A chronicle of the meanderings, false starts (which in retrospect, while sort of embarrassing turned out to be highly instructive), epiphanies, selective apathy (still evolving), wild mood swings, opinions (subject to frequent change), and life lessons of an inveterate dabbler (and her latest dabblings).

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate


The other day I thought of these Ghanaian brass medallions I had gotten from Happy Mango Beads eons ago (and have been mostly hoarding ever since), and wondered if they would take a patina. Why not, I thought? They appear to be a rustic blending of brass and copper, perfect for patinas! As perfect together as peanut butter and chocolate. I gave it a shot, and the results are above. Clockwise from upper left: 1) Traditional verdigris patina from MissFickleMedia; 2) Saffron Yellow universal patina from MissFickleMedia, with a little bit of Blood Red and Tangerine Swellegant patinas, and just a touch of Violet dye oxide patina mixed with Old Lace (off-white) patina from MissFickleMedia; and 3) lastly more Violet + Old Lace patina, with little dabs of Saffron, Blood Red and Tangerine. (Adding just a bit of the Old Lace to the Violet makes it nicely opaque and really makes the color brilliant). I'd say it worked!

Happy Mango doesn't appear to have these precise beads in stock currently, but they have other African metal beads with a similar look that would probably work really well for this, as long as they were brass or copper. (And just this second I thought of some other brass beads from Happy Mango I have....hmm....)

9 comments:

  1. these are brilliant!
    i have to laugh - i saw beads like that and they were calling to me to put patina on them - good job!

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  2. Oh gosh, I do love the brightness of these. Just stunning.

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  3. Very pretty! The colors are gorgeous!

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  4. Oh, excellent! I, too, have some of these - no wonder they're out of stock as I see others have them! Thanks so much for this detailed information on using patinas on them! I was wondering, but never got around to it! LoVe your colors!

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  5. Oh, excellent! I, too, have some of these - no wonder they're out of stock as I see others have them! Thanks so much for this detailed information on using patinas on them! I was wondering, but never got around to it! LoVe your colors!

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  6. Keirsten, I saw something that looks similar?? and they appear to be in stock:

    http://www.happymangobeads.com/brassroundmedallionbeads22mm-ghaname267.aspx

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