Bird Houses

As I mentioned yesterday, I am in the process of putting together a bird house collection. I pulled four of the little charmers out of the kiln this morning. Here is a look at what just fired PMC looks like - not what you would expect:









They are almost white when they first come out of the kiln. There are several steps needed to make them all pretty and shiny. First, you have to wire brush them to lay down the silver molecules. Yes, high school science wasn't a total waste. Then, they are tumbled for 40 minutes. After tumbling, you can either polish with a polishing pad or oxidize to darken the low spots. That's what I like to do. After oxidizing, then one polishes. Once I have the desired finish I can assemble with sterling silver wire and beads.

Two of these houses will get a lampwork bird topper. I can hardly wait to show you! It's so exciting to see your creations come to fruition. I've been almost obsessed with making jewelry lately. It's my love!