I also looked at their rings which are kooky and great. I love giant rings and they also have size 6, which is the largest size I can wear (tiny fingers). I love snake themed accessories for some reason – even though I feel like I shouldn’t. They had these awesome Cuban zirconia encrusted snake rings that reminded me of Hidalgo rings (which I love!) but they were $36. So, I ended up splurging on this funky snake ring in faux silver and CZs. I like how it wraps around and is so unusual…even though I know I probably should be giving up my love of snake jewelry…I will still be wearing it this winter. At $7.50 I can experiment.

The shirts are both around $20 at both stores at Tysons since Urban Outfitters has them on sale. They also have zipper head bands.

Thomas sent me this nifty strike plate from an old door with the concept that it could make a great bracelet. He always has terrific concepts. It was originally flat (so it could be screwed over the key hole). After gently bending it around a glass it now is a bracelet. The metal holds its shape. I think everyone should make one.

What I’ve learned about trench art so far is that most of it was not, in fact, made in the trenches. A lot of it was made at safe locations outside the trenches. Of course, items COULD have been made in the trenches, but there is no real way to confirm this. A lot of trench art was made in hospitals as a way to encourage soldiers to recover. Also, a lot of trench art was made as a past time and a way to make money (by selling it to other soldiers by skilled craftsmen). It was rather a commerical effort for some, but also an effort to take something home for others or to pass the time. Most of it is not signed by an artist because it was technically illegal to steal shell casings (they were supposed to be sent back home and recycled). The most common type of trench art is the decorated artillery shell, which I am less interested in. The best examples are from Yser where lots of Belgian metalworkers were fighting. They had the skills to create elaborate designs, like extruding the shell to create a lion’s face, etc. The less skilled examples are mere engravings on the shells. After the war, civilians in the war torn areas created lots of trench art as a way to make money and recover after the war. These are usually marked with 1914-1919 or say The Great War. These were sold to soldiers or to pilgrims, widows, etc. I believe that most corseted styles (where the bottom of the shell is twisted to make a better vase) are from the post-war era, although I’m not sure about this.

Of course, there were no trenches in WWII and there seemed to be an increase in manufactured items being sold to the soldiers who then bought them and sent them back to their loved ones, rather than making them. However, I’m not sure about this because I don’t have Jane Kimballs book. Grr.

Anyway, I like trench art because it feeds into my interest in the military, war, bullet casings, art, strange religious objects, and offbeat jewelry. The first item I bought was a pin and earring set:

I was totally conned by the soldier’s photo on the back. It looks manufactured. The auction threw in the pair of earrings, which look similar in tone to the pin. They didn’t know if they came with the pin as a set. There is an engraving on the back that says 10K R.G.P. Google indicates that this stands for 10 Carat rolled gold palladium. My sister and I are suspicious since this looks so dark in color.

This ring, from Korea, seems to be a common style (I’ve seen others on eBay with a similar design). It makes me wonder if they were manufactured – but this one is the same tone of metal as the shell casings so I’m not sure. There isn’t any kind of special mark inside of it:

This is definitely the best deal I got out of all the auctions. It was a $1!! Trench art just doesn’t seem all that popular. I’ve been trying to find Iraq trench art, but without any luck. It does seem like trench art tapered off with time, although my father remembers seeing so many ash trays made from bullet shells during Vietnam that he never even bothered to acquire one. That is one thing to think about on eBay, whether bullet shell ash trays are really from the World War I or World War II or from Vietnam.

The auction said this was found with another bracelet that was dated 1946. It looks like a lot of the other World War II bracelets I’ve seen on eBay on online. I like it because it is well made. A lot of these are obviously hand done with varying skill levels and the workmanship on this one is nice. On the inside “Myrna” is engraved.

The item below is probably my favorite and also the most expensive. I love breweriana or drinking related items, probably because my father has a large beer glass collection spanning decades and continents. I haven’t really seen anything like this. My father thinks it was a WWII Navy trench art item, maybe from the Pacific. It is heavy and well made and preserved:

I’ve always loved religious artifacts so I couldn’t resist this. The auction listed it as WWII trench art, but I believe it is probably WWI from the post-WWI period (1919-1939). Saunders’ book says that these talismanic trench art pieces were common during WWI during and after the war. The elevated crucifix placed on a tripod of three shells is a common style in the post-war period. Usually there is a plaque to indicate where in Europe this was made, but this one doesn’t have one and there are no marks to indicate it ever had one.

Necklace Made from Bullet Casings

I have been wanting to make a necklace out of bullets and/or bullet casings for a long time. However, I don’t hunt or shoot and neither does anyone I know, so it has been rather difficult to even get the materials. Recently, I went to a really fun party at a farm in Lovettsville, VA. I got to play with farm animals, eat yummy food, and shoot a gun.

Anyway, I managed to get a bunch of casings that way. Previously I had thought about using actual bullets, but that seemed unsafe (and maybe too controversial?). The casings posed their own problems. I tried drilling holes in them with a dremel tool, but their rounded smooth surface made it nearly impossible to do this quickly and without scratching the casings when the dremel slipped. My solution was to wrap each one with masking tape/painter’s tape to provide resistance. However, at that point I was tired of hearing the drill and decided not to drill holes in them since attaching them together wouldn’t look very nice (in my opinion) and I didn’t have enough to make a truly experimental necklace.

Ultimately, I decided to try out my skills at wire wrapping. I don’t typically do wire wrapping but I’ve been learning the basics. I ended up wire wrapping all the bullets and forming a necklace and a pair of earrings. I wore the set to the Gem and Jewelry show in Dulles and I got a lot of positive comments/interest.

My experimentation has been delayed by lack of supplies. I even went to the NRA to ask them for their casings from their shooting range, but apparently they recycle them.