Carol Endler Sterbenz of Handcraft Illustrated magazine shows Kitty Bartholomew, host of HGTV's Ask Kitty Bartholomew, how to make a metal garland out of copper foil. Materials:
Copper foil (a 12" x 12" square of copper foil is enough to make a 6' garland)
Piece of white paper
Rose leaves in three sizes
Permanent marker
Scissors
Needle-nose pliers
An awl or a ballpoint pen
Copper wire--18-20 gauge (heavy) and 28-30 gauge (finer)
Fine steel wool
Metallic beads
Old English patina solution
Two bowls
Water
Protective gloves
- Make paper leaf templates by tracing around three rose leaves of different sizes. Cut out the paper template, leaving a little handle where the stem would be.
- Place the leaf patterns on copper foil, and trace around them with a permanent marker. Use scissors to cut out the metal leaf (figure A). The metal can be sharp, so it's wise to wear protective gloves.
- Use an awl or a ballpoint pen to scratch veins on each leaf.
- Use small pliers to make a V-shaped crimp in the stem portion of the leaf (figure B).
- Lay a piece of heavy-gauge wire on a leaf, with one end in the V-shaped crimp of the stem, and crimp in place (figure C). Twist the wire back over itself so it extends out the end of the leaf, and crimp in place again (figure D). Wrap a piece of finer-gauge wire around the crimped end to hold the heavier stem in place (figure E).
- Finish several leaves, following the steps above. Twist together a collection of leaves, interspersing metallic beads between the leaves as desired (figure F). Join several segments to form a long garland.
- The leaves may be used as they are, with a bright copper finish, or "aged" with a quick dip in a patina solution (figure G). Remove the leaves from the patina solution as they begin to darken, and clean them in a bowl of fresh water.
- Dry the leaves, and use steel wool to remove some of the patinaed finish to get the quality of shine you want (figure H).
- Intersperse shiny copper leaves among the patinaed ones, if desired.
RESOURCES :
Instructions for this project are found in the fall 1996 Handcraft Illustrated
Handcraft Illustrated
Red Oak, IA 51591-0450
Phone: 800-526-8447 (Subscr
Fax: Private
Email: handcraft@bcpress.com
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