Friday, November 26, 2010

PEACE SIGN JEWELRY

I was asked to make a peace sign bracelet for my friend's granddaughter and being a grandma myself, was in a quandary as to what an 11 year old might like.  I forged ahead and decided to create a peace sign from argentium sterling silver.  It was a fun experience as I had never soldered argentium before and I read that it doesn't require solder, but rather joins itself - which it did!  I used 16 gauge wire, cut the cross pieces and hammered the ends, and proceeded to solder them together.  I hammered the finished piece, added a light patina and into the tumbler it went!  I was happy with the end result, but decided it might be a bit too large for her age.  So, I went ahead and put it on cord and attached a small "believe" charm.  Who doesn't believe in the possibility of  peace!  Here is the result.


Undaunted, I continued in pursuit of the right bracelet style.  I came across some blue lapis beads and thought they would look great with jeans - teens - jeans!  And so and I started stringing and decided to finish off the bracelet ends with black seed beads in lieu of cord.  While going through my "stash" I came across some precious metal clay pieces I had made with the peace sign stamped in.  I incorporated it as an accent.  I am actually happy with the end result, but my friend did specifically mention leather cord as part of the creation. 

Last week, while out shopping, I came across some peace sign charms and purchased one, just in case I needed another avenue in my pursuit.  I incorporated the leather cord, the peace sign, some silver plated tube beads, and added the charms:  Believe, Love, and Laugh.  Inspiration for daily living.  And voila!  Yet another peace sign bracelet. 
I hope she likes what I came up with. Let me know what YOU think!  Blessings, Anita