Heavy Metal

I have found the camera. It was inside the glove compartment of my car. I brought it in triumphantly! and the battery is dead. I really need to learn more about the camera. Like, how to charge it, for example. So I don't have pix of the WIP. BUT!!!

Here are some boxes I made for my parents' Christmas presents.

They are just the raw wood boxes from the hobby store that I finished with stain, sandpaper and varnish. The tops are embossed copper. I used copper flashing from the hardware store. It's really easy to work with. You can cut it with kitchen shears, and use scrapbooking corner rounders on it. The end result sure makes it look more technically challenging than it is.

This one has the copper completely covering the lid. I ran it through the pasta machine with a texture plate. I filled in the back of the emboss with spackling so that the relief won't get dented. Then I used copper tacks and a little glue to secure it.

The smaller panel is oak leaves and acorns that I did freehand. I drew a design on paper and taped it to the back of the copper. Then I used a metal stylus to trace the design from the back, flipped it over and pressed down OUTSIDE the outline to really punch out the relief, and a paper stump to smooth and finish. I used permanent markers to lightly shade the designs, and then wiped it with alcohol to even it out. The depth is much greater on this one. I filled in the back to protect it from denting, and tacked it with the copper tacks onto the front.

I am very proud of them! (I need to work more on the freehand embossing, though.)

Danelle, I WILL get the WIP up this weekend!