More copper etching

After working on the pendant for the malachite necklace, I wanted to do some smaller etched pieces.  I used the discs I made from the pennies (see here ) I flattened.  I experimented with a couple of designs - one that was very busy and one that included some initials.  For the "busy" one, I drew a web of sorts on the disc, then etched it in the etching solution for 30 minutes. 

I put it in the gun blue for about 30 seconds, then wiped off the highlights so it's a little patinaed. 

For the second one, I used a small letter template I have and put my initials on it, along with a few geometric shapes to fill it out a little.

I also used the gun blue on this one, but there aren't really enough crevices for it to look patinaed.

I got the etching solution from Radio Shack (more than a year ago though - I have heard they no longer carry it in their retail stores) and the gun blue from the local hardware store.

A Day in the Studio

Another day spent hammering pennies - did I tell you how much I love my job?  After creating the cute little copper and mixed gemstone bracelet yesterday, I did what I haven't done yet - I thought "line of jewelry".  Yup.  Shocked myself, I tell you - but still I thought it was a great idea.  All because of that copper plumbing thingy and the bracelet created from it.  Go figure.  I love the look of the copper wire wrapped loops and the slightly smaller rondelle beads in the bracelet, and I think it makes for a mix and match possibility you don't really get with chunkier bracelets.  Plus, when I wear bracelets I end up looking like a gypsy woman, I pile so many of them on. 

So, some pennies - flattened, drilled and buffed - ready for words, names or just random letters to be put on them (once I get in my order from Harbor Freight - oh I DO love tools!!!!)

some fabulous little 'red velvet crystals' from my fabu local bead shop (Beads on the Kennebec), wrapped in yards of 22 gauge copper wire, and closed with a cute little copper heart clasp. To wear alone or.........

with one created with a mix of gemstones (wonderful strand I got from Turquoise Magpie - hands down the BEST place to get your gemstones)..............or maybe

you're like me and you'll wear them all at once.  Why not?  Life is short - make it colorful and bright!

Further Copper Explorations

My newest pendant - I am having such a good time working with metal - I love being able to hammer it into shapes - in this case, I domed it, then drilled a hole into it and wire wrapped a Swarovski pearl which nestles right into the cup of the disc - kind of like a pearl in an oyster! I love the texture I got from the hammer - it was a little tricky to get that though. Why? you ask.........well, here's the rest of the story.............

The copper "disc" started its life as a 1957 wheat penny. Yup, serious. There has been a discussion going on in one of the groups I belong to about how much time it takes to pound a penny flat enough to be able to use it as one would a blank copper disc. I decided to give it a shot and see how hard it really is - but doing it my way. When I first started experimenting with doming pennies and making jewelry with them, my dear SO handed me a stainless steel bowl half filled with some sand and said "put your pennies in this and set it on top of the woodstove; it will keep the pennies warm and make it easier to work with them". Huh.......OK. I did.

We have a big wood stove (it's called an "All-Nighter) and the top of the stove has two levels, so I put the pennies on the top level toward the back of the stove and there they sit, day in and day out. I took a penny out (using a pair of pliers because they are HOT)and just started whaling on it with my hammer. (I used my steel block to hammer on) The hammer I used this time is a BIG one (the XXL version of this one ), so I flattened all evidence of the mint imprint out of the penny in about 6 minutes. I used the flat face of the hammer and made sure to turn the penny every 5 whacks or so to keep it flat. I turned the hammer over and started hitting it with the domed head and was tickled when the disc started curving and doming without having to use the doming block. I hammered it until it was as even as I could get it - keeping the thickness as uniform as I could, and once I was finished hammering it I filed the edges so they were round and uniform - drilled a hole in it, added the wrapped pearl and Voila - my version of a copper disc. Real cheap..........like, just a penny!!!!