JEWELLERY 101;  How to Clean Your Copper Jewellery

   Do you love Copper Jewellery?

Greek Key Bracelet

Well, I do; I love the organic warmth and earthiness of Copper Jewellery, and I love to use Copper in my jewellery designs, especailly paired with the coolness of Sterling Silver.

I will sometimes give my Copper creations a Patina, either antique, or a flame painted Patina.  Other times, I prefer, as in the examples you see here, to keep them bright and shiny, like a new penny.  The only problem with that is, Copper, like all metal, will oxidise when exposed to the air…what to do?  How to keep your shiny Copper shiny, without covering it in a lacquer or similar coating, which will chip in time?

Copper and Silver Cuff

Today, I would like to show you how to keep your shiny copper jewellery bright and shiny, without  smelly chemicals, rubbing or polishing.

Copper and Turquoise Purse Clip

You Will Need;

One small container
One Lemon
A bit of Water

 And the jewellery to be cleaned.

   That's it!  No chemicals,
No rags, brushes or scouring materials.

Squeeze the juice from half the lemon into the bowl, and then add enough water to cover the jewellery you wish to clean.

Here are the earrings I wish to clean.  You can see how oxidised they have become.  I will put only one of the earrings into the lemon bath…

 You only need to leave the jewellery in the lemon bath a short time…unless it has accrued ages of oxidation, in which case you may have to leave it longer, or even do more then one bath.

Here I have added a whole handful of new pieces which need cleaning.  In only minutes, it comes out like this;

Penny bright and shiny!  Now all that is needed is to rinse really well and dry completely.



So…how did the earring come out?  Well, see for yourself, here it is next to the one which didn't get the bath.

The earring was in the lemon bath less then 5 minutes!  Isn't that amazing?  To keep your copper jewellery from oxidising, you should wipe it with a soft cloth after wearing it, and keep it stored in a dry closed space.  Anti-tarnish plastic zip bags are available, or, just take those little bags of silicone which sometimes come in the shoe box, when you buy new shoes, and put those in your jewellery box.



I hope that you enjoyed this posting and found it useful.  I would love to hear from you if you did.  Also, I will be  posting another Jewelery101 on how to clean Sterling Silver…without smelly toxic chemicals…stay tuned!

                    Coming From America.....

I came from America to Greece 25 years ago...things were not only very different from the U.S.A., they were very different from what life is like in Greece now.  

Coming from America to Greece, I was used to going to the super market and buying a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Imagine my surprise when I found that not only was I not able to even buy chicken in the supermarket, (had to go to the Kreopolio!..Meat Market)

 ...but when I did finally find where to buy said chicken...it was given to me WHOLE...and when I say whole, I mean WHOLE....the butcher held it out to me by the neck!  YUCK!

I had no clue what to do with a whole chicken; I had been used to going to Publix (fanTASTIC Florida Super Market!) and being able to buy my boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts.  I had never even cut up a chicken in my life!

Oh No!  What to do?  I immediately put in an overseas call to; who else, but: MOM!  

MOM

This really IS my Mom; Dorothy Jean Kern-Duray at 16 years old

"Mom!  Help!  I need to know how to cut up a chicken!"

Mom came thru, as Mom's always do and sent me a step by step diagram of how to cut up a chicken.  Yeah! Mom!  

Keep in mind, this is before Skype, or even Google!  Copier Machine at the local library, and Snail Mail!

At last, chicken cut up, all is ready for the oven.

Alas, no one told me I was cooking with Celsius!  I cranked that baby up to it's full 250' (celsius...which is equivalent to about 500'F!)

Ahh, the trials of an American coming to Greece!!

                        Olympic Flame Hand Over

  It is unconscionable that I live where I do, yet I did not go into Athens to witness the hand over of the Olympic Flame for the 2013 Winter Olympics!  What is wrong with me??  I did get to watch it on television, and it was beautiful as well as moving.  I vow to be there for the next handover, come what may!  

     Here are some photos I have found to share with you; I hope that you enjoy them!

                         Barcelona! Part I

Oh, how I love Barcelona!  I got to spend a week there visiting my good friends Sarah and Rodrigo.

Hop On Hop Off Tour Bus

 Barcelona is the most people friendly city I have ever been in.  The way it is laid out makes it so accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists alike.  Or, you can take advantage of one of these Hop on Hop Off ubiquitous European Tour Busses...Me?  I chose to walk!

On my way to Placa Catalunya

 People, Pigeons, Statues and Fountains.

Hey, Back Off!

