Record highs today

it was 83 degrees here......and I believe it!!! A perfect day to work on the back deck experimenting with copper etching.

So, who says you need ferric chloride? Yes, it does a great job, but it was $35.00 for the bottle. Peroxide and Hydrochloric Acid mixed together will do the same thing. I did 3 plates today, 2 were done with FC and 1 with the other mix. See if you can tell the difference!

This first one was done using stamps from A Stamp of Excellence.

Tried to photo this so you could see how it etches away and leaves the inked portions the original thickness so they are raised or embossed on the copper



Using Lucy McGoo stamps from After Midnight Stamps:



And Lucy stamps with seashells from Pugnacious



Just so you know, with either method, you are working with extremely dangerous chemicals. Work outside only. Do not do this inside. And wear gloves and a mask at all times. Even when you are sanding. Use only real copper, not copper painted metal. Read all the labels and warnings on the products. Be careful! Don't even try this if there are kids around! You can see here how it will eat the edge of the copper away where I failed to ink the back good enough.



So, the next step is to patina these. I'm loving the colors on this one. We'll see how they turn out tomorrow.



I will be doing a lot more of these as there are so many different possibilities. I'd like to try the watercolor painting technique after etching.....and do an overnight etch and see if I could get the embossed detail thick enough to emboss into paper using the Wizard....endless possibilities.

Make your own paper in less than 5 minutes!

One of my upcoming classes in San Diego will show you how to make quick holiday cards or your own paper. For this example I first used a Tim Holtz stamp - I think this really represents travel for me:



Next, you ink up a piece of cut n' dry felt to match the stamped image:



Using the ink pad, you can quickly repeat stamp the image over and over: (I store these little inkpads in zip lock baggies for future use.)



Then cut it out and make quick cards!



So, I used a Pugnacious stamp, inked up another piece of felt, and randomly stamped the image on a sheet of paper:




Then I restamped with clear embossing powder and used holographic embossing poswer to shadow the images:



And although you might not be able to see, this is a totally shimmery, glittery piece of inked, stamped handmade paper:



It will work great for backgrounds, journal covers and more. I can't wait for this class. I think we are going to be so creative and just have fun experimenting with our stamps and inks! Anyone want to get inky with me? Be sure to bring an apron!!!

30% off Pugnacious stamps!!!

My friend, Melissa, just bought The Rubber Cafe and is offering all of you 30% off your entire order!! Talk about enabling!!! And then, she said you can pick out a FREE cube stamp of your choice if your order is over $30.00! OK, some major enbling going on here!!!

I'm designing a beach book for San Diego and decided to play with some of her stamps. These are inked with Rangers Pine Needles Distress Inks. Absolutely excellent images using distress ink!



Cut them out, brought in some more distress inks and covered them with Glossy Accents to make my own epoxy stickers.



Then I decided to go for a completely different look. Stamped on white paper, inked, then spritzed with water and blotted off. Went over the stamp lines with a grey pen and then added Glossy Accents



But I didn't cover the entire stamp with accents, I left some places uncovered



Added Spellbinders Palm Tree to this set



The sentiment is from Pugnacious as well. "You cannot discover new oceans until you have the courage to leave the shore."

Wow! How true is that?



You know, 30% off is just such a great deal! And these stamps have excellent detail! You can contact Melissa through the website link above. I can guarantee you will get great customer service - just tell her you read about her on my blog and that I said she'd best behave! LOLOL! (OK, that should let you know that Melissa can be ornery once in awhile!!!)

I have a few more of her stamps that I hope to play with in the next couple of days. Maybe I'll stamp on the new die cuts! So many ideas floating around in my head....so little time!!!