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Princess of Persia
by: Dwyn Tomlinson
Today we are going to be doing some thinking outside the box. Today - we are going to modify an existing finding to match our own creative ideas. Don't worry - it's not going to be hard.
I wanted to add a pendant dangle from the centre of the this piece, and what I really wanted was a rivoli stone holder that had three loops, west and east for linking, and south for dangling. But, no such beastie was available. So I took two links, cut one loop off, and glued one into the other, with the back one rotated 90 degrees, so that the remaining loop hung straight down and could be used to hang a dangle.
First - take the two links stone-holders, and cut one loop off one, and file the stub flat. Next - mix up a small amount of epoxy clay (I used epoxy clay because it will stay where you put it, unlike glue, which oozes all over the place. I knew it would also fill the gap between the two findings.) I mixed the smallest amount I could, and it was still more than I needed. Pea-sized is fine, you won't need that much.
Put a small ball of clay in the link with only one loop left, and then put the link with two loops on top, and press it down, making sure that the loops are evenly spaced at 90 degress apart at east, south, and west. (north will be up, and will have no loop.)
Next, because I had clay left over, I used it to secure the rivolis into their mounts. Use a tiny little sausage of clay, and roll it into a circle, and put in the bottom of the mount, and then add the rivoli and press down.
The epoxy clay does take up more room than glue, and you can see that the stones sit fractionally higher in their findings than if they were just glued. (See photo for reference.) You can use glue for the stones - I just can't stand to waste the epoxy clay once mixed.
Next, you need to make the flower dangle. Take some very fine wire, and thread 6 beads. Give the wire a few twists to secure. Add one more bead to one of the wires, and position it in the centre of the flower, and wrap the wire around the wire at the opposite side of the flower to secure. Trim the end. Go back to the top of the flower and make a wrapped loop with the remaining tail of wire.
Now - you are ready to assemble. You should probably wait for the epoxy to finish curing (24 hours), but I was just careful and it worked out ok.
Link the rivolis in their holders together with jumprings in the pattern of 14 mm Ultra Emerald, Aqua Glacer, 18 mm Aqua Champagne, centre stone of 18 mm Ultra Emerald, and reverse out; 18 mm Aqua Champ, 14 mm Aqua Gl, 14 mm Ultra Em. Hang the remaining 18 mm ultra emerald as a dangle from the centre.
Use a jumpring to attach the turquoise flower dangle.
String the remaining turquoise gemstone pearls on each side (overall length is 22 inches, you may wish to shorten) and add the clasp, using crimp beads and crimp covers to attach to both the rivoli mounts and the clasp.
And the result - a stunning piece in shades of Aqua and Turquoise. Truly - fit for a princess.
Components
Go to our components list for this project and to buy what you need!Need some help with some of the techniques? Check our tips page.
1 comment:
I love your work!
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