Hot off The Bench This week

Valentine's Day Coupon Code!

I am SO looking forward to getting back to work in my freshly painted studio in the next week or so! In the meantime, I do have a couple of goodies still available for last minute Valentine's Day gift giving. As an extra incentive to make that special gift purchase now, here's a rare SToNZ coupon code, which will get you 15% off the purchase of any item from SToNZ that has a heart on it.
To qualify for the discount, you must enter the code HEART15STONZ in the coupon code box when placing your order. Offer expires February 7, 2015.
Some examples of items that will qualify for the discount:

143 = I LOVE YOU Necklace

Antique Lock & Key Necklace

Recycled Sterling Curb Chain Silver Heart Bracelet

Recycled Sterling Heart Tag Bracelet

Aggregate Necklace With Seaglass

A second aggregate necklace.
This time with a gorgeous piece of bright aqua seaglass dangling below.
Made with silver from an antique spoon and hung on a gorgeous vintage sterling chain.
Sold right quick. Guess I need to explore this idea more. I wasn't sure whether folks would go for the look, but apparently it's got potential!
What do you think?
Cool or strange?
:)

A Conglomeration of Aggregate

I don't know exactly what this stuff is, but I have been collecting it from the shores of Lake Erie for many years. It appears to be aggregate of some sort. Like lots of smooth beach pebbles held together with cement, broken into chunks and then tumbled for years in the Great Lakes.
If anyone has information on this stuff, I'd be very interested to know more. Many industries have dumped their slag and junk into our lake over the years and I imagine that these lovely rocky clusters I find are the byproduct of some manufacturing process.

I thought it might be fun to bezel set one of the smaller pieces of this stuff into a silver necklace. The back plate was made from the bowl of a sterling silver antique spoon. So upcycled and recycled all the way around. Something different. Find it here in my Etsy store.

Making copper and silver 143 I LOVE YOU charm necklaces from an old copper disk

I found this neat heavy copper disk at an estate sale some time ago and have had some fun cutting it up with a jeweler's saw. Here's what I made today.

 

This disk is just over 2mm thick. It's no easy feat to saw through this thing! I only broke one saw blade today. Not bad.

Four tags cut and filed smooth. Two hearts and two rectangles. Well, they're kind of rectangles. I like the imperfection of these shapes.

Soldering on sterling bails and loops.

Stamping with my great new SToNZ stamp.
Why didn't I get one of these made years ago!?

Two 143 necklaces finished and ready to list in my Etsy shop.
143 means I LOVE YOU. It's a texty shorthand thing.

I love you:
1 letter in I
4 letters in LOVE
3 letters in YOU

I'm thinking Mother's Day. I nice gift for Mom.
We're just a month out. Are you ready?