2x2 metal samples instructions

The one on the left was done using a 5 mil sheet of copper from basiccopper.com. You can find their link in my right column. I bought two charm kits from marcopaper.com. The charm kit is from Wizard - Spellbinders. I got my Wizard from Harriet. Ten Seconds Studio posted an email thingie about how to do this a couple of weeks ago. Email me if you want me to forward it to you. The embossing plate is from Ten Seconds Studio. I think they sell that on their site or you can get that from marcopaper.com, too. The sandwich I made was hard blue plate, black mat, embossing plate with copper sheet on top (taped to plate), two beige mats, and then another hard blue plate. I tried it with one beige mat first but did not get a deep enough impression. Feed the sandwich through the Wizard.

I used Polished Pigments to get the great color on the copper. I am not sure of the red color. I think it was Ginger Peach and I used the Kiwi for the green. Just take a small scoop of each color and put into a small container. Add a few drops of the solution. I used #2 since it is what I had. There is a number made specifically for metal. I let the red color dry a bit before applying the green. I then heat set. I got some bubbles but they settled down and added to the texture of the square. Let cool. Use sanding paper or sanding block to take the paint off the top texture so your embossing shows through. What I really liked about the Polished Pigments was that it really stuck to the copper. I had to sand pretty hard to get it off. It did not "slide" as much as acrylics do without the GAC 200. The Polished Pigments are by Luminarte and are part of the Primary Elements line. I used one of the starter kits. When dried, I took a piece of 2x2 chipboard and used Scrapbook Adhesives Photo Tape to adhere the back of the metal to the chipboard. The tape works really well. It is supposed to be like Super Glue. The only thing is that it could be thicker in width. I mitered the corners. I bent over the sides and glued them down with the tape. Round the edges with your scissors and then sand until smooth.

The one on the right is using a 10 mil piece of copper sheet. I applied a bit of acrylic paint first to give the crackle paint something to hold onto. I used the Tim Holtz Crackle Paint. Some of it did start to flake off. I put a layer of gel medium on top to prevent that. That seemed to do the trick even though it was a tad glossier than I would want it. I used some Sobo and stuck the little metal pieces on while the crackle paint was still wet. I used small metal brads to secure.

I have started some other metal squares using copper sheet, Lumiere paints, and sanding, but they are sitting there to be finished. I will need to wait until things settle down with my sister. I had a few minutes, so I thought I would put the instructions for this up.

The swap is still open. Come to the Mixed Media Art Friends group to come and play.