working with copper

When it comes to working with copper their are several techniques that I like to use I usually start by sawing a piece of copper sheet into different shapes than I bend it non-uniformly and weld different items on it such as bended copper wire and tiny copper balls and than I add some stones.

Copper

Copper is my favorite metal to work with mainly because it's very flexible and easy to shape and bend and cheap too, which makes it the best material to use in jewelry prototypes, and accessories or in making big pieces of jewelry without worrying about it's price and how to sell it. when it come to buying copper it's not defined by karats but it comes in different grades there's the imported copper and the factory or workshop leftovers, the difference between them is, the imported copper is more flexible and softer which makes it easier to deal with and shinier that gives better looks to products, on the other hand the leftover is stiff and not very smooth but some times it's nice to use specially if u want the tough rough look, beside the leftover copper usually doesn't have a uniform color which i find somehow funky and nice, but when it comes to jewelry making i prefer to use the firsthand as when in contact with the skin it’s smooth and soft. Copper comes in varies forms such as sheets, wires, pipes and rods it usually comes in two colors yellow and red. copper also comes in different thicknesses starting from approximately 0.2mm to 7 or 8 mm in sheets, approximately from 0.5mm to 8mm in wire, and approximately from 0.4mm to 15, 20 cm diameter in pipes and rods.

Removing tarnish from copper and silver utensils, jewelry and accessories

There are several methods to remove tarnish from copper and silver items using stuff found around the house here are some of them: 1- Sodium bicarbonate: Dip an old tooth brush or your finger in sodium bicarbonate powder and brush or rub the copper or silver item until tarnish is removed. 2- H2o+soap: boil some powder soap in boiling water, than boil the copper or silver item from 15 minutes to one hour. 3- Lemon & salt: Dip half a lemon in some salt and scrub the copper or silver item with it until Tarnish is removed. 4- Vinegar & salt: scrub the copper or silver item with a mixture of vinegar and salt. I highly recommend the sodium bicarbonate as I use it all the time on my jewelry and accessories when I don’t want to motor brush them after producing the items I simply dip my finger in sodium bicarbonate and rub the piece of jewelry or the home accessory item until the desired shade is obtained.

Being a jewelry and home accessories designer I've been asked tremendously about how i make my jewelry and accessories, and about the best ways to clean and store jewelry. So this blog will be dedicated to information and tips about copper and silver including techniques i use to create my jewelry and accessories and tips about how to store and maintain your Jewelry and accessories.