making jewellery

Stacking Rings

Published on January 22, 2016January 22, 2016 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

I have been a little lax on my blog posts recently. I had a very busy Christmas season and I am only just now recovering! I have been posting pics on my Instagram (@fancypantsjewellery) with stacking combinations of my jewellery, mostly rings. But with a few necklaces and earrings thrown in for good measure. I will have to start doing more earrings and necklaces and I think adding bangles to the mix. But that will take time. For now I will begin by properly introducing some rings here.

I started used eco sterling silver for my rings back in June 2015. EcoSilver is an eco-friendly alternative which is produced from 100% recycled scrap silverEcoSilver is an eco-friendly alternative which is produced from 100% recycled scrap silverEcosilver is an eco-friendly alternative to newly mined sterling silver. It is produced from 100% recycled scrap silver. It is both an ethical and ecological choice.

This stack has a total of four rings. Two made entirely in eco silver, the other in a combination of eco silver and recycled 18 ct gold. So again a completely ethical and ecological choice.

There are two medium pebbles – one gold and silver and the other silver which I then oxidised and brushed back to show the shiny silver underneath. The other two are small pebble rings, again one a combination of gold and silver and the other made entirely in sterling (eco) silver.

I wear them on their own, all together, or in numerous different combinations (which you will see in later blog posts). I sometimes add “spacer” rings between them to make them sit better on my finger. Depending on how I want it to look.

I love jewellery, ALL jewellery, but rings are my favourite. I guess that’s why I make so many of them!

Find them here!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/217705035/alternative-engagement-ring-recycled

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/238561904/gold-and-silver-ring-handmade-engagement

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/217694215/sterling-silver-ring-unique-handmade

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/217692185/sterling-silver-ring-silver-pebble-ring

Connected – Personalised jewellery without the stamping

Published on September 25, 2015October 1, 2015 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

We all have connections. With our families, our friends, our pets. 🙂

I love the idea of personalised jewellery. Jewellery that MEANS something to the owner or gift giver. I do a little bit of stamping letters etc, on jewellery but my hearts not in it. I prefer more of a simple symbol. A representation of someone or a group of people that you love. Be it your siblings, parents, children, partner or pet. That’s where this line of jewellery came from. I thought how can I represent my loved ones in a piece of jewellery that I would wear every day.

For me the 5 piece necklace represents my siblings and I. All five of us! (how did my parents do it). We are all living separate lives in different countries but we all love each other dearly. Each one sits on the chain unique and different but similar in many ways. I cut the pieces from the same piece of silver, which means each piece was once joined together. I think that makes it mean that little bit more.

I also have a pair of earrings representing my parents and a bangle representing myself, my husband and our daughter.

It’s a very lovely way of remembering your connections.

I have a ritual of choosing jewellery in the morning. The finishing touch to getting dressed. I would feel naked without it. I always choose my jewellery depending on my mood. I have been particularly missing my siblings recently so I wear that one a lot. It’s a way to keep them close. Really I should call or Skype more often. But this is my way of keeping them close to my heart.

If you would like your own little something to represent your friends or family you can find the listing on my etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/248579717/sterling-silver-silver-necklace-silver

Thanks for reading. 🙂

River Rings

Published on September 11, 2015September 8, 2015 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

If you have been reading my blog for the last couple of weeks you will already know that I went home to Ireland for the month of August. I am VERY lucky to have a job that allows me to work remotely. If you haven’t been reading my blog. I GOT TO GO HOME FOR A MONTH AND IT WAS AWESOME! Now that I am back in my second home Brighton, it is time to share a few lovely experiences and the inspiration for my next collection.

My sister lives in a remote area of West Cork. We went to visit and she made us TASTY soup and took us on a little trip for a wee walk afterwards. We went to Roberts Cove. It is a beautiful little cove in Cork. Probably perfect for smuggling whiskey or laying the anchor of your pirate ship in the old days.

This is where I got my inspiration for these River Rings. The channels of water going through the sand. The mini rivers making their way to the sea. And the larger river at the back with all the lovely rocks making the water fight it’s way to the sea.

These three rings have the river channels running through them. I made one wide chunky ring (green) one with a slight arch and one with a little seat for a stone. I have also made a skinny version of the wide chunky one. But I don’t have a picture of that yet.

I really like the different channels of “water” going through the wax. They will be cast in silver and I am hoping to get very good at setting stones so that the River Ring with a Stone will be EXTRA sparkly.

I am looking forward to making some earrings and necklaces in the same style. A little work in progress to get me through the winter.

Thanks for reading.

