Thursday, December 20, 2012

handmade holidays 2012: bullet casing and quartz necklaces

 
I really like the look of old bullet casings used as bezels or settings for pendants, especially when the pendant is a crystal or a bit of deer horn, natural materials. I like the smooth, industrial lines of the bullet casing and the old brass colour. 
 
 
When I came across these etched bullet casings at one of my local bead shops, my mind was really blown; they were so pretty, it was really hard to choose between patterns! They were a bit pricey, but I couldn't resist. I picked out one for a friend and one for myself. Fortunately, I still have a number of quartz points on hand (one of my bead stores sold me one strand, ONCE. It has been impossible to find drilled quartz points otherwise - there must be a real run on them in the craft world these past few years). I fiddled about until I found two that fit the bullet casings and then simply set them with epoxy and let them cure overnight. boom! done! =)
 
I hung hers from a nice brass chain, since it is a yuletide gift; I didn't have any other delicate chain around, so I strung my own on leather thong with a brass hook to close it.
 

My husband observed that this is a very "swords into ploughshares" aesthetic. I think I like it even more since he said that. I think I like these etched casings even more than the standard smooth ones.

more projects on the way - a bit late this year, but it's been a really hectic quarter. I'm juggling several projects right now, trading off nights stitching, beading, hammering metal. All my yule presents will be late this year - oh well! It's the love that counts, right?

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