A SILVER BANGLE FOR A LADY’S BRACELET.
For the past few years there has been an increasing passion among young girls for the little round bangles, which tinkle so musically with every movement of the slender white wrist, that we are forcibly reminded of the old nursery rhyme:
“With rings on her fingers,
And bells on her toes,
She shall have music
Wherever she goes.”
And as it has long been a matter of rivalry, as to who should display the greatest number of these resonant favors, it is quite certain that one of the pretty trifles will make a very acceptable present to any of your sisters or girl friends you may desire to please. They are usually made from ten cent pieces, but occasionally a bit of silver no larger than an old-fashioned three-cent piece is used. The coin is beaten or rolled flat, and the giver’s initials or monogram, with perhaps a date, is engraved on one side. Now a much more unique and artistic thing could be made by annealing the coin, and beating its surface flat on some firm, hard bed. After the silver is reduced to the proper size and thinness, with a pen or pencil draw some odd designs, and hammer it in shape with a small, blunt-pointed nail. Ancient coins, such as are frequently on exhibition in store windows, afford excellent subjects for this class of ornaments. When the design is well indented, the work can be cleaned by boiling it in sulphuric acid and water, and polishing it with chamois-skin.
A BANGLE BRACELET.
A bangle bracelet can be easily made of hammered work, from a narrow strip of sheet-silver, which can be obtained from any silversmith at a small cost. The design is to be traced on the silver in the same manner as upon the sheet-brass, and great care must be taken in the working out of each little detail. When the work is finished, it should be sent to a jeweler to be made up and polished. This is of course an expensive, as well as a very nice piece of work, and should not be tried until considerable skill in the manipulation of sheet-metal has been acquired, and success seems in a large degree certain.
Many ladies are fine workers in repoussé, and it cannot fail to be a source of satisfaction to every one interested in the art to know, that each year its merits are becoming more fully known and appreciated by that great class of people, whose purchases govern the prices of all artistic things. Now, boys, I have simply touched upon this very interesting subject of repoussé, and given you a few directions, culled from my own experience. If, however, I have succeeded in stimulating in you a desire to pursue this subject further, you will find many excellent helps, in the form of books or pamphlets, in any of our large stores devoted to artists’ materials and supplies.