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Sunday 12 July 2015

Featured Item. Steampunk Cog Ring

Once a week I chose a piece of jewellery from my shop to feature here on my blog. This week it wasn't hard to pick an item to feature. I have chosen the Steampunk Cog Ring.

 
This ring is the first of a new line I have been experimenting with using galvanised wire. I'm feeling proud of this piece because before this ring there is a few others which didn't make it and I have learnt from. So this ring is my triumph over the technique!
It looks beautiful on and it's comfortable to wear, the design doesn't sit to high and the way I wrapped the wire stops it scratching or digging into other fingers near the one wearing it.
The ring was made by first cutting a very long length of the galvanised wire, which I wrapped around a bead tube, although if your going to try this your self you can buy a specialised tool for making rings. For me the bead tube makes the perfect size ring.
Next I wrap one end tightly around the wire to secure it and stop it springing back into a straight piece of wire. I then used the other end to continue wrapped around the circle I made with the bead tube, taking care to keep them as tight as  I can. I continued this until it met up with the first piece of wire. I now have the base for my ring.
 
 
 
To make the focal piece of the ring I started with a bead I had found while I was out one day, (I think it is a silver coloured Czech polished bead.) I threaded the bead onto a head pin and then looked through my bag of watch parts my dad gave me for Christmas last year. I've been looking for a project to use these parts with for ages and this one seemed perfect. I used a small cog underneath the bead like a bead cap for the bead to sit on. Next I picked a golden coloured piece then another cog like the first but slightly bigger. To get them to thread on I had to make the holes a bit bigger with a hole punch (still the best tool I've ever brought!)
I liked this lay out so after a bit of struggling I got the remainder of the head pin to wrap around the ring I had made earlier. I could have left it there and called it finished but I felt the design moved to much on the ring base, so to make it a little more rigid I added one small length of wire to the underside of the design by wrapping it around and around so that it was effectively wedged in place.
 
 
After finishing it I couldn't wait to show people so I slipped it on and headed outside for a good shot of it. I posted the resulting picture on Instragram and my personal Facebook page and the feedback was great. Everyone loved it and for a week afterward everyone I bumped into commented on the ring they had seen on Facebook. It was this wonderful feedback which encouraged me to list it for sale.



I now feel confident in my technique to make a new line of this kind of ring to add to my shop.
 
To buy this piece it is £5.00 from Fashion Magpie Jewellery, with £1.95 UK postage and packaging. If you live aboard I also post anywhere aboard.
 
It will come to you wrapped and in an organza gift bag.

You can find Fashion Magpie Jewellery at the below links
 

Fashion Magpie Jewellery Blog is a celebration of antique and handcrafted jewellery, with regular featured items from my shop, antique jewellery showcase, interviews, reviews and tutorials.
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