F-etching results - More About Etching

Thought maybe you'd like to see what I did with the metal I etched the other day. If you haven't read the post it is the last one I wrote and it is also located on the right side of the page in the popular articles section. I have GOT to find a good source of cheap copper! The pieces I used spoiled me because all four sheets were $4.99 on clearance, down from $19.99. I wish I had bought more, now! (I do have two more packages I found in my stash that I am very happy about! I am saving them for when I do a laser print of a photograph...;) )  I hear that the world is actually running out of copper, though, so cheap copper may be a pipe dream!

I didn't have any "spare" copper that I wanted to use to back up these little experiments, though so I ended up using of my favorite metals - sheets of aluminum flashing that I get at Home Depot (10 5x7" sheets for less than $3!) to back them with. I colored them with some dark colors of alcohol ink to blend them in with the patina'd copper a bit. I tried making rivets from copper wire but had no luck, so I dug out my eyelets and my Big Bite to punch the metal out and set the eyelets. (I saw a package today of eyelets and grommets at the craft store - the grommets go on the back to stop the ragged edges on the back of eyelets when you set them - I have to find out more about them! If you want to use these for jewelry, it's a must to have a smooth back! The ones I saw were a little expensive but if you want quality sometimes you have to pay for it. ;)) I already had my coupon used for a new product I am going to use for Christmas cards this year...it's a foiling pen and looks so cool! More about that another time....

I found out that both the 34g copper and the aluminum flashing are thin enough to cut with a scrapbooking corner punch I have for making Christmas cards so I rounded the edges of both the copper and aluminum with it.

As I said, I tried to make my own rivets and messed up the upper corner of the mermaid, so I ended up using eyelets with it. Now I have something to hang it from though. I have some copper chain I can use. :)

I love the stamp I used to make this. I've used it with my fused glass, too. Oddly enough I ran across this exact same etching on another persons etching post. :)

 I decided to make a bracelet out of this thin strip. I cut it with some decorative scissors and gave it a scalloped edge so I backed it with aluminum to prevent sharp edges. It isn't very strong, being that it is backed with aluminum but I now have a prototype to make more. ;) You can't see it but once again I used eyelets to fasten the two strips together. It is quite comfortable to wear though.

I have had this stamp forever! It's a four sided one and I love all four. :D

Like I said, this isn't a perfect etch but it's really cute, isn't it? I would hang it on a Christmas tree. :) 

The etching on this actually looks better in person. Same design as the other bracelet with a Christmas theme! :)

Someone on one of my Facebook metal groups asked about the Ranger patina paints or inks that exist. I decided to try them on some old diecut embossed pieces of my aluminum flashing that were laying around. The brown one in the center is actually alcohol ink like I used on the pieces above. I sanded them with sme fine grit sandpaper once they were dry. There is a real shine to these inks. I did not use the gold that is in the set I have, yet.  Jury is still out on what I think of them on the kind of metals I create, though...I did see someone use them for etched copper earrings and they looked really nice.

These are not etched. They were run through my Big Kick with a few Vintage embossing plates.

In my search for cheap copper I ended up going to Ace Hardware. I wanted to see if they had wire anyway. I ended up getting a sheet of copper that was much thicker than the previous sheets I had worked with and cost about $8. However, I hadn't thought about the need to cut this bad boy! I am not sure what gauge it is but it said .025 on the package...I was told that was thin enough to cut with scissors but oh heck no...! Not my arthritic hands! But I was lucky enough to get a set of aviator snips - left right and straight - for about $7 a couple of years ago and went to town with them. I guess I could have used my jewelry saw but I am not a patient person! Maybe next time. I have found copper at Hobby Lobby and with a coupon it will be really inexpensive...at least cheaper than Ace. :)

I don't know if you can tell how hard this was to cut from this photo. I had to use a file to smooth the edges after this. I think I need to ask my husband to do this stuff for me at this point! :P

The next photo is after etching. I really love the way they came out! I decided to break down and went to Radio Shack for their ferric chloride etchant and used that instead this time because the copper is so much thicker. I got a cheap fish tank pump and taped it to the side of the container holding the ferric chloride so the vibration would help the etching and left it in the solution for about two and a half hours. I think I may add the citric acid to it and see if it etches better with it next time. Here are some notes I took from someone on Facebook about this topic...using citric acid along with FC. I wish I could give that person credit but I forgot to get their name! Anyway, the method using citric acid is called The Edinburgh Etch and is supposed to be safer than using plain old ferric chloride.

"Recipe for Citric Acid Etching Solution: Place 3/4 cup of warm water in a glass or plastic container that has a non-metallic lid (an old, clean, mayonnaise jar# works) and slowly add 1/4 cup of citric acid power. Stir until dissolved. That's it. You can't make Edinburgh Etch by just sprinkling citric acid powder into your ferric chloride, you have to dissolve it first. To make EE, add one cup of citric acid solution to four cups of ferric chloride and stir to make it homogenous. <snip> There are several videos-just search for Keith Howard. He was instrumental in encouraging the chemists at the U of Edinburgh to develop a safer etchant." Apparently Keith Howard wrote a book called Non-Toxic Printmaking with this recipe in it in the late 1980s or 90s

Before adding patina. I bought the Beadsmith stuff - what a waste of money! Turned really black and then completely fell off, leaving shiny metal behind! :P

This is from one of the other packages of the thin metal that I had in my stash. I left it in a little too long, I think! But it really kept a lot of detail. This is two different stamps, btw, in case you are wondering why the right and left seem so different! This one has finer details compared to the others. I used a Stazon stamp pad alone instead of using Versamark and embossing powder. It gave a much finer, more detailed etch.

