Beautiful patina and work. I love it!!

I absolutely LOVE this cuff.... it looks so antiqued, the design and the patina!
-Eni
www.jewelrylessons.com

Wowww, this is absolutely interesant, lovely. beautiful, very pretty!!!

This is absolutely FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!

This is gorgeous. How did you get the patina to be so blue? It is wonderful!
Kit

Very dramatic and I love the color of the patina!
~BB :)
http://flickr.com/groups/JewelryLessons

As with everyone else - I love the colour of the patina. Perfect for this beautiful design.

Abby
http://www.abbyhook.co.uk

This comes together so beautifully... The Aegean sea, the scrolls, the bright blue of the house there, it breathes Greece all over. I think if I keeps staring at it long enough, a dolphin will swim by in the corner of my eye...
http://www.bead-you-to-it.com
http://www.CleopatraKerckhof.etsy.com

Breathtaking work! The colour is astoundingly beautiful!

So unique. Love it.
~Arien / CC

Hi Kit! The blue color comes from the patina which is achieved by soaking the copper in a strong brine solution of 4 tbl. salt to 1/2 c. water for 4-6 hours. Remove, let dry (don't rinse it! :)). You then suspend the piece in a lidded container (like Rubbermaid, etc...) with about a 1/2 inch of Ammonia at the bottom. The color is a chemical reaction between the metal, the salt and the ammonia fumes, so you need to make sure your container has a tight fitting lid to prevent the fumes from escaping and that the fumes can get to the surface of the metal. The Aegean took about 3 hours to turn blue. And yes, it's very vivid! The longer you leave in your item, the darker blue it gets. After I removed it, I rinsed it well, let it dry, lightly buffed in places with fine steel wool and then coated it with a clear lacquer finish.

Stacy :)
http://www.hodgepodgerie.com

Its lovely! No more to say really, except thanks for sharing patina secret, and your work, with us.

corinna =)

Wooow...speechless , amazing work of art.
Aida

GIRL!! I love love the color! Thanks for sharing the process! Beautiful!!!!! Lola D's Menageries- Be your own vision of beauty!

WOW! Love it! Amazing!
Arya

lovely!

Absolutely stunning!. I am SOOOOO jealous!

What a unique piece....I love it. Thanks for sharing it.

Gosh, how about a tutorial on this.....just beautiful
Kay

beautiful!!

WOW!!! I have been playing with copper and patina, but this blue is out of this world, the cuff design is awsome as well!

Thank you for sharing with us the "recipe." Really nice and generous of you. What type of lacquer did you use, and how did you apply it?

What an achievement! How did you ever come upon the patina process? Thank you for sharing it!

Thanks gals! I didn't invent the patina - it's been around for a very, very long time. I used to sprinkle the salt on water-dampened metal, but that produced a more spotty finish. It's been a lot of trial and error! Another way to get a very fine and even salt coating on your metal is by using an evaporation process. I discovered this by accident when I didn't cover the brine solution bowl my items soaking in. I think there was a fine 'dusting' of salt on everything in perhaps a 2 foot radius around the bowl. LOL To try this method, mix the above brine solution in a small bowl and place it in the center of a large piece of wax paper. Put your items on the wax paper in a circle about 6" - 9" from the bowl. Let it sit over night. The salt evaporates and leaves a salty coating. (you'll need to wipe down the surrounding area to remove the salt) Then proceed with the rest of the patina instructions.

As to the lacquer, there are many on the market. Some prefer a spray made by Rustoleum, but to me it feels sort of gritty. I use two lacquers depending upon what the jewelry item is. The first is Rio Grande's Clear Lacquer Finish. It goes on very easily, doesn't smell bad you cannot feel or see it once it drys and it drys very quickly. What I don't like about it is that the copper will continue to oxidize under it, slowly getting darker and darker. It also rubs off fairly easily. (sorry Rio!) For high traffic items like bracelets, I like a Permalac sealant. I use one that is environmentally friendly, called Permalac EF. Both sealants are liquids in which you can dip, or paint on the product. The Permalac stops the metal from continuing to oxidize under it, so the finish is better preserved. It is also pretty tough, making it longer lasting. What I don't like about it is you have to be careful in the application process as the fumes are nasty! It is also easy to get drips and bubbles in the finish and if there's much moisture in the air (not so good for humid Florida :)), it drys milky. To avoid much of this, I set it with a warm blow dryer. It does take a couple of hours to dry completely. The above bracelet was dipped.

Stacy :)

Thank you for so generously sharing your tips and techniques. Your are a true teacher.