Could it be the most sustainable bracelet in the World?

Recycled fine Silver buttons and Hemp Cord.
Hemp from the most sustainable plant known to man, many times stronger and softer than cotton and recycled fine silver buttons made from PMC.

What better than to combine my passions and put them into a bracelet? ...probably the most sustainable, eco-friendly bracelet on the planet, in my opinion.

I am passionate about living sustainably and considerately, most reflected in my day job as owner of Innocent Oils and certainly a high priority when it comes to the jewellery I make.

Silver often comes from strip mining, a labor intensive and dangerous job in itself, besides the fact that supplies of this precious metal are dwindling and it goes through a number of toxin inducing processes which further pollute the environment before you get to enjoy wearing the finished article.
For this reason I prefer not to involve strong chemical processes where possible when creating my jewellery.

So you can imagine my joy when working with Silver Art Clay. Made from recycled fine silver, a non-toxic binder and water, producing a clay like substance which when fired ends up as 99% pure silver.
Note: .925 Sterling silver is 92.5% silver the rest made up of an alloy such as copper to give it strength. This alloy goes black when soldered thus pickling is required to clean the surface.

Sterling Silver necklace with hammered heart and Ankh

This necklace sits comfortably around the neck looking delicate and beautiful, whilst remaining robust enough to be worn and enjoyed daily for many years to come.

If you would like this or a similar necklace please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you.
lizziejart@hotmail.co.uk or tweet me @lizziejart

Fine silver and sparky precious stones!

In my post on Jan 19th I was showing the process of making the fine silver disk with inlaid precious stones and Keum-Bo 24K Gold, as below.

Since then I have been wearing the pendant on a black silk neck cord. More recently though, I've fast been running out of neck space!

Not wanting to end up resembling the A Team's B.A. Baraccus I decided to re-use the pendant on one of my hand-wired sterling silver Signature Bracelets instead.

It now sits comfortably on my wrist where I can enjoy the ruby and peridot stones as they capture the light beautifully.

If you would like a similar pendant do drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you.
I am also currently looking for retail stockists and galleries to exhibit my work, so if you are or you know an independant jewellery store please get in touch. lizziejart@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter @lizziejart

A Square Peg in a Round Hole

I have been working on a bespoke piece based around the idea of a 'square peg in a round hole', for an 18th birthday in Jan.

The birthstone for Jan is Garnet, so I have used a 5mm square cut garnet as the focal point of the piece, with 24ct Keum-boo gold added as a highlight.

The first picture below is the piece at 'green stage', this means the silver art clay has dried but can still be worked as if a ceramic article rather than as a hard metal piece.


I have now fired the piece ready for the addition of the 24ct Keum-Boo highlight.
Keum-boo is not gold leaf, it is a much thicker gold foil which can be cut, torn, cutter punched etc, and applied to the silver using heat.
I wil attach the gold to the silver using a butane torch and an Agate Burnishing tool to give a smooth finish and a strong bond with the silver, but others may use different tools for the same effect.


Here is the finished piece...for a square peg in a round hole. With love and my best wishes


Notes: This piece was for an 18 year old young woman, with an eye for stylish high fashion and unique creative art.
Since a child she has always felt different to her peers with her take on life and a razor sharp creative spark.

I wanted to create a unique piece of wearable jewellery to be enjoyed for many years. Something that would symbolise the wearer, without shouting out its meaning.
The traditional key or 18 hanging around her neck would simply not have 'cut the mustard' so to speak, I hope this does...

Namaste
Helen 'Lizze' James x

Twitter: LizzieJArt

Keum-Boo explained by Wikipeadia