Brass Octopus Keychain

Octopus Keychain

For my first project this semester I made a brass octopus keychain with etched spots. My first challenge while created this piece was that when I etched him he didn't etch all the way through so I had to put him in longer. The second challenge I encountered was that I found it hard it extremely hard to make a keychain loop. I enjoyed etching out the spots on my octopus and I also really enjoyed making the jump rings for his chain. During this project I learned how to create a good keychain loop and how to prefect my jump rings so they look very good. The first thing I had to do was etch out the spots on my octopus. Then I had to saw him out, then I proceeded to drill out his chain hole. Then I filed his edges and sanded him. Then I created a chain and keychain loop. Lastly I Patinaed and Polished him. I really enjoyed making him and he is one of my favorite projects.

Nickel Narwhal Keychain

                     Narwhal Keychain
For my second project this semester I made a Nickel Narwhal keychain with etched designs on it. The first challenge I encountered was that it was very hard to saw out the Nickel because of how thick it is. The second challenge I encountered was that I again found it really hard  to make a keychain loop. I enjoyed etching out the designs on my Narwhal and I also really enjoyed Patinaing and Polishing my piece. I learned the best way to saw out Nickel is to take your time with it and to be careful when sawing. I also again tryed to learn how to make a keychain loop that looked good. The first thing I did was I etched out the designs on my Narwhal. Then I sawed him out and filed his edges. Then I sanded him and made his jump rings and keychain loop. Lastly I Patinaed and Polished him. I really loved making my Narwhal and he is going to go to a good home with my cousin.

Final Project

Final Project:
For my final project I made 3 separate pieces. The first one was a copper keychain it had a red enameled heart on it with the my nickname "Dais" stamped on it. The second piece was also a copper keychain with two negative space hearts cut out with my moms name stamped on it. The last piece was again a copper keychain with four sawed out hearts soldered on it with the letter DLRR on it. The first challenge I encountered was that it was hard to enamel because it didnt look good the first couple times. The second challenge I encountered was that I was a little rushed on time. I really enjoyed soldering and sawing out my pieces. By doing this project I learned how to enamel so that it actually looks somewhat good. The first step to making my projects was I had to cut out all the circles. Then I had to make all the jump rings and the keychain part. Then for the first heart I had to etch out the heart and fill it with enamel then I fired it. For the second one I had to cut out the two heart negative spaces and stamp the letters on it. For the last one I had to solder on the four hearts I cut out. Then i sanded and filed all the pieces. These were my last projects for this semester and I really enjoyed making them.

Riveting Project

Copper Cat Keychain

For the Riveting Project I made a Copper cat with a soldered on tail and Nickel heart with a R on it. The keychain part was made of Nickel. The first challenge I encountered was that when I was sanding it was very hard for me to not bend the cats thin tail. The second challenge I encountered was that it was hard to saw out the small tail piece. I really enjoyed soldering on the heart and tail. I also really enjoyed stamping the R into the heart. What I learned was how to put in Rivets so that they look good. The first step yo making my cat was sawing out the cats tail, body, and heart. Then I filed and sanded all those pieces. After I soldered the tail and heart to the cat. Then I sanded some more and patinaed the cat. Lastly I polished and put in the cats rivet eyes. I really liked making the cat and it is one of my favorite projects so far.

Soldering Project

Copper Beaver Ring

For my second project I decided to do a copper beaver ring with etched designs on the beaver. The ring was two layers, the first layer being just a plain circle and the second two being the beaver and strawberry. The strawberry had stamped designs on it. The first problem I encountered was that it was extremely hard to cut out and sand the tiny strawberry. The second problem I encountered was that it was really hard to Solder all the different pieces together, especially the band to the ring because it was hard to keep the band in one spot. On the other hand I somewhat liked soldering because it was fun to work with the torch. What I learned is it is very important to take your time Soldering because if you don't it will really mess up your piece. I also learned to etch which is way easier then doing texture. The first step of me making my piece was I first had to etch out my design, then I had to cut out my beaver and strawberry. After that I soldered my beaver and strawberry to my circle. Then I created my band and soldered that to my ring. Then I sanded my piece and put it the the Patina, lastly I polished my ring. I have found again that doing all this work really pays off to see the finished product.

Etching Project

Etched Earrings:

For this project I made a pair of nickle earrings, they have etched flower designs on the main layer and a bigger flower on the second layer. They are connected to their hooks by one jump ring. The first problem I encountered was that it was hard for me to do the etching on the second layer. The second problem I encountered was that it was hard to solder the two pieces together. Even though etching was hard I somewhat liked it, I also liked sawing the pieces out. What I learned is you have to be very careful when you are etching because it is very easy to mess up and if you do it is very hard to fix it. The first step of making these earrings was the etching, then I sawed out both the layers. After that I drilled the hole for the jump ring and made the jump ring. Next I filed and sanding both of the layers. Then I soldered the two layers together and put it in the pickle. Then lastly I attached the earring to the hook and Patinaed and Polished it. This is one of my favorite projects I have done so far and I really liked the outcome of all my hard work.

First Project

Brass Pendant:
For my first project I made a brass cloud pendant with rain droplet negative space and dotted stamp texture. The first challenge I incountered was that it was very hard to get all the scratches out of the surface of your piece. The second challenge I incountered was that it is also very hard to get all the Patina off your peice to make it look nice. Though there were challenges I really enjoyed sawing out my peice and seeing it finally come together after all my hard work. What I learned is that you really have to take your time sanding and polishing your peice to make it look nice. The first step of me making my peice was I had to sketch my design, then put it on metal, saw it out, then saw out the negatve spaces. After that I filed, sanded, added texture, created a chain, then lastly Patina. But even after all the work it was totally worth it to see the outcome.