So hot I was wishing to join them.

I walked all over Barcelona this day; beginning at Placa de Espana, past the bull ring, the University of Barcelona, on to Placa de Catalunya, thru the Historic district, around to the port and back again to Placa de Espana!  It was a wonderful, wonderful, exhausting day!

The Bull Ring

Bike paths going each direction

The Old Bull Ring is now a showcase shopping and leisure centre. The architectural feat of raising the ageing building was truly amazing...go here for more info.

The citizens really utilise the bike paths

Beautiful architecture everywhere you look.

Dogs, bikes and scooters.

Barcelona University

City Bicycle System.  Rent and Ride.

This is a wonderful program; you buy a monthly bike rental card and then you may take a bike, ride it to your destination, leave it and lock it. It doesn't need to be returned to the place where you started from.  Read about it here.

La Boqueria on Las Ramblas

  I love the huge, wonderful, all encompassing markets strewn thru the neighbourhoods of Barcelona, this one is probably the one most often seen by tourists. 

?

COLOR!

                                                   

                                   Fresh Fish

The sounds, smells and colours of the markets of Barcelona are absolutely intoxicating!

I hope you enjoyed Part I of my Barcelona trip...keep watching for Part II...a trip to a small seaside village  on the Costa Brava.

Please let me know if you enjoy these posts by leaving a comment, that will encourage me to do more;-)

Turn Left at Athens!: How I Spent My Birthday

Turn Left at Athens!: How I Spent My Birthday

How I Spent My Birthday

                        How I Spent My Birthday

I spent my 66th Birthday doing just what I had wanted to do.  Got up, got dressed, fixed my hair put on some great jewellery :-) and headed out to Athens for the day.  I had some house gifts to buy for my upcoming visits with friends in both Barcelona, Spain, and Surrey England, so it was fun to take my time and browse thru the myriad of art and craft shops, ceramic shops, jewellery shops and tacky tourists shops. (Don't worry Sarah, I didn't get something there!)

The journey begins, as always on the small passenger boat from Salamina, which will "Putt Putt" it's way to the Port of Piraeus. 

The Passenger Ferry from Salamina to Piraeus
This little boat takes about 45 minutes, and if the weather permits, I prefer to sit atop.  The trip is very pleasant.  I think there are 4 of these boats, and for the most part, they leave every half hour from both ports...till about 7pm.  Then you have to take the more difficult, less comfortable combination of bus and ferry.

Tired Tom

This ole boy looks as if he was out catting all night long, but is street savvy enough to find himself a cool and comfortable spot, which is also safe from dogs and passers by.  He was totally unfazed by my presence.

Antique Shop

"Little Miracles"

 A wonderfully over-stuffed antique shop; I had to resist the urge to go in and browse, as I was on the hunt for other game today.  But I must remember it for a return trip.  Love the name; Little Miracles.  Don't you just love the Tuba?














The city was bulging with tourists; there were two HUGE cruise ships in the port and all were headed to the Acropoli and then, what else?  Shopping!!

The Tourists are coming!  The Tourists are coming!!

My little boat passed two gimungous cruise ships in the port this morning, and now, here they all are!  First the Acropolis, and then; SHOPPING!

Wood or Leather, anyone?

A famous landmark in Athens

Masques, perhaps?

An alternate walking path up to the Acroplis.

This path takes you up to the Acropolis thru the small winding back streets, with stunning views out over the city, and quaint little marshmallow looking houses and blue rimmed churches, and LOTS of CATS!  Not too many tourists know to go here; mores the pity.

I bought a music CD from this nice young man.

This is the cafe where I usually stop for lunch, and I always get the same thing...boring I know, but it is so good!  It is a huge salad bowl filled with diffent lettuces, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts and slices of chicken gyro (read; year-O...Please, Please do not stay Gyro, grates on my teeth!  "Gyro" or year-o, is the Greek word for "round" or to go around...which is what the meat does, it goes round and round with a brazier on 3 sides and it is DELISH!)

My usual cafe

"Quick Pita"

Fresh Fruit kiosk at Monastaraki

Street Artists at Monastaraki Square

The beautiful; Hadrian's Gate

Subway at Monastaraki.

Alas, the day is done and time to go home.   First a train ride of about 29 minutes to the Port of Piraeus, then a short walk to the boat, and I am off again, bound for Salamina.

Disembarking passengers; "MIND THE GAP!"

View of a Flying Dolphin.  

The "Aida"

View from the bow of my boat.

That marks the end of today's Birthday Journey.  I enjoyed it, I hope you did!