Poppies......Poppies...

Still in a dash to make items for the upcoming holiday sales, I spent last night making my interpretation of metal poppies.

I began by cutting two sizes of copper discs. Using my half round hand file, I created an uneven texture along the circumference of each disc, followed by a thorough sanding to smooth the surfaces.
Addition texture was added with one of my favorite tools- an old chisel that I found at a flea market. I always pause at the flea market booths where lots of tools are laid out on tarps. These booths are almost exclusively run by grandfatherly gentlemen who are usually amused to see a female take interest in their old, rusty items.
Some of them will ask me what I'm planning to do with my purchase, and when I explain that I'll use it to make jewelry, they almost always say, "Huh?!....." and turn away.
I don't think that many of these men are at all interested in discussing creative pursuits.

Once I used the chisel to texture the edges, the discs were domed, and holes were drilled.
Small segments of sterling wire were torched to make tiny balls and the three parts were then soldered together using paste solder.
After a cleaning in the pickle, the poppies were treated with liver of sulfur. Highlights were brought out with a fine grit sanding block.