StrangeWhimsy's Blog

Strange Whimsy's Blog
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Using Liver of Sulfur

Published: 12-08-2011 12:37pm
Posted In: Techniques
I use liver of sulfur in gel form to antique or patina my metal's. I prefer the gel formula to the dry form not only for ease of use and extended shelf life but it eliminates the dust factor when breaking up the rock form. You can use liver of sulfur to patina any pure metal, anything with an anti-tarnish coating will not darken. All you need to use liver of sulfur gel is a bowl and some hot water, you want the mixture to look med to dark yellow. The hotter the water the faster it will work so watch it closely.I love copper for many, many different reason's but one of my main reason's is the variety of patina's you can achieve with it. Here is an ... » Read More

Using the odd.

Published: 12-01-2011 10:06pm
Posted In: Products
I have a fondness for unusual and odd things and that includes my choices in gemstone's.  I gravitate towards stone's with natural variation's or matrix's because I like different. Different is good. Here are a couple of example's of what I do with different :)The gemstone's are Peruvian blue opals. The cut of gemstone (smooth nugget) and the black matrix patterns in these stone's, are what satisfy my craving for the unusual in this bracelet. The combination make's this bracelet not only pretty but interesting to look at and I think that's very important for jewelry. I love the crackle finish on these Carnelian gemstone rounds, I feel it give's a... » Read More

Welcome to Strange Whimsy

Published: 11-09-2011 05:53pm
Posted In: Inspirations
I found out something the other day...picking the name of your business is alot harder than i thought. So I thought to myself i could make a play on words out of the style of jewelry i make.....foolish i be and foolish i looked :) The only word that kept coming to mind was strange. My style is  all over the place, some was soft and sweet while others had lots of metal and black, some...well...some were just odd...yea that's a good word for it. So frustrated at not being able to think of anything else I decided to look up the definition of 'strange' adjective, strang·er, strang·est, adverb –adjective 1. unusual, extraordinar... » Read More

Crackle effect

Published: 11-09-2011 05:51pm
Posted In: Techniques
I get alot of compliments on my crackle effect I achieve on certain pieces, so I thought I would share how I make it happen. Here's an example: To get this effect, I mix the color I want as my base...this was navy blue and gold with a little black added in :) then once the conditioning is done I make the clay into a  little pancake and set on a piece of card stock to rest. Depending on how dry or sticky your clay is will depend on the 'sit' time. An easy test is to do is turn the clay over and give it a slight bend, if you see no cracks then it needs more time...super big cracks, just smash up and try over :) This is when I pick out my flow... » Read More
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