Skeleton Key Bracelets......

I love old skeleton keys......big ones, small ones, flat ones....it doesn't matter, I like them all!  I use them in my jewelry in a sort of melding together of the new and the old.  I've used them in necklace designs now for a few years and always wanted to make them into bracelets.  Finally I got the chance! There are many steps to bending and polishing one of these babies! My wonderful husband torched, bent and drilled them for me.  I polished and beaded them.  

 Here are the steps:

 Step 1:  Gather your materials...a Nap Gas torch, a piece of metal pipe about the size of your wrist, a bucket of water, a Dremel Tool,  fine steel wool and a flat head hammer, drill with small bit, and two sets of long nose pliers.

 Step 2:  Hold one end of the key with the long nose pliers and heat the middle of the key until it turns RED then quickly place it over the metal pipe and tap one end of the key to make it slightly bend.

 Step 3:  Switch pliers to the other side of the key and heat the middle to the end until it glows RED then quickly place it over the pipe and tap it with the hammer until it slightly bends at the other end.  I don't need to tell you to not to touch the key as it is super hot....."don't touch the key"!

 Step 4:  Repeat Steps 2 & 3 if you need more of a bend.  If you are happy with the bend in the key then drop it into a bucket of water to quench it.  Leave it in there for about 5 minutes then take it out and dry it off.  At this point you will notice that the torching has left a grey scale all over it.

 Step 5:  Take your Dremel Tool with a grinding nub and sand/grind off the grey scale until it is shiny. I left some areas dark in the creases of the metal to give it a patina.  Next buff with fine steel wool.

Step 6:  Drill a small hole in the end of the key where the little hickey sticks out (the part that goes into the key hole).

Step 6.5:  Bead as you see fit!
These babies are over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry if you'd like to call one your very own!

Jewelry Class

I've been without a computer for awhile b/c it got invaded with a virus or many of them and when I'd go to click on a website I'd get redirected to a total different website! Very frustrating! So the laptop has been at the computer doctor for the past 8 days and I'm posting this post from a back-up old laptop that takes a long time to get things done.

Yesterday my friends Donna and Sue came over and we had a little jewelry class. I call it "open air crafting" b/c we spend the whole day on the covered back porch. It was a warm but beautiful day. I showed them some how to make leather pendants and some basic jewelry connection techniques. This is Sue's leather heart creation. I like the layers of charms on the heart (I broke out the big Mason jar that has bits and pieces of metal things...we all had fun digging through it for goodies).

This is the leather bird pendant Sue did. Great colors to transition into fall with! The little antique charm really adds to it.

Donna made this 3 strad necklace in these lucious jewel tones. She was almost done with the second strand when it escaped from her hand and tiny seed beads went everywhere!

The heart was layered with a thick and thin piece of leather. Again, great colors! How sweet is that little key brad?

Donna also made this colorful little bird and sun/moon pendant. The beauty of these 3 pieces is that she can interchange all of them with the necklace she made! We had such a good time! The next class is going to be with ICE resin but we have to wait for the humidity to go away.

I've been working on some new exciting pieces and will posting them tomorrow, so come back and visit. :-)