by Rosalie
(Harrisburg, PA)

I want to learn how to make jewelry that you take like a leaf and dip it in some type of liquid copper. It is not fired. Then it is finished with some paint just to highlight it.

The piece I was given is a twig, leaf and small acorn, it was dipped – finished and a pin was put on the back. It is beautiful and I would like to learn how to make these.

I can e-mail you a picture if you do need to see it. I cannot find any info on it, nor will the person who made it tell me how it was done other than it is not heated, it’s a cold dip and then put into a wash of some kind.

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starstarstarstarstar		 How to Make Copper Leaf Charms from Real Leaves
by: Christine ~how-to-make-jewelry

I can’t say for sure how your specific items were made, but here’s a guess at how you could make similar copper leaves.

There’s something called “Copper Clay” that is pretty new on the market.

You may have heard of “PMC” or Precious Metal Clay. It’s been around for a few years, but until recently it was only available in silver or gold. Now you can get copper and bronze which are far less expensive.

Basically metal clay is similar to regular clay except it is filled with actual metal. You work it in a similar way to regular clay (the one you make clay pots, ceramics, etc. out of) but then you can fire it and the binder burns away leaving only the metal behind.

So to make a copper leaf from a real leaf, you could make a slip out of the copper clay (slip is watered down clay the consistency of heavy cream) and paint it onto the back of a leaf, then let it dry, and fire it with a torch.

Everything burnable would burn off leaving only the copper.

That’s a pretty simplistic explanation of how to do it. To do this well it takes a fair bit of skill, knowledge, and experience but this will give you a starting point.

Here are some places to find more information about metal clay and copper clay:

CopprClay.com
PMC Guild Beginner’s Getting Started Guide

Some pictures of metal clay leaves:
JoyfulJewelry

Supplier Resource Links:
PMC Guild’s Supplier Links
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starstarstarstarstar		 Where to Find Liquid Copper for Jewelry?
by: Anonymous

The process used to make your leaves, etc, was almost certainly electro-forming. The organic material is painted with a conductive paint, then copper is deposited on the surface just the same way that baby shoes are bronzed – using electricity in a bath. It is not terribly difficult, but requires equipment and careful chemistry.

It is possible to reproduce leaves from copper clay as previously described. But so far it does not seem to work to fire copper clay with a torch rather than a kiln (and a steel pan full of charcoal).

There is a new type coming soon (Art Clay Copper) that apparently can be torch fired, I have read.
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starstarstarstarstar		 liquid copper
by: Anonymous

where can u buy liquid copper

 

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About the Author

Christine Gierer

I'm Christine Gierer and I'm obsessed with making jewelry and teaching others how to do it too. I've been a creative person all my life, and I've done all kinds of things like art, sociology, and counseling. But nothing makes me happier than playing with beads, wires, and tools and sharing my tips and tricks with you. I have two awesome websites where you can find tons of tutorials, courses, and workshops on how to make jewelry and how to sell it online.

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