest variety of animals in the world. It is home to more than 800 bird species, 150 mammal species, about 50 snake and lizard species, 11 tortoise species and thousands of invertebrate animals like insects and arachnids.

The Leopard Tortoise (or Mountain tortoise - Geochelone pardalis) inhabits a wide range of habitats, from dry Bushveld to moister coastal plains and is the most widely distributed and also the biggest of the 12 species of land tortoise found in Southern Africa. It is believed to take its name 'mountain' tortoise from its size rather than its habitat. ('Leopard' tortoise' comes from the black and yellow blotched patterns on its high-domed carapace.)

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Glass and wire mesh brooch

A shard of glass from a broken lampshade, wrapped in copper foil to enable soldering, and silver wire added to form a wire mesh. First I attached a thick copper wire circle and then wove the thinner silver wire around and through it to form the mesh. A coat of black patina was added to give a vintage look.

Back of the brooch

By changing the angle at which you pin the brooch, you can get quite a few different looks

Back of the brooch

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Amber Stained glass jewellery box

A jewellery or trinket box hand-crafted from Amber Stained glass, with hinged lid. Ideal for keeping your jewellery or other knick-knacks close-by. Here I am using it to store some of the stained glass jewels I use in my jewellery.

Stained glass boxes are easy to make and can be used for storing a wide variety of items and can be used in any room of your house, even in the kitchen. I have one for storing tea bags.

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Goggo/Insect range - Hermit Crab

A Hermit Crab sporting his brand new shell he has just found!

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, silver wire and shells, 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 and these little animals are unique, one-of-a-kind designs not to be repeated.

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, unfortunately no card available for this one.

Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most species have long, spirally curved abdomens, which are soft, unlike the hard, calcified abdomens seen in related crustaceans. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab, into which its whole body can retract.

Hermit Crabs are very social animals and can live 10 years or more, changing shells, moulting several times throughout their lives and growing up to six inches in length. Did you know that Hermit crabs are sometimes kept as pets? Hermit Crabs are docile and are easy and economical to care for and their crabby antics, like climbing, digging and shell switching are as entertaining as they are educational!

 

 

The underside of the crab 

 

 

A lot of research goes into making these little creatures. I use photographs for reference, live study where possible and also Google the necessary information regarding their size, habits, lifestyle, etc. Hand-crafting these little animals has taught me so much about nature and given me a new respect for all Mother Nature's beauty.

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