Rolling On

I've been using the rolling mill lately. I rolled some leaves with sheets of annealed copper and then hand cut the shapes with metal shears.

The leaf at the top in the above image is how the leaves looked immediately after being cut- dark from the annealing and rough around the edges. I first used a metal file on all edges and finished with a sanding block to ensure that all surfaces were smooth to the touch.

I then riveted the leaves onto a brass base that was saw cut due to a thicker gauge that I used. The two layers were riveted together and attached to a long sterling chain with a sterling jump ring. The leaves were a hit a recent show. I used pieces of the same lace to mill with a variety of metals.
From left to right: copper, bronze, brass, silver nickel

This is the lace that I used for the milling. I found this at a thrift store and it was only 12" long. I like that fact that once I use up those 12", there will be no more metal with this particular texture which keeps my pieces of jewelry unique.