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Bronze Wire Copper BraidJapanese Chirimen Cord Yummy stuff huh?!!  Michelle  Fundametals

]]> http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/03/15/new-stuff-hoot-hoot/feed/ 0 http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/03/02/etchin-some-beatles/ http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/03/02/etchin-some-beatles/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:56:13 +0000 Michelle http://www.fundametals.net/blog/?p=562 Continue reading →]]>

Here is my foray into acid etching a while back.  I had this vision of doing faces. It all started with this picture of my son when he was a baby. I had tinkered with the color and contrast to get this black and white image. I used to use this B&W image as my avatar. It was originally a project for my scrapbooking side.
As a very young girl I remember hearing the Beatles “Michelle” on the radio and knew for sure they were singing to me. I was a bit of a Beatles freak in my teens. I felt that I was born at the wrong time. How could I have missed those concerts in 1964? I read everything I could about them. I purchased a book of the complete history of the Beatles that included a poster. That poster had been on the wall of my bedroom since the late ’70-’s. On their last trip out here I convinced my dad to do downstairs to my old bedroom and bring me that poster. Could it be almost 30 years later?? Shocking to get old….I digress…..

So I scanned that poster and shrunk it and tinkered with the contrast. I really felt there must be a way to do what I wanted. I could see the piece of jewelry in my head. I got the B&W image were I wanted it, sometimes editing pixel by pixel. All I had to do was figure out a way to get the detail I needed as resist onto the metal. I have read of several ways to do it and even tried a few only to have miserable results. It was very disheartening. I tried for weeks. I finally went to the ironing the toner onto the metal method and that didn’t work either. The image didn’t come off the paper. I tried again. It seemed to work ok but there was some white residue I could not scrub off with out scrubbing off the detail…out of frustration I just had to plunge it in the acid and see what I would get. I am really shocked at the results. It is totally cool! Here is that piece. I also did a test patch of a scrolly pattern. the whole piece of copper is 4-1/4″ x 2″.   It just makes me want to sing, “Love Love me do…you know I love you…” ……

Michelle  Fundametals

Michelle Fundametals

As part one of my mission to make my studio practice healthier for me and any future babies, I decided to give electrolytic copper etching a try. It turns out it’s so easy to do I am surprised more people haven’t tried it. I downloaded an article from Art Jewelry about how to do it, but you can also find lots of good information floating around the internet.
Basically, all you need to do is hook up a D battery to two pieces of copper suspended in a saltwater bath. One is the piece you are etching, the other can be any piece of scrap copper. The current draws copper from the etching piece to the scrap copper. You can use the same kinds of resists you would use for acid etching, but you don’t need the etching chemicals. Neat huh?
Here’s what you need:

• D battery
• D battery holder
• Alligator clips
• Heavy copper wire (14g. is good)
• Copper to be etched
• Scrap copper
• Pure salt (kosher or canning and pickling salt)
• Plastic or glass container
• Resist (pnp film, stop-out varnish, asphaltum, etc)
  To get set up, you need to attach your alligator clips to the lead wires on your battery holder. My friend Paul helped me out (thanks Paul!) because even though I know all about silver soldering I know nothing about soldering electrical components. Then you make a saturated salt solution by dissolving as much salt as you possibly can in water.To get your metal ready, you need to get the piece you will be etching really nice and clean by scouring it with a scrub pad or heating and pickling it, then draw your design on with whatever resist you are using. I was surprised when I first started experimenting with this technique to find that the salt water is just as hard on the resist as the ferric chloride was. Permanent marker didn’t work at all, and the sharpie paint pen I used to use for beads works ok but doesn’t last long enough to get a good deep etch, so I am back to using the stop-out varnish (check out my acid etching tutorial for more info on different resists) The scrap copper just needs to be cleaned off with a scrub pad or brass brush to remove any residue, then it’s ready to go.Once your metals are ready, fill a plastic or glass container with the salt solution, then attach your two pieces of copper to copper wires and hang them from the sides of the container so they are submerged in the solution. Attach the positive alligator clip to the piece you want to etch and the negative clip to the scrap copper. You will immediately see little bubbles rising from the scrap copper, and within minutes the water will start to get cloudy and reddish brown with copper (Note: Don’t pour this water down the drain! collect it and talk to your local waste management people about how to dispose of it. It’s not hazardous to handle but it’s not good to put copper into the water supply!)
  It takes about an hour or more to get a really nice deep etch. Depending on what effect you are looking for, you can get a visible etch in about a half hour. I need to do some more experimentation, but my first piece has a visible etch so I consider it a success.

  Overall I am very pleased with this project. It was easy to do and safe, without the mess of ferric chloride and it cost about seven dollars for all the supplies to get started. I am planning on doing a lot more copper etching with this technique, so I should have lots of new etched copper jewelry and beads coming soon!

Saintly MedalsSilk String Bundles
Crystal Rondelles and Rhinestone Balls
Riveting Block

Guilders Paste

Small Jewelry Sized Rubber Stamps

Vintage Items

Challenge me!  Tell me what you are looking for!

Michelle  Fundametals.net

]]> http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/02/16/new-items-added/feed/ 0 http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/01/19/my-first-giveaway/ http://www.fundametals.net/blog/2012/01/19/my-first-giveaway/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:31:04 +0000 Michelle http://www.fundametals.net/blog/?p=521 Continue reading →]]> Were are building up steam over here at Fundametals. So to create a little buzzzzz I am having a giveaway of some cold hard fundamentals CASH! $25 bucks to shop with on my fundametals.net. Do you need a new tool? How about some metal, wire, beads..oh my? PLUS I will ship your order to you FOR FREE! All you need to do is a few simple tasks….that are oh so easy. The more tasks you complete the more entries you will get. I have wanted to have a giveaway for a while but they are so hard to manage. But I found this really cool service called Rafflecopter. It takes care of all the entries for you. The more tasks you complete the more entries you will get. Now that is pretty cool. They are also having a giveaway on their website to win an Ipad. Go to there site to enter. Yeah! Free stuff!
To enter our contest just use the widget below. The more you tasks you complete the more entries you will get. Contest ends on the 12.01est 1/29/12..so hurry!
Thank-you! Michelle Mahler Fundametals

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Greek Alphabet Set-25% off. Please be sure to leave DISCOUNT 25% in comments to receive your credit after purchase! No other discounts can be applied to this purchase.

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