Web Based Tutorials for adding Patina and Colours to Metal Clay
This page has links to websites that have valuable information, tutorials and projects about adding patina and colour to metal clay.
All links open in a new window.
Enamelling
Adding Gold, Aura 22, Gold Paste
Keum Boo
Prismacolor Pencils
Using Liver of Sulphur
Resin
Ceramic Transfers/Decals
Using Liver of Sulphur
All Things Metal Clay - Using Liver of Sulphur without Dipping
Short and useful tutorial on how to use liver of sulphur without dipping the whole piece. This is especially useful if you have a piece you want to patina in one specific area.
Fire Mountain Gems - using Liver of Sulphur
Short tutorial on using Liver of Sulphur to add colourful patina to your metal clay projects. Includes useful safety and usage tips.
Holly Gage - using Liver of Sulphur
Comprehensive and very easy to follow tutorial on using Liver of Sulphur to get fantastic patinas on metal clay.
Metal Clay UK - How to use Liver of Sulphur
Step by step guide.
Metal Clay UK - Liver of Sulphur technical info
Useful background on Liver of Sulphur.
Metal Clay UK - Safety Information for Liver of Sulphur
Read this information to ensure you use Liver of Sulphur safely.
Pat Greer - How to oxidise silver with a boiled egg
If you don't want to use Liver of Sulphur, this tutorial shows you how to oxidise silver with a boiled egg.
Petra Wennberg - Autumn Leaves Pendant
Beautiful project from Petra Wennberg. This pendant combines Keum Boo and a patina to give the leaves an Autumn look. From Making Jewellery Magazine.
Enamelling
Holly Gage - Negative Space Caning
Innovative technique for creating negative space in your metal clay designs. This technique comes from polymer clay caning. It uses combustible materials combined with metal clay to create gaps, holes etc in the designs. These can then be filled with polymer clay, resin, enamel - just about anything. Fantastically detailed tutorial from Holly who once again generously shares her discoveries for free. Great pictures.
Ganoksin - Enamelling on Metal Clay
Enameling on fine silver metal clay, excerpts from the book: Enameling with Professionals by Lilyan Bachrach.
Indie Fixx - How to apply images to enameled pendants
Great tutorial with pictures showing the process of adding designs to enameled pendants. Very thorough tutorial and easy to follow.
Jeanette Landenwitch - Easy Enamelled Metal Clay Pendant
Great tutorial from Metal Clay Guru. Shows in easy step-by-step detail how to make a pendant and then enamel it.
Karen L Cohen - What is Enamelling?
Useful explanation of enamelling terms from Karen L Cohen
Med'a Creations - Wavy rainbow earrings
Well explained project to make metal clay earrings coloured with Thompson enamels. This tutorial uses the technique of mixing the enamels with the metal clay to create coloured clay. Useful tips are given for what colours to use.
Pam East - Enameling Art Clay Copper
This useful step-by-step guide will help you to enamel successfully on Art Clay Copper clay.
Sabre Gilmartin - Sgraffitto Style Enamel Brooch
Easy project to create a brooch using coloured liquid enamel. This is from the Making Jewellery website and is free to view.
Technical information about Thompson Enamels
Lots of useful information about the different types of Thompson enamels.
Prismacolor Pencils
Debra Weld - Bringing out the Colorful Side of Copper
This page from the Copper.org website has several articles one of which is a great outline of how Debra Weld creates copper panels using Prismacolor pencils. These are then attached to metal clay for the finished article.
Priscilla Vassão - using Prismacolor Pencils
This tutorial is in Portuguese and has good pictures so it's pretty easy to follow.
Adding Gold - Aura 22, Gold Paste
PMC Guild - How do I use Aura 22?
Short article detailing the process for adding Aura 22 to silver clay work. Includes hotplate method, torch method and kiln method.
Keum Boo
Charles Lewton- Brain - Keum Boo
Interesting article about the origins of Keum Boo on Ganoksin. This article also talks about the mechanism by which Keum-boo works. It's a theoretical article and will be useful for anyone who wants to know more background on this ancient method of adding gold to silver.
Deb Fitz - simple earrings with Keum Boo
This tutorial is great value! Deb shows how to make your own jumprings, how to set a jumpring into metal clay before firing and how to add gold to your finished work using keum boo.
Keum Boo Pillow Pendant
The art of gold foil on silver by Christine Dhein. This project uses sterling silver but it gives a good description of the process of Keum Boo. It also outlines the process of depletion gilding. Published on the Jewelry Artist/Lapidary Journal website.
Petra Wennberg - Autumn Leaves Pendant
Beautiful project from Petra Wennberg. This pendant combines Keum Boo and a patina to give the leaves an Autumn look. From Making Jewellery Magazine.
Swirling Leaf Necklace by Noel Yovovich
Inspired by ancient "torques," rigid collars that open in the front, this delicate, contemporary necklace has come a long way from its heavy, classical roots. Metal clay leaves attached to sterling silver and then decorated with Keum Boo. Published on Art Jewelry Magazine's website.
Tracey Spurgin - Easy Keum Boo Earrings
This earring project was featured in Making Jewellery magazine. It shows how to make a pair of metal clay earrings then add gold foil using the Keum Boo process.
Ceramic Transfers/Decals
eHow - How to use Ceramic Decals on Metal Clay
Useful step by step tutorial about using ceramic decals on metal clay.
Helga van Leipsig - Ceramic Decals
A permanent colour application that can be fired onto fine silver to your own designs. This innovative new concept was launched at the PMC Conference in 2008 and developed by Helga van Leipsig.
Resin
Ann Davis - Sea Cucumber with Resin Inlay
Intermediate to advanced project. Very clear instructions and a beautiful outcome.
Rio Grande - Colores Doming Resin Pendant
Step by step instructions on how to create a pendant with your favourite pictures. This uses Colores resin.
Tracey Spurgin - Leaf Charm Bracelet
This project uses UV resin to add colour to an Autumnal bracelet. From Making Jewellery Magazine.
Laughing Girl Arts - UV Resin Tips and Hints
The following tips and hints were posted on the Yahoo! Metal Clay Group by Linda Gaughran at Laughing Girl Arts.
Heat the jar of resin before use. I find it too thick to flow easily
right out of the jar but when I heat it it liquifies and flows easier.
I put the open jar on my mug warmer with the lid sitting lightly on
top to block light and stir it every 30-60 seconds until it feels
loose. When it gets where I want it, somewhere between "doesn't flow"
and "runs off the toothpick before I can get it to the piece", I turn
the mug warmer off and let the jar sit there as I work. Reheat as needed.
I use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to pick up a blob of resin from
the jar and then drop onto my piece. The blob stays attached to my
skewer until I touch it down on the piece. You may need to coax the
resin to the edges of your piece with your toothpick. Be sure to wipe
up any threads or spills as they will harden on the piece too.
Remember light cures it so don't leave the lid off the jar very long
if you're working in bright light.
I'm afraid of undercured resin so I usually give it two rounds of time
under my auto-shutoff manicure lamp just to be sure. Probably not
necessary but it eases my mind. That works fine for transparent colors
too. I haven't done opaques.
I put the bottom of a cardboard shoebox upside down over the manicure
light so that the UV light doesn't leak out. And I try not to look at
it when it's on. Bad for your eyes.
Don't let the sticky residue on the top of the cured resin throw you.
It comes off perfectly with just a swipe of the UV Resin cleaner.
Conversely, if you're doing multiple layers you don't need to clean
off the sticky residue between layers. It is really sticky though so
don't get dust in it between layers.
