Commence operation cuff!

Sooo.... today I got my 0.9mm copper sheet order (and if I like making cuffs I will have to place another, bigger, one) and just had to start experimenting with making an etched cuff straightaway! And then... I couldn't find any suitable container. I etch pendants and earrings in old, ugly glass, but a cuff is obviously too big to fit in it. I have one plastic container that would be of a suitable size for etching that cuff, but right now it contains used up solution from previous etching, waiting for it to evaporate (as you can't pour it down the drain due to high copper content), or for me to finally get around to buying kitty litter (to soak it all up). I managed to find an appropriate receptacle, but all of that meant that I couldn't start until after dinner - the container in question held mushrooms ;) Anyway, after I prepared saline solution, it was time to work on the cuff itself... which led me to deeply regretting the fact that I don't have a guillotine cutter. Nor metal shears. Originally, I wanted to start working on two cuffs simultaneously, but after sawing out a blank for one, I definitely wasn't in the mood to do this all over again.

Cut out pre-cuff

Actually, I originally ordered that sheet so I could practice making rings... and then decided to make a cuff. To quote one of my favourite books: "attention span of a teabag". And I will probably leave myself a strip of that copper for those rings... if I won't forget to do that ;P Also, after the etching is done (and it's in process right now, because obviously I don't have anything better to do at 2 am than to etch a cuff... I do weird thing like that at weird times like this), I will have to anneal that strip a bit, and then smooth it out... I really couldn't be bothered to do this today (or yesterday, if you look at time and date)

Here it is after filing, smoothing out and rounding the edges. And drawing rough outlines of running wolves. Sorry for the bad picture. And yes, I did smooth and straighten it a bit, but there are still some bumps that wouldn't go away without softening the copper a bit.

I also tried nail polish as a resist for etching, and it works the best of all the media I tried up to date. I doesn't peel of, and is easy to remove after etching. But it's a bit more difficult to draw with than paint. Oh, the high tech that goes into making my etched pieces: nail polish, applied with a toothpick. And a mushroom container. 
Aaaaaand I just realised I put it into etching without adding my usual swirls... or scrolls... or spirals... ugh!!! Oh, well.

And here it is, etching

I really couldn't figure out how to attach the cuff to the wire at first. But then I thought about etching done the traditional way, and how, in just about every tutorial I saw, people suspend their projects with sticky tape, and decided to try something similar : I'm not sure, though, if the tape is fully in contact with the copper in the critical spot: that is, the one without nail polish on it. I did paint most of the back, but I wasn't sure if nail polish would, or wouldn't, stop the current, so I left small area uncovered. I sure do hope that there's no etching going on in that spot, but that will remain to be seen. It's been etching for 2h now, so I will stop the process, check how does it look, and think whether or not I would like to add scrolls ( they would be quite faint, if I etch them for just an hour). It should be finished tomorrow (or today, only much later ;) and I should have pictures of the finished piece by Friday ( that is, if I finish necklace and earrings I'm working on by then ). And now I'm going to bed. Finally ;)

So, have a great week, and till the next time :)

Kasia