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Falling Leaves Bracelet Tutorial
Created by: Polly Nobbs-LaRue
Designer Tips
Instructions and images for this project can be found on the Rings & Things Blog post: How to Use Fancy Wire Rivets.
For a small wrist, use only 5 paisleys. For an average to large wrist, use 6. Overlap the paisley "leaves" a bit more or less to adjust the size incrementally. Make a few extras, either for matching earrings, or simply so you can choose the best-matching leaves.
Use a micro torch to anneal 6 brass paisley charms (this makes them softer so you can stamp/shape them more easily). Lay them on a soldering block and use a torch to heat each one to a light glow. Use steel tweezers to drop each into a bowl of cool water to quickly quench the heat. Keep the color as-is, or pickle if desired.
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Dry them off and point the tips toward you. Flip half of them over so half arc this way: ( ( ( and half arc this way: ) ) )
Use a brass hammer and a lowercase letter " l ", capital " I ", or any roughly 1/8" plain straight-line stamp, to stamp the central leaf vein down the center of the paisley. (See Metal-Stamping Technique Sheet for more details.)
Use the chisel end of a 4oz riveting hammer to hammer the remaining leaf-vein texture. Hammer more on the outside edges, and come up very close to the center, but do not hammer across the center vein. An organic leaf shape will take form as you hammer. If it becomes difficult to hammer, re-anneal.
Gently curve each paisley leaf (lengthwise) with bracelet-bending pliers. (For earrings, you might want to keep a few extra paisleys their original hammered curvy shape.)
Clean the brass charms. Torch-annealing brought copper to the surface of the brass, so if you would like to keep the copper color, tumble-polish the charms for 1-2 hours. If you prefer the original brass color, then clean thoroughly with pickle and/or sand through the thin copper layer.
Roughly 1/4" from the tip of each leaf, punch a 1.25mm hole on the center line. (Optional: Skip the tip hole in the final leaf if you don't want to add the flower/heart accent.)
Roughly 1/4" from the base of all but one leaf, punch a 1.25mm hole on the center line.
For easiest riveting, start from the ends of this bracelet and work toward the middle. Lay out your full pattern in advance, or they might not align when you get to the middle!
Begin with a leaf that has only one hole. Lay a leaf tip over the base of the 2nd leaf. If the rivet does not go through both holes, then ream each hole until the rivet just barely goes through. TIP: A too-large hole is more difficult to rivet neatly, and a too-long rivet takes a long time to set smoothly.
Use durable flush cutters (or a jewelers saw) to snip the rivet head 1.5mm past the pieces to be joined. If it's not flat and even, then file it.
Set the rivet head down on a smooth scrap block of wood. Using wood will protect the decorative rivet heads while riveting. A 4" section of 2x4" works great. A smooth 4x4" section of plywood will also work. Sand the edges of the scrap wood so you don't get splinters while working.
Begin spreading the rivet post. (See Riveting technique sheet for more details.) Because of small space available, and my desire to avoid smashed fingers, I had to start with a tiny 2oz Swiss-style hammer until the rivet was secure enough to let go of one paisley, so I could use the heavier 4oz riveting hammer that I prefer. These rivet posts are a harder metal than I normally rivet with, so I prefer the heavier hammer whenever possible.
Add the next paisley/leaf, and rivet it the same way.
Now start at the other end of the bracelet, and rivet the first pair of leaves, then add the 3rd.
Set the 2 halves of the bracelet together with the final connecting rivet.
Use the bracelet-bending pliers to give a smooth curve to the entire bracelet, and then refine the shape into a cuff by bending it with hand-pressure around an oval bracelet mandrel.
Place a small amount of Renaissance Wax® on your fingertip or a soft cloth, and lightly but thoroughly cover the front of the bracelet.
Optional: Add an embellishment at the tip end of the bracelet. This design uses a copper heart rivet and a brass flower, riveted the same way as the other rivets.
