New Bangles With Dangles

Preparing for a couple of upcoming holiday shows has me busy at my workbench,
building up my inventory.

In addition to the cuffs that I recently made,
a request came in for more bangles.
Part of my stash of recycled copper wire was pulled out for the job.

Most of the wire used for the bangles is a pretty hefty 10 gauge.

At that thickness, 

I have a difficult time manipulating the wire into shapes 

other than large circles or straight links....

perfect for bangles.

Each bangle has a wire wrapped briolette dangle of amethyst, amazonite or moonstone.

Once the dangles were attached,

I decided that the brightness of the copper was just way too bright,

so the liver of sulfur 

(or sulphur)

came out.

Those who make jewelry will probably know that a can of liver of sulfur 

might last for the length of ones' career....

unless moisture invades.

I had one of those cans of liver of sulfur for years 

and was always very careful to tightly secure the lid 

after very carefully removing a chip of the sulfur.

This level of carefulness worked well 

until it didn't.

When I prepared to treat some pieces of jewelry a few years ago,

I opened the can of sulfur and immediately saw that it had gone bad.

In spite of precautions that I had taken,

I found myself with a can of useless, 

somewhat smelly, rocks.

I immediately ordered more liver of sulfur.

Instead of a can,

I received a small, plastic container with a red lid.

I removed enough of the sulfur to treat a collection of jewelry pieces, 

replaced the red lid 

and put the plastic container away.

A week later,

I prepared to treat some more jewelry 

and found that this second container had gone bad as well.

This second disappointment luckily coincided with

BeadFest being in town.

I put liver of sulfur on my shopping list of supplies

and chose to buy the gel form.

I've now had this container for several years with no problems 

other than the inherent stinkiness.

The copper bangles turned to the expected blackness.

Sulfur success!

After wiping the bangles with a soft cotton rag,

they were cleaned with a fine grit sanding block.

Much improved, 

and my Bangles with Dangles are ready for the holidays.