Celebrating Autumn: How to Create Nature-Inspired Jewellery with Blackberries
One of our very favourite autumn/fall activities is clambering into the hedgerow for handfuls of ripe blackberries while on country dog walks. Perfect for snacking, jams, and our all-time favourite blackberry and apple crumble, these little hedgerow jewels can also be used to create autumn-inspired silver jewellery. So this year we have foraged a few unripe ones from the hedgerow to eternalise into a Silver Clay Coin Necklace.
How to make a Silver Clay Blackberry Necklace
How to identify a perfectly ripe blackberry for eating
A ripe blackberry is deep black and looks and feels plump. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug. If the berry is red or purple or clings to the bramble, it's not ripe yet. If the berry you attempt to pick is mushy or the usually green centre (where it was attached to the bramble) has turned grey, discard it for seed dispersal, as its probably over-ripe.
How to identify a perfectly unripe blackberry for silver clay
A perfectly unripe blackberry is green and should be firm to the touch. You may need to use secateurs to remove it from the plant (being careful to avoid the thorns!). To achieve a good impression from the berry choose a rounded shape, and remember that Silver Clay shrinks by around 10% so your finished berry will be smaller than the original one, so consider the size while choosing!
First things first, trim the berries down with a craft knife. By removing half the blackberry you’ll be able to create an even impression more easily. Once you’re happy with the berries it’s time to make the mould.
Mix together equal parts of white and blue Siligum moulding compound until there is an even blue colour throughout. Once mixed you have around 5 minutes to play before the compound begins to harden. Roll your mixed marble of compound into a ball and flatten so that you have an even surface into which you can press your blackberries.
Carefully place your berries on the flat surface of the moulding compound and press down evenly before removing the blackberries gently with a pair of tweezers to reveal the impression. Then leave the compound to fully harden - you will know when it is full cured when it is rubbery and springs back into shape when squeezed.
Once the mould has cured its time to open the Silver Clay. Silver Clay dries out pretty quickly so it’s always good to have a definitive plan before opening it. Cut the amount of clay you need from the packet with craft knife and carefully re-wrap the rest making sure it is fully airtight and ready to use for your next project
Roll the Silver Clay into a marble, and with a clean sheet of perspex push the Silver Clay into the mould. I like to make sure there’s enough clay to fill the impression as well as leaving a thick enough coin to give the pendant some substance when it’s finished. Once happy with the impression - flip the perspex and mould over so that the mould is on the top, remove the mould from the silver clay, and ta dah! A perfect blackberry relief design in silver clay!
It’s easy to shape the coin at this stage while the clay is still wet by placing a template over the design and cutting away the excess with a scribe or a craft knife.
Leave the silver clay to dry fully - preferably over night, and once it’s dry, it’s time to fire it.
Kiln fire the Silver Clay for 30 minutes at 650-750C/1200F (don’t have a kiln? Click here to learn all about torch firing)
Once the silver clay is fully fired and cooled it can be finished in that same way that you would any solid silver piece. Starting with a file, square off the edges of the pendant so that it has nice crisp and upright sides and then sand the back of the pendant on some emery paper on a flat surface.
Refine the sides and back with emery sticks gradually removing any file marks and bringing it to a shine.
Obviously you need something to hang this pendant off, so once you have finished the first polish, you can solder on a jump ring for a chain. Snip off the bottom third or so off a jump ring and pop it onto a fire brick with the two ends touching the silver clay coin where you would like your chain to hang. Paint with flux and place one small piece of hard solder on each join and solder. Once soldered, quench and attach the second jump ring.
Slide it through the first ring and then solder closed, using a pair of reverse-action tweezers to hold it steady. Quench and pop it in the pickle
Once pickled, place into a barrel polisher for at least one hour to burnish the whole pendant to a high shine.
Once barrelled, thread the pendant onto a chain, and voilà, a unique autumn-inspired silver blackberry necklace.
Inspired to make your own?
Discover the Step-by-step Online Course and Free Tools and Materials List Here
Approximately $21USD / £17 / $32AUD