Nicole
2005-08-11, 10:17am
Nicole’s Copper Cutout Tutorial
I started making beads with copper in them after seeing the technique in Cindy Jenkins’s ‘Making Glass Beads’. The copper turns such a nice shade of red when encased with clear glass. It’s just begs for creative play! When I was at Pilchuck I bought some sheets of copper foil. They had it in huge rolls, I was in heaven. Then I stumbled across some very cool paper punches at Paper-Ya in Vancouver. Bingo!! The two were meant to be together!
Special Tools & Materials Needed
· Copper Foil
· Craft Punches (small or mini size)
· Hot Plate to preheat the copper cut out
· Marver
· Tweezers
1. Prepare you cutouts by punching out shapes from the copper foil.
2. Preheat these cutouts on your hotplate. They will turn black in the heat. Don’t worry it will turn back to red after it cools.
3. Make a basic bead; get the spot where you want to place the cutout very hot. It should have a bright red glow.
4. Pick up the cutout with the tweezes and gently brush it in the flame and immediately press it onto the bead. Marver down the cutout as fast as possible. Heat and speed are both necessary to get the copper to stick.
5. Encase your bead with transparent glass. Different colours will give the copper a different shade.
Tips:
Take care not to overheat the copper in the flame as you can easily melt off the details. Store bought punches can get a bit repetitive. Try drawing your own designs on to the foil and cutting out unique shapes. A bit of repousse can add dimension and depth to your designs. Or use leather or jewelry embossing tools. So much can be done with this technique. Play and have fun!
PS
You can buy copper foil where ever fusing supplies are sold.
I started making beads with copper in them after seeing the technique in Cindy Jenkins’s ‘Making Glass Beads’. The copper turns such a nice shade of red when encased with clear glass. It’s just begs for creative play! When I was at Pilchuck I bought some sheets of copper foil. They had it in huge rolls, I was in heaven. Then I stumbled across some very cool paper punches at Paper-Ya in Vancouver. Bingo!! The two were meant to be together!
Special Tools & Materials Needed
· Copper Foil
· Craft Punches (small or mini size)
· Hot Plate to preheat the copper cut out
· Marver
· Tweezers
1. Prepare you cutouts by punching out shapes from the copper foil.
2. Preheat these cutouts on your hotplate. They will turn black in the heat. Don’t worry it will turn back to red after it cools.
3. Make a basic bead; get the spot where you want to place the cutout very hot. It should have a bright red glow.
4. Pick up the cutout with the tweezes and gently brush it in the flame and immediately press it onto the bead. Marver down the cutout as fast as possible. Heat and speed are both necessary to get the copper to stick.
5. Encase your bead with transparent glass. Different colours will give the copper a different shade.
Tips:
Take care not to overheat the copper in the flame as you can easily melt off the details. Store bought punches can get a bit repetitive. Try drawing your own designs on to the foil and cutting out unique shapes. A bit of repousse can add dimension and depth to your designs. Or use leather or jewelry embossing tools. So much can be done with this technique. Play and have fun!
PS
You can buy copper foil where ever fusing supplies are sold.