Antiquing My Jewelry Pieces

It's that time again! Yes, I know you were all waiting anxiously for a new blog post from yours truly ;)

I want to show you a little bit about what goes into making my jewelry. Many steps are involved and I perform each one with care so I can provide you with the perfect pieces of jewelry. Today I want to talk about how I add the beautiful antique-like patina to my copper and sterling silver pieces.

First I create a piece of jewelry. In this case it's my lovely scroll link copper bracelet. At this point I have put in approximately 75 minutes to create this particular design.

After my piece of jewelry is completed in its naked copper form I prepare the patina gel solution. I use stabilized liver of sulfur which is a pungent rotten-egg-smelling dark liquid. The liver of sulfur is mixed with hot water to create the lemon yellow liquid below.

After cleaning the copper to remove any dirt and oils from the creation process I dip it into the liver of sulfur solution.

After just a few moments the copper turns black. The copper has been rapidly oxidized.

To halt the oxidation process I dip the piece into a solution of baking soda and water. Once it dries off I use steel wool to polish the copper and remove much of the black oxidation. The steel wool does not reach into the crevices which leaves slight oxidation in certain areas. This gives the copper depth and adds interest. I personally prefer the look of antiqued copper over naked copper, although both are truly beautiful.

After painstakingly polishing each piece to leave just the right amount of patina (oxidation) I spray on lacquer to protect the copper for the future. After drying for several hours the piece is finished! In total I have put in about 95 minutes just for this one piece of jewelry, not including the time spent waiting for the piece to dry.

Follow the link below to find the finished antiqued copper scroll link bracelet in my etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/listing/93378121/handcrafted-jewelry-hammered-copper

If any of you out there are metal-workers and haven't tried using liver of sulfur yet, I recommend it! It's fun! I have fond memories of art class as a child in grade school with the best art teacher ever, Mr. C. I remember a specific project where we had to press designs into thick copper foil, color it black with stinky rotten-egg-smelling yellow liquid, and brush off the black in certain areas with steel wool. Today I now know that the foul smelling liquid was liver of sulfur and the blackened areas on the copper was oxidation caused by the sulfur. I still use this same technique today to add depth and interest to my pieces. Thanks, Mr. C, for that lesson all those years ago.

Karissa
www.KariLu.etsy.com
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