Maple seeds come whirling down from the tree and can travel hundreds of yards in the breeze. This dispersal allows them to grow at a distance from the parent plant and survive. They are called helicopters because of this mode of travel. They have lovely texture, perfect for making into jewelry - particularly earrings.
I painted the seed pods with silver metal clay 10 times allowing complete drying between coats. It was a somewhat daunting task because I was afraid that the dry coating would just separate from the organic pod without allowing me to finish my task. Fortunately, all went well and they were put into the kiln to be fired at 1645 F. The seed pod burned out and pure 999 silver pieces emerged. I burnished the silver pods with 24k gold foil to fuse the two metals, an ancient Korean gilding process called Keum Boo. I painted on patina and got some brilliant blue and purple colors.
The earrings are gorgeous with swirly natural texture silver, gold, blue, and purple colors.
Dimensions: 1 and 1/2 inches long x 1/2 inch wide. Sterling silver ear wires. The ear wires can be switched to comfortable sterling silver clip ons for an additional charge.