Crests of Tin and Patina (Honey Do List)

Each month, Sarajo shares the photo inspiration given to her by her husband, Eric. She calls it the Honey Do List. This month, Eric gave her three photos of stained glass windows from Edinburgh Castle. I absolutely knew that I would be able to draw some inspiration from the windows but put the task aside while I worked on organizing the craft room. When I finally allowed myself to focus on the images, I immediately had an idea.

All three of the windows in the photographs included a crest of some sort. I was drawn to the shape of them and started there.
Using a stencil of my own design (cut out on a Cameo Silhouette), I traced the shape onto a flat piece of silvery cookie tin. This was probably the bottom of a tin as it is quite flat. 

I used tin snips to cut out the shapes.
I also snipped off a tiny bit of each corner to tremove the sharp points.

Then, a sanding block was used to soften the edges and remove any burrs. 
I also went ahead and sanded the flat surfaces (front and back) of the metal to remove some of the coatings on them in case I decided to patina the surfaces. (Spoiler Alert: I did.)

Then, I pulled out my Sizzix Big Kick and a Vintaj Embossing Die to texture the metal.
Each piece was embossed individually, and I made a point of not getting the same pattern on each of them as each of the windows in the inspiration photos were also different. 

Then, it was time to color the crests with Vintaj Patinas.
I only used one coat on each piece. The colors were selected based on the dominant color in each of the inspiration photos. 

Then, I had a little fun adding more interest to the shapes with a wash of alcohol ink and alcohol blending solution.
In this case, I used quite a bit of the blending solution and only a drop or two of the ink so that the color was subtle. I could always add more, but it's difficult to remove it once it's on there. 

I've just uploaded a video on Using Vintaj Patinas on YouTube if you want to see some of the different ways I like to work with it. 
In the video, I used mostly Vintaj metal blanks, but I'm now starting to experiment with it on my blank tin pieces like the ones I used for this necklace.

Once the alcohol ink was dry, a quick coat of sealer was added.

I also allowed that time to dry before I punched holes at the top corners with a metal punch.

Then, I turned the pieces over to decide what to do about the backs of them.

I could have easily left them as they were, but since I HAD sanded them, I decided to slightly darken them with Novacan Black Patina and seal them with Renaissance Wax. 

From there; jump rings, chain, and a clasp were added to complete the necklace. 
It's difficult to see the darkened patina, but I promise it's there. 

I'm super pleased with how quickly this piece came together. I know it looks like a lot of steps, but it really wasn't.

And, I'm excited at how well it represents all three inspiration photos in one piece. 
Thanks to Eric and Sarajo for sharing such great inspiration! I'm looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve for next month's inspiration.  Now head, over to SJ Designs Jewelry to see what Sarajo made!

8 comments:

  1. Your necklace fits the challenge perfectly! I love the shapes, colors, and the beautiful simplicity of your design. Good job!

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    1. Maty, Thank you! Since I was running so far behind on the challenge, I knew I needed to make something simple, but still wanted to knock the challenge out of the park. This necklace was the perfect solution for me. I'm so happy you like it too! Thanks again!

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  2. Your piece looks really lovely and captures the spirit of the inspiration well. Great job on the embossing. I can't believe that I completely forgot about this challenge. I had meant to take part in it.

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    1. Divya, Thanks so much! I thought you were going to participate in this one too. You know there's still plenty of time? Sarajo leaves the linky tool open for a month so you can still create something in your amazing style still. I hope you do!

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  3. Oh my goodness, you really nailed this one, Hope! I love the look of your necklace... the crest shapes in the varying colors are just fabulous! I never would have thought to a) use the plain bottom of the tin and b) run that tin through the BigKick! So smart! You got a fabulous effect with the alcohol inks and the blending solution. Thanks so much for playing along with us. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

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    1. I'm SO GLAD you like how this turned out! I was afraid it was cheating too much to combine all three pictures into the one piece, but I was just compelled to make it. And, I'm so happy it inspired you as well. I'm definitely a waste-not-want-not girl and try to use up ALL the supplies. So, those tin bottoms are perfect for altering to suit my needs. I thought that my steps might be useful to someone and that's why I decided to share all of them. Sometimes pictures speak louder than just the words. Anyway, I can't wait to see what you do with these ideas!

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  4. This turned out great and perfect for the inspiration!

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    1. Thanks, Ann! I can't believe how well they fell together. I appreciate your feedback.

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