We do an awful lot of weeding at our allotment, indeed any keen gardener I have ever met has a love-hate relationship with weeding their garden.
And every gardener has their own favourite implements to use when doing so. This is a mini trowel just like #MrG's favourite.
Although I try to have one in stock, I usually make these to order, which will take up to a week depending on how quickly the clay dries.
I've also found this to be a popular gift for gardeners
It is just the right size for a charm bracelet.
I use Art Clay Silver*, which, upon firing becomes fine silver; 999 silver rather than 925 - also known as pure silver.
The leaf texture on the reverse is applied by pressing a real leaf to the back of the wet clay after I've squished it into it's mould.
After drying and refining I fire it on my hob, or on my tiny kiln. I then solder a bail to the handle as appropriate. It's just like one of the trowels we use at our allotment.
Because I mould them individually there will be slight variations. You can opt to have one with a bail on the back, or a tiny loop on the top, or indeed a larger loop in case you want to wear it as a necklace
Dimensions of the trowel itself are approximately
height 24mm
width 10mm
Just under 1.5 grams of pure silver
Choose your bail option from the variations - a tiny loop on the top, a hidden one on the reverse or a large bail to accommodate necklaces - the default is a hidden one on the back of the handle.
Notes:
I only use natural light and take all pictures in my home, so I have used a variety of backgrounds to help display the colouration and avoid your disappointment. The coins included for scale in the photo are a UK penny, Euro 2Cents and a USA 1 dime, and my trusty Doctor Who ruler is metric
Fine silver mini hand trowel - charm or pendant
Sterling Silver will eventually oxidise or tarnish. It's a natural process that can be slowed down by regular wear and by keeping unworn items away from the atmosphere. If you leave your jewellery out on display, this oxidisation will be faster. You can polish up your items, with a soft cloth, some silver polish, or a buffing cloth such as Town Talk, which is readily available from any high street jewellers in the UK
Fine silver is 99.9% silver, and because of this the tarnish rate is much, much slower. Again, a buff should do the job for polishing it back up. If I have patinated your silver already, be gentle when buffing!
Each piece should stand up to regular wear, but, as with all jewellery, please remove it before washing, using chemicals or applying perfume etc
Apply body lotion and perfume a few minutes before putting on your jewellery to help slow down tarnish
The sterling silver used in these items was sold to me by my bullion dealer as certified recycled.
The gemstones I use have been sold to me by reputable dealers as untreated (unless stated specifically in the listing). They are a natural, organic creation from the earth and each one will be slightly different. You can see examples of this on my Facebook page.
I select the stones that I think go together best for each project, hence my comments that each item is individual.