"Toys & Games" Monthly Challenge.

The monthly challenge was met by a wistful bunch of 'smiths this time.  L.Sue Szabo kicked off with this silver articulated fish, a little toy made for a friend's birthday present; 

Her Flickr archive is worth a peek too.

Next, NinaGibsonDesigns brought back memories of HopScotch played on hot summer holiday afternoons, with this piece in concrete-embossed copper incorporating silver HopScotch squares. Does anyone know why that game was called HopScotch?...

More examples of Nina's work here.

Su from Quearchus Silver made a cameo brooch based on a fondly remembered game, she says; "Pass the Pigs" was one of my boys favourite games and this brooch evokes seaside holidays and nebulous memories of games and laughter. The brooch is made of resin. I cast toy pigs and then set them in in resin with integral steel and silver brooch findings. I wanted the piece to feel worn, indistinct, playful but not cute.

Look at their little speckles, are they the Gloucester Old Spot breed?

See more work by Quercus Silver here and here for the Flickr album.

Erga has produced this stunning, immaculate silver playing card box. Okay, lets deal!

***THE CHALLENGE FOR NEXT MONTH***

...is,

"FEAST".

The origin of the word February is from the Middle English feverer, from Old French feverier, based on Latin februarius, from februa, the name of a purification feast held in this month. The spelling change in the 15th century was due to association with the Latin word. To whet your appetite for this challenge, here is the epic "Feast Bracelet" from 1974 by master Metal Artist Richard Mawdsley.

Perhaps your feast will involve a mouthwatering slice of watermelon tourmaline,or a skewer-kebab of textural chunks, or maybe you're inspired by goblets, drinking horns or Viking feast utensils for eating. Perhaps these feast foods from historical times will inspire you on this website.

You can submit to the challenge too! Simply post good images of your creation into your own Flickr or Pinterest account, with description and your name, then post the link to your submission by way of a comment at the bottom of this post, to have it included here on the blog.

Deadline is Sunday 1st March. 

Enjoy the challenge.

"Old into New". Monthly Challenge.

The monthly challenge set a month ago was taken up by 4 EtsyMetal team members, starting with Rebecca Bogan of Adobe Sol. You can view more of her work here.

She says, "This pendant features very vintage hand-painted porcelain button. I've accented the button with quartz, fine silver, 14K gold in a sterling silver setting. This is my favorite theme of art jewelry as it brings something from the past in to modern day presented in a unique piece of jewelry."

Pierced detail on the back.

Check out this serene beauty from L.Sue Szabo who says "this stone is over 50 yrs old! I was given a little stash by the widow of an old stone collector who died a long time ago. She just found his old stone stash and gave it to me. I wanted to make a really modern, new looking ring to bring the old amethyst into 2015." More from Sue here.

Markaplan just wanted to add his 'two cents worth'....in the form of a pair of earrings  made from two old pennies (USA one cent coins)....you'd never guess!  Mark also made a 2nd entry for the challenge;

Surely the key to someone's heart?

Finally, this timeless piece by Anna from Severin Minerals. "Here's mine I totally spaced it! I decided to work in 14k gold which has been a while. It was old gold too that I had since the 90's. "

*****THE CHALLENGE FOR NEXT MONTH*****

....is

"TOYS and GAMES"

Christmas is over for another year and lucky kids have new toys to play with...perhaps the adults have too! Design and make jewelry which is inspired in some way by a favourite toy or game, it could be something colourful and modern, something old and vintage, a 20th Century classic or perhaps something less well known from another culture. Think about the materials you use.

Need some inspiration? In the UK there is the wonderful Museum of Childhood, check out their online collection database, and in the US there's the National Museum of Play...to name but two.

The Landlord's Game/Courtesy Thomas E. Forsyth. Image courtesy of Courtesy of The Strong, Rochester, New York.

You can submit to the challenge too! Simply post good images of your creation into your own Flickr or Pinterest account, with description and your name, then post the link to your submission in the comments at the bottom of this post, to have it included here on the blog.

Deadline is Sunday 1st Febrary. 

Enjoy the challenge.