When words fail ..guitar pick – NiciArt

When words fail ..guitar pick – NiciArt

little spirit bear

fresh from the bench

spirit bear and garnet

I made my own die for pressing out the bears

soldered on a bezel cup and added some stars

also punched a hole

patina to darken the stars

polished the bear

added jump ring and chain

Love my customers :)

Three metal guitar pick keychain for you to personalize

I love it... The middle pick had a longer saying so the rest is on the back of the pick. It made a perfect gift for a friend of mine that is a voice coach and music teacher... Thanks Nici for keeping in touch during the entire purchase and keeping me updated. I will be back Nici for more gifts. Thanks again. Highly recommended!!! 

This is a review a customer left this morning for me , what a nice way to wake up :)

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com  

 

first try at gold filled metal

fresh from the bench

 
So today I decided to work with some gold filled material . Gold filled metal is a much cheaper alternative than gold but of much higher quality than gold plated . The one I used is 14/20 meaning 5% off the metal is 14karat gold . The core is made of brass. The difference between gold plated and gold filled is the quality and the thickness of the layer while with gold plated you only get a microscopic film of 14k gold the gold filled layer is much thicker and bonded to the core via heat and pressure making it tarnish resistant.
I took a 6 gauge half round 14/20 gold filled wire and cut it to a 6 inch length then took a planishing hammer and hammered with the round ( ball ) side of the hammer until you get the nice honeycomb texture. Both ends were filed by hand being careful not to damage the gold layer and then formed on a wooden ring mandrel. Then I just took a small sunshine polishing cloth to take care of any smudges.