I added a green Peridot
Today another easy an fun project – a knuckle ring . Knuckle rings are to be worn – like the name suggests – above the knuckle . I have several that i wear daily , I prefer to have mine on my middle fingers on both hands . They are comfy and are adjustable so very easy to make .
Knuckle rings are the same size usually as toe rings or pinky rings an have an open back ( to adjust them easy )
cut a 45-47 mm long piece from sterling silver flat wire ( i use 3mm by 1 mm thick wire that i get from http://www.riogrande.com . The wire is perfect for toe rings and small ring shanks and I use a lot of it . Cut your butterfly out with a jewelry saw and 1/0 blades from your metal sheet ( i used 20 gauge here ) . File the edges of your wire strip and of the butterfly so that everything is smooth and wearable . Form your wire on a ring mandrel ( size 3 is usually a good size ) . I used a dapping block to dome the butterfly to make it more organic looking but if you prefer you can keep it flat .
Solder your butterfly to the ring shank . Quench in water and then clean in pickle solution . After your ring is clean take your flex shaft and polish your ring . Done . Now you can wear your little knuckle ring proudly on any finger ( remember because we did not solder the ends together the ring is totally adjustable .
www.nicilaskin.etsy.com if you are interested
When my husband and I had our first wedding anniversary I was the whole day in school studying for the NCLEX ( National Nursing Exam ) to be able to working the USA . I had been a nurse for 4 years in Germany but you still had to take an exam in order to come here and work. I was sad that I had to be in school the whole day . He picked me up at about 6 pm with the car . We drove home through the woods and he said to close the windows and then to open the glove department . I did . He had caught me a butterfly , a tiger swallow tail my favorite butterfly . Now my husband is not and will never be the romantic kinda guy but that was the sweetest thing . He not only remembered that that was my favorite butterfly , he caught it alive and we let it fly back at the point where he got it from .
so……….on with the project.
draw your ring shank onto a piece of paper and measure to the length of your ring size you desire ( mine is an 8 for my thumb ) . Don’t forget to multiply the thickness of your metal with 3.14 ( Pi) and add that to your length . Stick your paper to the metal ( 18 gauge sterling silver is what I used ) and start cutting with your jewelry saw and 1/0 saw blades . when you have the ring shank cut out , drill or punch holes into the wings for cutting them out inside.
When you are done bend the ring until the ends meet flush with the smallest gap possible . Flux the joint and ad some solder ( I used extra easy wire solder ) . Start heating with the torch until your solder flows .I use a third hand to hold the ring ( its the most easy way to solder a ring ) . Quench in water and put in your Pickle solution to clean. When the silver turned all white you can take it out with copper tongues and rinse in water . Form the ring on a ring mandrel with a nylon or raw hide hammer ( non marring ) until your ring is nice and round . File and polish the edges and add patina . Polish again and wear your ring proudly 
You can visit my shop at www.nicilaskin.etsy.com
this is just something to show you what one can do with old fashioned tools and 2 hands . I have no tutorial for that one as that bracelet took the whole day and was rather complicated and needed my whole attention . Hope you like it.
nici