The picture with the two sets of trees is for comparison. The one on the bottom is the original one I etched with my vinegar/peroxide/salt mixture. The top one is the ferric chloride. I left it in a little too long, trying to get a deepish etch, and it started eating a hole through the metal. I think I actually got a better etch with the first mixture! Maybe the ferric chloride is better for thicker items though... 

The top one is very thin and fragile now. ..These were both done with the same kind of metal to begin with, just the etchant was different...I also discovered I have to make sure to use detail embossing powder instead of whatever the heck I was using, because the tree branches are much thicker than they were in the first etch. Another tip I just discovered on my FB etching group is that if you use embossing powder to etch and are having a hard time removing it, and don't want to sand because your etch is too delicate, you can use lacquer thinner...great tip, because I could NOT find out that information anyplace! :D Many thanks to Ruth Shapiro! 

Still pretty. :)

And then, my favorite of the experiments! These are slices of a copper pipe I cut a few months back when I was making copper bezels for my polymer clay with them.  I rolled them in stamp pads and also used Sharpie to put simple designs on by hand. It wasn't even Sharpie, it was el cheapo red permanent marker from the Dollar Tree! Worked great...those are the ones with lines on them. I also used my Stazon stamp pad to edge all of the pipe slices as well as the flat pieces. (You edge them to protect the edge so it won't get etched and ragged from the etchant.) Seemed easier than using a Sharpie because my hand kept slipping when I tried. :D And it was! They were perfectly smooth after etching. You will see these again, and soon. :) Watch this page! 

Rolling them on my stamp pad was a pain! I put a dowel through them (I rolled them individually) and rolled them across the pad with it, but my hands were still quite black when I finished! :D

And here is my etched Ace Hardware copper plate. Very happy with these!  I have more planned for them, however, so stay tuned! :)

Thanks for visiting and check back often. I have a new project in the works with RESIN that I am SO excited about! Come back soon now, y'hear? :D

UPDATED: I'll Stop Whining Now - Marilyn's Mokume Gane Technique #4 - Polymer Clay

Some of you may remember a couple of posts ago where I was complaining about the colors I picked for my latest batch of Marilyn Ray Knopic's tutorial for Mokume Gane. But there is NEVER any waste with PC so I took those uggs and made them pretty again! I am very happy with the redo! I added some liquid Kato Polyclay to the front of the ones I didn't like and rolled out flat pieces to cover. Trim, polish, and VOILA!

This one is actually one of my LEAST favorite but I still like it a lot. It reminds me of an abalone shell. In fact, many of these do. I have a hover extension for Chrome that lets me point my mouse at a photograph and a larger image appears. If you don't have that, just click on the image to see it bigger. :)

The ones below (and the one above are not covered in resin yet. There is NO finish whatsoever! I did do some shaping with my rotary tool around the edges and glad I took the extra time.  I just gave them a polishing (220 and 2500 grit) and buffing with my rotary tool, for less than a minute each on the buffer. I found out that the lighter the touch when buffing, the better the shine! And in my opinion, the fact that it is Kato helped it shine more easily. This is the "front" (some of these could use either side for the front!) Doesn't it remind you of an abalone shell? If I had used pearl clay it would have looked even more like one...These are all Kato clay again.

The back...love those fine lines...

Front...aren't the colors awesome? These remind me of the painted desert rocks...

Here is the other side of the one above.

Really like how this one came out. The back is silver crackled foil leaf on black clay. You can't see the sides of these pendants but many of them show the very fine layering of the top colors. Neat effect. This stack was made with a variation on Marilyn's technique in that I added some Old Silver Inka Gold paint to the clay. I was advised to sandwich it inside layers of translucent, so I did. Then I added the foil leaf on the upper layer along with the inks. Hard to tell which shimmer is the Inka Gold but it's in there!

This one I used the rotary tool to trim off the edge...it was pretty rough before and I almost left it that way, but I am glad I shaped it. The buffing on this one came out great! I like this side the best. See the tiny "spiderweb"? :D

The reverse. The colors are a little muted in this one, but there is that abalone look again.

The shine on this one came out great! I wasn't pleased with where the original hole was so I filled it and need to redrill and use an eyelet in it still.

This is the other side of the one above.

Another one that looks like abalone shell. I love how it looks like layer after layer of shell!

Love the color in this one. The green is the Mermaid again...sort of an aqua color. I used Mountain Rose, Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow, and Wild Plum. The Lettuce nearly disappeared!

The opposite side.

This one got really shiny!

Side one.

