Upcycled or recycled unique gifts

We have all heard of Recycling and many have heard of Upcycling. For a while now I have been making but not showing these upcycled glass jewellery pendants. The Dichroic glass has sort of taken over, but I thought I should give you a little taster of these and give a bit of background as to where the glass comes from.

For starters here are a few pictures of the pendants that I have made using this type of glass.

 

Upcycled Glass Pendant



Upcycled Glass Pendant



Upcycled Glass Pendant

















Upcycled Glass Pendant





Upcycled Glass Pendant



As you can see, the colours are very different to Dichroic glass. With very earthy colours and the shapes can vary tremendously.

This glass comes from a glass sink maker. When they have a mistake or breakage I buy the pieces, sometimes quite big pieces and fire them into pendants. The results are quite beautiful.

Because I am not sure what the COE is (the rate at which glass expands and contracts)  for this glass I do not mix with my normal glass as the fuse might not take. One thing I did not mention is, when they send a big piece. I have great delight in getting the big sledge hammer out and pulverising it into workable sizes. Of cause not forgetting my safety specs and gloves.

At the moment, as I am still trying to perfect my photographic skills. These have not been put onto my website but they will be in the next few days or so.

Thanks for reading and come back soon.

New glass cutter and unigue gifts

New Glass Cutter and Unique Gifts.

Its great when a plan and idea comes together. For many moons now I have been cutter extremely small squares of glass with a modicum of success. But as the cost of glass keeps going up, the waste amount becomes an issue. It was then that I came across this mosaic cutter. As always, price went from a reasonable amount to an absurd amount. I am sure the extra is for better cutting wheels or something. So for the sake of under sixteen quid I ordered one from Mosaic Trader UK. To see how well they worked or not!



Mosaic glass cutter.

 Within a few days the new tool arrived and I quickly put it to use. WOW!!! What a amazing tool. What used to take me ages, now takes only a few minutes. This cutter is a must for any glass working.

The next picture is of the small squares of glass layered up and put into my Paragon kiln for a quick firing.

Small 1/8" to 1/4" unfired dichroic glass and tekta glass

And here are the small cabochons after firing.

I am alway amazed at the shimmering dazzle that comes out of the kiln. These are so vibrant and are a delight to see.

After firing

And then the finished article. A pair of unique Dichroic Glass stud earrings set on 925 solid silver posts with 925 solid silver butterfly backs. These look absolutely stunning and are all one of a kind.

Close up of finished stud earrings on solid silver posts and butterfly backs.

 As always you can see unique one of a kind dichroic glass jewellery at my website, please click here. On here you will find jewellery to suit all pockets for men and women and prices start at £5 + P&P.

Dichroic Glass Pendants

New designs and new ideas just came flooding in. The aim of the last weekend was create and make pendants of a requested colour. ummmmm well I went a bit outside this request. I just couldn't stop myself. ooops. But don't they look great! I just love making and creating.

I have just received the solid silver bails for this order and will be gluing these onto the cabochons in the very near future. They are going to look stunning. As you can see, I have made some oblong, some oval and one large square one. Its a shame I have not learnt how to take good pictures of my creations yet but that will come in time. I am getting enough practice for that to happen. lol.

Keep a eye out for the finished pendants. :o)

Best birthday present a man can get.

Just a short post about my 50th yes 50 I said, I know I don't look a day over 21. ooops snigger snigger......

Because this was a special milestone. Sue and Sue's family and my family donated hard earned cash for my guitar fund (which by the way was at £0 before any gift was given. LOL) and there generosity bowled me over.

My heart has been set on a Hagstrom Ultra Swede Cosmic Black for about 3 years. For those that haven't got a clue what one of these is, here's a picture.

I originally played one of these in a music shop at York and just loved it. Well, I was not disappointed when I got my very own from North East Guitar and Amp shop . The guys in their were really helpful and we made a great deal with them. They even gave me a hard case and a strap.

It plays beautifully and I feel like I've been playing it for years. I now know that my playing ability is better than I thought. I think that is down to the increased confidence due to the new guitar.

That's about it really. My big five O and a new musical toy all rolled into one,they say there is always a silver lining and mine is a Hagsrom guitar....lol.

I will be back soon with more info on my jewellery and my life in North Yorkshire and I'm off to play a few tunes on the guitar now.

Unique gift ideas for bridesmaids, maid of honour, best man and ushers.

Are you stuck for gift ideas for bridesmaids, maid of honour, best man and ushers.

I wanted to share with you a few pictures of my displayed work at Inspired by Script and where you can see, buy and commission any of my work. The owner is Sue Simpson a calligrapher, lettering artist, designer of personalised gifts and

wedding stationary. She is also my muse, my best friend, my partner and so much more.

As many brides visit the studio I've realised that my designs of earrings, pendants, and bracelets make a perfect solution and ideal gift for bridesmaids and the maid of honour. Also, the newly created Rainbow Tie Clips and silver cuff links were designed especially for the best man and ushers. Wedding gifts for the men always seem thin on the ground.

I work and design from a space within the studio. In here I can design, cut glass, fire the glass and do all the packing and paperwork needed for my business.

The range of jewellery is always changing. I get new ideas and inspiration from a wide variety of places. Walking in nature, down on the beach or sometimes the ideas come from customers themselves. These include Dichroic glass buttons and lately an idea for a USB dichroic glass memory stick pendant. You will have to watch this space to see the outcome, success or failure. You can be sure I will share this with you.

So there it is, my space for showing off what I've designed, well apart from my website, facebook and the odd craft fair or two. And a little bit about my partner Sue.

Something for the knitters, dichroic glass buttons.

These are a new line I am having a go at for the knitting crafters. This idea comes from my younger sister Pam who works in a knitting and craft shop and is a avid knitter and cross stitcher. One day about six months ago she asked if I could make something like these and being a man it took me that long to get around to having a go at making them.

These Dichroic glass buttons, they are approximately 5/8" in diameter and are attached on a white metal button back and comes in pairs, although if anyone needs multiples matching (well as near as), this can be done as well.

As always the picture cannot show the colours as vibrant as they are in reality but you can see the sparkle and shine.

The second pair are about the same size and backed the same and are similar in colour.

I will be making new colours and sizes in the near future. For now these are on sale at my Folksy shop for £6 per pair plus P&P.