This little hobby horse is patiently waiting under the Christmas tree for her new owner to find her Christmas morning. This small ornament is framed in very slightly textured lead-free solder and hung from a green velvet ribbon. The part of the plate chosen for this ornament sat atop the collar of the plate and so has a slight curve. You can see the back side of the ornament with the structure mentioned.
The process of creating an ornament from vintage or antique dishware starts with a plate, cup, saucer, bowl, etc. All of the ornaments are made from vintage pieces allowing me to give them a second life. Hopefully, they will be around to enjoy many more holidays! Once I isolate the section to be used, then I start with a wet saw to cut it down to size. The next step is using glass cutting tools to form the rough shape. From there I use a wet grinder (used with stained glass art) to smooth the edges and finalize the shape. Copper foil is applied to the edges and burnished smooth. Lead-free soft solder is applied using an iron set at about 730 Degrees Fahrenheit. The bail is added which is generally hand formed and sized individually for each piece. Once framed, then the decorative dots, texture stamping, wires, charms or patina can be added. After that, it is determining how it will hang and hand polishing to a high shine! Enjoy!
