Frustrated with the commercial jewelry and metal cleaners available on the market, Isabel and I spent one summer afternoon a couple years ago experimenting various common household items to find the cheapest and most effective solution.
We tried old lipstick, toothpaste, ketchup, and vinegar.
To our amazement, the ketchup provided the easiest and quickest clean for wire and glass jewelry.
Behold, a highly oxidized copper and art glass necklace:
Add some watered down ketchup:
Gently rub the jewelry piece in the ketchup and rinse in clean water:
Lay jewelry piece on a cotton towel (something with no "fuzz") and roll gently to remove most of the water, let air dry to complete the process.
And voila! Clean, sparkling jewelry once more!
Note!
I do not recommend ketchup as a cleaner for jewelry with soft, semi-precious stones in it, as the acid in the ketchup can (and will!) etch the stone and/or cause it to become unstable and crumble.
It's been awhile, and I recently got back from a 2 week camping trip in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Photo shoots are planned for tomorrow and Wednesday, with new stuff available on Etsy and Artfire early next week.
Tomorrow's update will include a quick and easy jewelry cleaning trick featuring ketchup. Yes, ketchup =)
Recently I collated all of the free patterns on the blog into an archive page entitled "Free Patterns" (highly original, no?). The patterns listed are available to the public under creative commons copyright.
This page will be continuously updated as we publish new patterns. All patterns will be available with a link to the original blog post and a link to a GoogleDocs PDF file for printing ease.
Check out this new page, located in the navigation panel at the top of the page.
We are also introducing a "Simply Make-It!" line of patterns for the "I know I can make it, but I need some help" individual. The series will be available for free, for 30 days (approximately 1 month) after posting. After this time, it will be available in our Etsy shop as a PDF pattern (with additional project ideas and photos).
If you missed these gorgeous pins at the CNSE, but really wanted to have one of your own, Isabel is providing the pattern here and in the Dominion Dispatch. Be careful though, these little charmers are addictive to make and wear...
Victorian Rosette Pin
A useful and decadent wardrobe accessory with a Victorian flair.
By Isabel Beale, the Tailor's Grandchild
Tools:
- hand sewing needle
- scissors
Materials:
- pin back [for clothing] or stick pin with tip [ for hat and hair]
- single ornate button
- two lengths of lace approzimately eighteen inches long [one should be narrower than the other]
- thread of a matching or similar colour
Fabric to metal glue is needed if the pin back or stick pin does not have holes for stitching in it.
Construction:
- Form each length of lace into a tight circle or rosette. Do this by gathering one edge with a running stitch, pulling tight to form a circle, and secure ends together with a few stitches.
- Stack smaller diameter lace rosette on top of larger rosette, then place the button on top in the centre. secure all three together by stitching through buttong holes or shank and both layers of lace.
- Secure by either stitching or glueing the lace and button completed rosette to a pin back or sitck pin.
Done!
Wear as a fancy Victorian style pin on your bodice or use to hold skirt or bustle folds in place. Add a dash of frivolity to your hat or add to a velvet ribbon as a choker.
Isabel Beale, the tailor's grandchild, offers other free personal use pattern for Steampunked Victorian accessories and clothing in back issues of the Dominion Dispatch, through our website; Neverwares Emporium and elsewhere on this blog.
With the postal workers being legislated back to work, the Etsy and ArtFire accounts for Neverwares Emporium are back in business and will have new product listed in the following days.