The other side.

This is the first one pictured in this post that I put Magic Glos resin on.

A freehand shape. Resined again.

The other side. This is the other version of Marilyn's MG technique I tried with no black or white in it. Lovely color in this one...and yes, it is the dreaded Indigo! Not having all that black made it better, somehow...More of the foil shows through, as well, brightening it.

Same with this one.

The other side. I love the little star shape....faux spider web! :D And those colors! The Mountain Rose is a favorite of mine, as is the Sunset Orange.

Another with the no-black-or-white-clay MG tech. And the Indigo ink...and maybe even some of the (ew) Teakwood! I still like it, though. :)

The other side. I love the way it doesn't look round...it looks like it dips in on the left side...but that is an optical illusion. :)

Last one of this batch...for now! Love the colors! Forgot to drill holes before I resined it though...

Can't decide which side is the front. :) You can see the tiny faux spider webs on both sides with this one. SO, I am finally happy with those dark MG pendants I made! What do you think?

OH and an update I forgot to put on my last post, about the faux gold. I used my homemade clear stamping block polymer clay cutter for the leaves and flower petals. It works GREAT. See how evenly and THIN it cut? :) This photo kind of shows what I meant about making plain clay look like it has a gold reflection....

Thanks again for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and please like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti! 

More Fun with Marilyn Ray Knopic's Mokume Gane Technique

Warning! This post has a LOT of pictures! I've been playing around with the Mokume Gane technique by Marilyn again, this time with greens and blue inks only. Here are some of the nicest! 

This is the back of the previous one. I had these baked for a couple of weeks now but ran out of Magic Glos. I ended up getting a 6 oz bottle from Amazon because I know I'll be using it for these! It came out about half the cost of getting it in the store....well worth it!

It is amazing how the blues and greens pop on these once the resin is on them. They are quite dull without it, even if you polish them...The shine from the foil really stands out after doming!

This is the back of the previous one.  This side is flat. It just looks textured. :)

Front. 

Back. This one is textured.

Front. Love the colors in this one. I used Sailboat, Stream, Lettuce, Bottle...a few others...

This is the back of the previous one. 

Front.

This is the back of the previous one. 

Love the ones with the dots in them. :) Front.

This is the back of the previous one.  The backs of some of these aren't great...

Front.

This is the back of the previous one. 

This is one I wrapped from the previous batch with the reds and yellows.

This is the back of the previous one.  No resin on this side.

Previous batch again. Front.

This is the back of the previous one. No resin on this one. The matte finish can be interesting, too.

Back to the blues! This one is much smaller.

This one is a bit different from the other ones in the red batch. I used some Kato Liquid Clay over it at first and didn't like it, so I sanded it smooth and used the MG. It gave it a hazy look that I really love. It reminds me of Bryce Canyon.

This is the back of the previous one. 

First one I used the twisted wire with. Had a coupon @ Michaels! :) The bursts of pink look like tiny flowers...love this batch!

This is the back of the previous one. 

The red batch again. 

This is the back of the previous one. I use coarse sandpaper to make the texture on the back.

This one is a little different from the others. It is still the same red Mokume Gane stack, the very end scrap...I flattened it over a previously completed bead and pressed a stamp into it. Then I rubbed some copper powder into the high spots. I really like it.

 Made a couple of swirl beads with some scraps I had laying around (from my next post!) and decided to use some eyelets to run the cord through.

This is the back of the previous one. 

Another swirl bead.

This is the back of the previous one. 

Then I had been thinking about a bead I saw online recently that had a lot of swirls and layers and translucency. I had got a new Fimo clay color called  Blue Ice Quartz and wanted to try to emulate the one I had seen, making a light blue striated "stone" of clay.

Well, I may have wanted a light blue stone but this is what came out of the oven.  I think the Ice clay is a transparent clay and it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I used a variation of the Mokume Gane technique Marilyn uses, without any ink or foil. I just wanted the layers. I am not saying it's ugly, it's just not what I planned on. :) I used transparent, the Ice blue and some white. I have the light pink quartz, too and may not try it with this technique! 

I also got the bright idea to use some of the sheet metal I've been working with (available at Home Depot, 10 5x7" sheets for less than three dollars!). I had been cutting very thin strips of it off and noticed how it curled up. I decided to embed it in the clay to give the plain clay some life. It does make it a little harder to sand the piece after baking, so plan accordingly!

I also used white eyelets to strengthen the holes. I love the polish on this one! Again, I just sanded well at 220, went over it again with some 2500, then buffed. I did find a trick that makes it shine even more though...use a light paste of cornstarch and water. Rub it on the stone and use your Dremel to buff it off....outside, preferably, as it makes a mess! But look at that shine...!

More sheet metal. This one buffed up very nicely, even with the aluminum on top...

I really loved the shine on this one, as well. Maybe not what I was going for but still nice. Can you imagine it in a light blue though? :P I have to say it reminds me of faux ivory, which I love.

The darker area is where the blue Ice was. Hmph. ;)

Last one! I loved the striations in it. Hope you enjoyed the photo show! 

Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and please like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti!