Well I wasn't lying and I want to share the next stage in the creation of this piece today. (It involves more exciting supplies!)
Since I couldn't bring enamel into my pieces I decided to have a look at other ways to include colour and I came across Gilder's Paste.
The effect is nothing like enameling and I wouldn't use it in the same way at all but I loved it nonetheless. I like my pieces to look natural so I only bought paste in 3 colours; gold, cream and this one pictured - 'patina'.
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| Gilder's paste applied to the disc |
I had to try the patina first since its one of my favourite colours, goes wonderfully with copper and it is possible to get copper to patina to this colour naturally. I have also had customers asking if they could get my items to this shade.
I applied the paste with a thin cloth but I also managed to get it all over my fingers. That's ok, though, it says you can use your finger to apply it. I spread a layer all over the oxidised copper disc, making sure to get the paste right into the cracks and indents.
Once the paste was dry (touch dry in a few minutes) I used a sanding block to take off the paste from the raised areas and to polish off some of the tarnish as well. When I was happy with the overall tarnish and "patina" effect I treated the disc to prevent further tarnish. I'll share that technique with you in another post.
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| Buffing to a shine |
This little disc is getting a lot of posts for one small component that hasn't even found a home in a finished piece of jewelry yet! Of course I'll let you know when I find the perfect piece to put this little disc in!
