Is spring finally here?!

Yesterday I worked on a Longship brooch for one of my Etsy customers.  I love this copper and silver pieces as it is really simple but very striking.  I'm hoping that this will be a popular items at craft fairs here on Orkney.
I thought I'd show you a few of the stages I go through to make it.

I draw a template on cardboard and attached this to a sheet of copper

Using a fret saw and a thin blade, I saw around the template

Once pierced out, I file down any rough edges

Then cut out the sails stripes from silver

Next job is to solder the all of the silver embellishments to the copper.  I place all of the metal into an acid bath for a few minutes to get rid of any dirt and grease.  Then I apply flux and solder and heat the entire piece until the solder melts and flows.

The brooch then has the clasp and brooch pin attached and then it is polished

Ta-da!

I hope that you like it Sarah!

On the way back from the daily dog walk on the beach, I noticed these beautiful pure white snowdrops had appeared at the front of the house.  This, along with me spotting a couple of hares boxing last week, surely must mean that Spring is finally on its way! :)