Shiny!

So very shiny! I've been playing with a new toy this weekend - Precious Metal Clay. Essentially, you take what looks like white blutac, for sticking posters to walls, shape it however you like, and set fire to it with a blow torch.

Then you scratch off the crap that accumulates from the setting-fire process, and polish it, and you get 99.5% pure silver.

Although a little terrified by the playing with blow torches (although not as terrified as Paul was - I did do it outside, to minimise the risk of burning our house down), it worked! I didn't break it, or melt it, or anything!

My new pendant, a shiny silver leaf with a green cubic zircona in it.

For a first try, I think it came out really well - I had to burnish it with a stainless steel jump ring (Not ideal, for future reference. I might buy a tool designed for the job for next time...) and there are some less-than-entirely neat bits where I didn't sand it enough before firing. But I'm ridiculously pleased with it!