BAW (Brooch A Week) 1!

It's the first week of BAW (Brooch A Week)! BAW is a jewelry challenge on Flickr that is open to everyone and all mediums. It's an exercise in creativity. A motivational tool. A place to meet awesome artists. A place to see awesome artwork. It's whatever you want to make of it. Some really enthusiastic people are taking on BAD (Brooch A Day). While I'm tempted... I still haven't completely recovered from RAD (Ring A Day).

There are already a bunch of super fun brooches in the flickr group, so I hope you will check them out and follow along. I'll probably be blogging about my favorites as they pop up, and hope to blog about my weekly brooch with in-process shots every week, but don't hold me to that!

BAW 1:

For my first BAW I wanted to incorporate a gorgeous stone that I believe I acquired through my hubby's family at some point. I'm not even sure what it is, but it's always on my bench within reach so I can take a moment and gather my thoughts while I ponder its magnificence.

The first step was to start sketching. I wanted to do something simple but interesting. And I didn't want to get too crazy, so I was all about the cold connections.

 

After I was happy with the sketch I cut out a couple of models. Whenever I use large tabs I like to make sure everything lines up nicely before I start cutting... took a couple of tries! 

 

Now for the fun part! Saw Saw Saw! Here's what the brass looked like before I started bending the tabs. The hubby said it looks like a duck wearing a jet pack... hmmm... maybe...

 

I'm embarassed, and annoyed, to say that I bent the tabs that hold the pin the wrong way at first. And my signature is now under the stone instead of on the back. But, hey... it's the first brooch... I'm sure the other 51 will be a breeze! Speaking of the back:

 

What do you think? Pretty close to the sketch?

 

And look! It stands up nicely! 

 

 

Thanks for reading and come back next week for BAW 2.