sand casting

kissing rings, sterling silver, sand cast and fabricated; kimberly nogueira 2011

my kissing rings need to go in the gumball machine now!

kissing ring, sterling silver, sand cast and fabricated; kimberly nogueira 2011

my first sand casting project--i recreated a vintage gumball charm kissing ring. the casting part was fun, albeit with some hits and misses, and overall a great learning experience. the bands are fabricated.  i made several more that my grandmother would not have found in the gumball machine when she was a child, but my world would be happier if they could be.

sand casting

kissing rings (in the works), sterling silver with sprue buttons; kimberly nogueira 2011

the sprue is a lovely shape in itself

sand casting

kissing ring (in the works), sterling silver; kimberly nogueira 2011

i am really enjoying this technique. although i think i might have overloaded my crucible with boric for its first "curing". here is what it looks like when you open the mold after the pouring