Personal jewellery as a special wedding gift

Published on August 20, 2015September 1, 2015 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

I recently went to a wedding of a good friend of mine. We had lived together in a flat in Sydney, Australia together with 3 other girls about 10 years ago now. Doesn’t time fly! It was a two bed flat just back from Bondi Beach. Five Irish girls having the time of our lives. We spent Christmas 2004 together. (A total of 37 people at a restaurant at the beach on Christmas day, complete chaos and carnage) good times. We met our partners at various stages of our travels and we were there for each other when it was tough.

I didn’t know what to get Rachael and Peter for a wedding present. My husband suggested I make them jewellery. It seemed obvious as that’s what I do. But I hadn’t really thought of jewellery as a wedding present. Up until now I have (rather traditionally) thought that the only jewellery involved in a wedding is bought before the day to match the Bride and Grooms outfits and as gifts for Groomsmen and Bridesmaids.

I thought about it for a while and figured if I could think of a way to make matching jewellery but not making it naff that would be a great personal gift.

I have been really into customising tools recently so I thought I could use the same texture but a different design for his and hers.

I used a customised hammer to texture the jewellery. Same same but different.

I made Peter personalised cufflinks with R&P stamped.

And I made Rachael a pair of earrings and a necklace using the same hammer and a design that I really love.

I thought it important that they both come from the same sheet of metal. Maybe that’s me being sentimental. But I like the idea of jewellery that was once one piece of metal becoming separate pieces for people who want jewellery to link them. I did something similar a few years ago for a friend. She wanted to give her sister a ring for her 18th birthday. She wanted the same ring for herself. I made them out of the same sheet of metal so that no matter how far apart they are they still have the rings that were once one piece together.

The wedding was held at Castle Leslie in Co. Monaghan. What a venue!

Lord Leslie is a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill and Churchills Christening gown is actually on display in the castle. A wonderful member of staff took the time to show me the paintings and connections and then pointed me in the direction of the gown. I had been taking photos all over the place so it was fairly obvious I was interested. I LOVE history and seeing pieces of history and being in those rooms is an amazing experience.

Sir Winston Churchills Christening Gown — Winston Churchills Christening Gown

I had an amazing day at the wedding and I was really pleased that I had taken the time to make a personal gift for the bride and groom.

They had a beautiful day and we rocked the dance floor. What a day. Weddings are a great reminder to us all of the love in the world. And my only chance to dance the night away these days 😉.

If you are interested in buying that special couple something they will treasure this set is available here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/244526256/silver-earrings-necklace-and-cufflinks

Or I can customise something just for you.

Thank you for reading

The how to of cufflinks

Published on August 3, 2015July 20, 2015 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

Personalised cufflinks was one of the first items of jewellery that a friend asked me to make for her husband.

Here are the steps involved in making these cufflinks.

First you cut out your desired shape.

Then you file down the edges and corners to make sure you don’t get any sharp edges.

Next comes the personalisation, when stamping always place on an anvil. If you stamp on wood or anything else you won’t get a great impression. You need one STRONG hit of the hammer. Practice elsewhere in case the letter / number is the wrong way round. (I learned this the hard way)

Next step is soldering! Some tips to solder.

Set up is key, once you are in the middle of soldering you don’t want to be searching around for tweezers or solder etc.
A clean join will mean a solid join
Keep breathing ☺

Once the soldering is done you need to pickle each piece to clean it up.

And next is riveting. I rivet my own cufflinks as I don’t risk melting the little spring inside the cufflink.

Once the cufflinks are one piece it is time to oxidise the top to show up the lovely stamping done earlier. This is done with liver of sulphur which stinks like Rotorua! This needs to be done outside, unless you don’t mind the smell of rotten eggs of course….

Then brush back and polish! And there you have it. Some awesome personalised cufflinks.

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it.

Chunky Silver Rings

Published on July 18, 2015 by Fancy Pants JewelleryLeave a comment

I LOVE rings. All kinds of rings. Big rings, small rings, delicate rings and knuckle dusters. I go through different phases with my jewellery wearing and making. At the moment it’s all about the chunky rings. I want to be adorned with lovely big chunky rings.

I made a few originally for my husband and a replacement wedding ring for my brother. I liked them so much I decided to add them to my own collection. And now they are finally available in my etsy shop! http://www.fancypantsjewelery.etsy.com

I also have been trying to improve my product photography. I recently got a new phone with a GREAT camera. And decided to use an orchid that my lovely friends Kate and Tim gave me for my birthday last month.

So here is the result of my new phone and chunky ring combo.

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