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I have been thinking a lot about my future lately, maybe its because I don't have a job anymore and next year we have to go out to the BIG BAD WORLD. I have beaded jewellery ideas but the problems is that none of them are complete. This is a chain idea, where I want to use different links to join everything together. Maybe I should include drawings of these ideas so as to make things clear for you guys. All these bits and pieces are not helping at the moment, I need more help. I say More because I have started teaching someone to bead but its not easy because shes a bit slow and keeps getting things tangled. Even though I'm running out of funds for her, I don't want to give up on her yet because she is willing to learn and works hard.

Make a plan

These are all bead shanks, 112 of them. The colours are bright and inviting. There is no way that you wouldn't have a ring to match any of your clothing. Instead of that silver shank I think these are the beaded rings that would go in its place. I plan to remove the silver disc that is in the middle so as to make it more affordable.

Bold ring

People have said that they like this ring, all of them like or love it for different reasons. So I put in the African Art Center for order, not for sale. I got more responce and had to make different colours and sizes.

Others that wanted to have it, thought it was a bit pricey and I wasn't shocked because the shops add their own mark ups and this ring, does have a lot of silver.

Even the shank is silver but that was the whole intention, to make something that will last. I have to think of ways that will make them cheaper but still look good.

Three

All is done and these three do look like shields, if I do say so myself. The picture shows the light reflecting so well but I think that I should take a picture with someone wearing my jewellery as in the mags that I firist looked at (photo shoot). Maybe I should be the model, what do you think? :-)

Earring shoot

I was impressed with the way that they are polished, so I took picz from different sides. what do you think?

Blackened earrings

I like the way these earrings look blackened, the blackening solution helps brings diamantion.

I decided to make long postes or hooks for them so as to keep away from the earlobe. These are not going slow at all but I want to make more.

Work, work. work

I'm not trying to be an over achiever but I want to push my designs to a level that will satisfy me, a level that will make me look at my jewellery and want to show everyone that walks by. Unlike the slash piece I'm a bit impressed about the outcome of these beads. So I am making earrings to match.o

These earrings didn't take long to make or fly press because I had already prepared metal that was the right thickness. It helps to have everything ready to be used.

Bold and beautiful

I wanted to add a bit of colour using glass beads but for some reason I didn't know how to do that without messing with the clean cut of the ring. So I blackened the inside of it so as to make the shape of it stand out a bit more.

We had to make this fashion piece in a week and I have already finished making it. Hmmmm, what next? It is not like any of the beaded jewellery that I have been making but it is a Bead ring. It is as bold as I wanted it to be but I want to make more of these silver beads and try to create some that will use silver and glass beads together.

Palm sunday

I'm an Anglican and today we were celebrating palm sunday, on this day we remember our lord Jesus riding into jerusalem on a donkey. The people welcomed him by placing palms on the floor as a carpet for the donkey to walk on. So every year we, as the church walk in the street carrying palms.
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One on one

I always knew that making a shield was no walk in the park but I got to see it one on one. There is a place at Dalton where they make almost everything that is traditional and involves cow or other animal skin. I had to find this place and make sure that I wasn't wearing anything that would offend anyone. It took me a while to explain why I was there and that I wasn't there to learn or still ideas for my own business use.

I was taken to a room at the back where the shields where being made, this room didn't smell like flowers. Well this is what I remember from the demonstration. A cow or animal is skinned and that skin is put out to dry, away from water, rain and salt because that would slow down the drying. The drying takes about a week or more but everyday the skin has to be turned around so that it could dry evenly. When it is dry enough it is then washed so as to get rid of anything that might have started living on it. Cut to the shape wanted or needed and then hammered flat at any points or parts that are not even. Then the pattern or design is added, as part of the finishing touches.
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Step by step

I haven't moved away from the idea of making my own beads, this is one of them, in a big form though. I am really taking my time with this ring, I want it to be neat and I want it to be a piece that I can be proud to wear on a daily basis. I plan to blacken the inside of that bead so that the dimention would stand out more. I love colour in every item of jewellery that I make but I'm just not so sure of how and where the colours would be on this ring. Hopefully all will work out for the best.

Problem

As much as I have been a jewellery student for the past four years now, I forgot one of the most important rules about soldering something that is fly pressed and that rule is to never ever use spring twissers because once you apply heat, the metal softens and the twissers flatten it. I wanted to kick myself but that would have wasted my time, so I remelted and made thinner plate.

This looks way better, don't you think?

Background

I have been looking at wall paper and book cover so as to see which one I should use to take photoz of my jewellery on. These are some that I found in the house. I want something simple that will complement my jewellery and not to over power it.
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Some more Work on the side

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Work on the side

After a short conversation that Chris (HOD) and I had, I got to realise that there is only one of me and that I can not split myself into many pieces, I say this because I think I have a lot of things going on outside my Btec. We spoke about how can these two worlds be put together so as to lift the load off my back. I'm busy making jewellery that can be sold in galleries or any other shop that feels that my jewellery fits in to sell. This is not that easy because I can not work as fast as I would like to work and I don't get that much of jewellery items made in a day. So I started to teach someone so that, that person could carry on with the work and I can focus on some of my research. At the moment I can not aford to have a lot of people working for me or helping me out but with time I'm hoping to have much more.
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Fly pressing

The shield or the shape of the shield is very flat, so I decided to make a fly press mold of a shield so as to make it more three dimensional. The mold works well but I realised that my metal was a bit to thick and as you can see, the bottom shape is shallow then the one at the top.

Drawing of the final piece

This is the top veiw
This is the side veiw, not the greatest and neatest but I promise to replace them with better ones.

Out of all the bold things or jewellery that I have seen or come cross in the magz that I have been reading, I realise that I want to make a ring, I want it to be bold and neat and have a hint or colour. This ring is in the shape of a shield and hopefully it will come out way better then the drawing.

Ihawu

http://www.craftunbound.net/country/south-africa/zulu-bead-mail

This is ihawu also known as a shield, ihawu is made out of cow skin that is treated and then dried so as to fit the worrier need. It was used in wars to shield them from their enemies. A lot of beadwork have been known to have the shape of the shield as it is a very well known symbol of protection.

Some bead ideas

I have been drawing some bead ideas and the more I draw, the more I get jewellery ideas. I don't know weather I should translate it to jewellery now or to just draw more so as to create a range. The shield shape keeps coming up as I draw, it is known as a sign of protection hance it keeps being beaded in traditional beaded jewellery. Now that I have been drawing, I wish I was at tech so as to start making something. Its funny how when I'm at tech I don't get ideas that make me want to make jewellery but when I'm at work, I wish I was at tech making something. I guess its true what the they say, "you don't appriciate what you have until you don't have it."
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Something Bold

As I have been looking throw these magz I've found out that bold jewellery is still style, for some strange reason people are going bigger, brighter and bolder. The seasons may change and therefor the colours might tone down but the boldness and the size remainz. I love bold and colourful jewellery and I try to make jewellery that is noticable in colour. The next piece that I'm planning to make, I hope is bold and maybe bright. I do want to take the advise of my classmates and make the beads myself, they may not be glass beads at the moment but I have to start somewhere.
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Spend money to make money

Glass beads are not cheap or is it me that is not used to spending more them R500. On them? When I first beaded these element I had no idea that they will take me this long to make or that people will want them so much. As much as I say I want to create a name or a brend for my beaded jewellery, I didn't think that it would be so time consuming and costly. I really need some help now, I don't think that I can handle work, tech, a pet, church and selling my jewellery.
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