Let’s just say it has been a while since I last updated my blog so this is a big one!
KEY RINGS
I’ve had an explosion in key ring sales. It started off with a few anniversary orders in copper but now aluminium for 10th anniversaries has become very popular and people are wanting the aluminium for other occasions too. I stock aluminium in 4 different widths at present – all a delicious 3mm thick. Yes, I make these out of long lengths of aluminium so all the swanky shaping and beveling of the ends is done by hand by myself and takes a fair bit of time to do. The most popular one is the one that is 1cm wide on the far left. I have an Etsy listing for the broadest one on the far right too: broad aluminium key ring
I make these simple yet striking key rings out of the 1cm one. Roman numerals are proving very popular for important dates. Luckily I love Roman numerals! These are my current best sellers. Being made of aluminium and very light, they are perfect for your bunch of car keys that you don’t want to weigh down too much. This style is also available in sterling silver in a variety of thicknesses up to a maximum of 3mm just like this one. I have copper that is 2mm thick too. Here’s the listing for the narrow one.
On my “to do” list is some samples in the middle two thicknesses of aluminium.
NEW JEWELLERY BOXES
Much excitement as my very first PERSONALISED jewellery boxes arrived earlier this week! They are pretty cool and are suitable for pendants, pendants on chains, earrings, key rings and small chain-style bracelets. Now I need to get some matching stationery or something. There is nothing quite like the impact felt when receiving jewellery in a great box.
PERSONALISED CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
As a gift maker, I am now at the beginning of the year end gift rush. As I handcraft my items, it is never too soon to order your teacher gifts and Christmas presents. Looking through my display cabinet the other day, I found this Christmas tree decoration I made a few years ago. I think it is time for me to make my family an additional one. These make great gifts and clever words used can make them appropriate for many occasions, eg. new arrivals in the family, first Christmas as a married couple, etc. Look out for my 2015 sample coming soon!
STAMPED CUTLERY
Until fairly recently, I have firmly resisted stamping on cutlery but finally, after turning down numerous requests, I decided to give it a go. So far I have only done dinner knives. See two examples below: “spread the love” and “please pass the Nuttelex”. I have permission from Nuttelex to use the word “Nuttelex” on my knives.
An interesting thing about stamping on stainless steel is that you should NOT use your regular stamps as stainless steel will eventually ruin them as the fine letter detail will be crushed by the pressure and render them useless. No one wants that! I accordingly decided to invest in some proper stamps that are graded for stainless steel and as the greater includes the lesser, these stamps can be used on all of my softer metals. I will therefore not be using the stamps seen in the above example again on stainless steel! I have two new styles with both upper and lower cases and one set of numbers. Numbers are always great for important dates. The sets also came with a wide variety of useful design stamps so I am pretty excited about all of them, I have started making samplers: one down and four to go! Yes another thing on the never ending “to do” list! Here is my first one. Please pardon the last two lines … it was late, I was fatigued, I lost the plot … something like that but you get the general idea.
NEW COPPER SHAPE: 6mm SQUARE
I have a new copper shape on its way! 6mm square copper wire so that I can make these sort of pendants and key rings out of solid copper. The example here is Argentium sterling silver. This is more than double-sided stamping but stamping on all four sides!
That’s it for now. Please see my website, www.chantelmccabe.com for more details.