I have had this idea in my head for a while, but for some reason I kept putting off making it. I seem to have been doing this quite a bit lately. Anyway, this cuff was made for my boyfriend.
I got to use a few techniques in this piece that I had either never done before, or have maybe done once before. It was quite the adventure. As each new component was finished it was like the feeling you get when you reach the top of a hill and get excited then realize you have to climb an even bigger hill next. But, when you are finished you look at all the hills behind you and are so excited to have made it. That is like this cuff. At every stage I was worried I would just ruin the whole thing.
The actual leather cuff is upcycled from leather I found at a local thrift store. I then fashioned a sterling silver toggle clasp out of sheet and a bit of wire and tube. This was then riveted to the leather.
For the front of the cuff I designed the copper piece in Illustrator and had it printed on PnP paper that you iron on to the copper before you put it in an acid bath to etch out your design. Once the copper was etched I soldered it to a bit of silver and then riveted that all on to the leather.
I was so excited to see that it had turned out and that it had actually fit him!