Copper Play

 Tweaking Saturday's copper pieces last night. 

Sharing few work in progress shots just for fun.

Still have polishing, waxing, reworking 

& other magical metamorphosis to do.

(butterfly background created with Judikins stamp of same name)

Some will become jewelry or embellish boxes & books

Copper Etched ACEO - still needs polishing

Others are simply art for art's sake. Well, really for fun's sake -  I can't wait to fill another gap in the schedule with some more copper play! I'll let you know how they turn out.

Wishing everyone a creative day!

Workshop Wednesday - copper etching continued

etched copper bracelet by Holly Raynor Hancock

Posting photos for "Wordless Wednesday" when I realized there was way to much text going on. So instead I'm sharing a few pictures from the Copper Etching & Cold Connections class I took earlier this month over at the brick & mortar shop for eBeads.com.

Another student, Jennifer, decided to make her version of the copper etched bracelet from the class promo-photo (shown above). She kindly let me take some pics along the way.

punching copper sheets into rounds

Unfortunately I missed a couple of steps as I was busy playing with my metal sheets. Jennifer next gave the copper disks a dome shape.

filler photo of worktable

I also forgot to take a photo of prepping the copper for the etching bath. Sorry about that - I was half asleep that morning.

Letting the chemicals do their thing

Bracelet components after etching & cleaning. Assembly begins...

After assembly, it was time to "antique" the piece with Liver of Sulfur.

The final bracelet after a soak in the "aging" solution. You can control how dark you want your piece to be. See Holly's bracelet on the top of this post for a darker finish.

If you're near Tampa, Florida and want to try out this fun technique be sure sign up for the Sept. 10th class. For details, call the number on the ebeads website or check out the class calendar next month (right now August is still up). If you do go, I'll see you there - I can't wait to play with these materials again! 

On the aside, what do you think of making Workshop Wednesday a regular feature? I can post tutorials, techniques & lots of fun links. If you have some workshop photos or tutorials that you'd like to share here, just drop me a note. 

Random Thoughts Tuesday - What'cha doin?

chilling on a summer night

Me? I'm kicking back after a day of catching up. Enjoyed a relaxing week at the beach - sand, sun, lots o' water, tons of fishing &(of course) mini-golf... a much appreciated break. (A few pics here if you're curious)

still fishing

A lovely last minute get away before school kicks in (plus a celebration of our 19th anniversary - where has the time gone?)

copper tree pendant step 1

Saturday I learned copper etching & cold connections from Holly at the brick & mortar shop for ebeads.com. I always have a great time over there. Holly is just so darn nice, knows so much & is happy to share. She is also very patient with newbies like me - an extra plus.

I took a bunch of work in progress photos. Here are a couple. I need to clean up the rest before posting (my point-n-shoot is acting up more than usual, perhaps too much moisture got into it last week). It may take a few days, but I'll add more photos of the class soon.

WIP - etched copper ACEO

We were making jewelry and I thought how cool would it be to etch some copper ACEOs! This piece is etched but hasn't been "aged" in liver of sulfur yet. I also want to add a border of nickel, wood or leather....still debating...

copper etching & cold connections class - photo courtesy of ebeads.com

Good news! Holly will be holding this class again on September 10th. She normally only teaches it once in a blue moon, but so many folks were interested that she's put it on the calender again. Go to the Beads website for details or giver her a buzz at the number you find there with any questions.

More fun on the horizon. Once school resumes, I'll rev the interviews back into gear. I keep running into the most interesting people & can't wait to share them here! Tonight I popped into Michael's Crafts for a minute and  met a local photographer who is about to publish a photo-illustrated dystopian graphic novel series. She's agreed to pop by for a chat soon so check back in a few weeks.

Portrait of Mary Shelley ACEO

Ooh, I almost forgot - leave a comment before 8/18 & you're entered in my random drawing for a mini-print (2.5" x 3.5")  of  Portrait of Mary Shelly. Click here for details.

Well, I'm calling it a night. If you are looking for some more random goodies, visit Stacey Uncorked. She is keeping the home fires burning for the chaotically-inclined-fans-o-Keely while sharing oodles haphazard info today. If you are feeling chatty, post your own babblings & link up! 

Until next time, hope you have a creative day!