Mad About Metal: More Than 50 Embossed Craft Projects for Your Home PDF
Preview Mad About Metal: More Than 50 Embossed Craft Projects for Your Home
Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Craft metal Supporting mediums Tools and materials Textures and techniques Color techniques Projects Beginners Boxes and tins Notebooks and journals Frames and mirrors Candle wraps Wall art Trays and coasters Upcycle Decorative and useful Masterpieces Quick ideas Tips, tricks and extra ideas Templates and designs ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “You can’t use up creativity; the more you use, the more you have.” –Maya Angelou Our deepest thanks go to our publisher and all at Metz Press, especially Wilsia Metz, for believing in our metal- crafting abilities. Our thanks, also, to photographer Ivan Naudé for capturing our work in such outstanding visual images. Much gratitude goes to our families for their patience, understanding and support during our creative journey. And, most important, a special thanks to all those creative—and soon to be creative—people who bought this book, and who will, we hope, recommend it to anyone who wants to explore their creativity. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your creative experiences. The Mad About Metal team Lee, Suzan and Monica INTRODUCTION Writing this book was a first for all of us, and what a great adventure it has been! Although we decided to take on the challenge as a team, it has been a solitary experience at times; each of us designing and developing new ideas and projects, working alone in our separate studios, in different parts of the city. Often, cellphone messages and photographs were the way we kept in touch and updated each other on progress. Strangely, these messages always seemed to be sent and received at exactly the moment when inspiration and motivation were most needed. A shared passion for working with metal and textures—helped along by dedication, understanding and enthusiasm—made it possible for us to work together, and for this we are grateful to one another. Although there were some stressful days, for the most part, this was a fun experience. Color makes life beautiful! We’ve always been enthralled by craft metal, and the endless possibilities it provides to create texture and color capable of brightening up the dullest day. As crafters and teachers we’ve experimented with a wide variety of craft mediums, but we were always drawn back to metal craft. The ability to transform a flat piece of metal into a multi-dimensional end product is truly the finest creative experience anyone can have. The art of metal embossing (or repoussé) has been around for centuries and has traditionally been associated with metals such as pewter and copper. We aim to break the boundaries of traditional embossing work with a colorful and modern new approach that will inspire young and old to be creative and try new ideas. In this book we will show you how to create lovely embossed pieces by combining craft metal with texture and color. The projects have been designed and created specifically to demonstrate a variety of techniques. They vary from easy projects that can be made in very little time, using inexpensive hand-held tools, to more advanced items that require a bit more skill and the use of a variety of tools and accessories that are readily available and complement craft metal perfectly. Throughout Mad About Metal you will find expert tips and additional ideas to help you along your way. We hope our book will inspire you to become creative using craft metal, even if you haven’t tried any craft mediums before. As you learn to master the skills you could well become passionate about metal craft and the creative experience of taking a blank piece of colored metal and turning it into your own uniquely beautiful creation. beautiful creation. Please Note: The instructions and materials, i.e. “Creaticca texture plates,” “Supawood,” etc., are merely recommendations. However, you may be able to find other items to substitute. Please use caution and care when handling craft metal and working on these projects, as the materials or tools may contain sharp edges. Read all safety instructions for tools and/or machinery before operating. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK It would be worth your while to spend some time reading through and familiarizing yourself with the content of the chapters on craft metal, tools and materials, textures and embossing techniques as well as coloring techniques. Doing so will give you a solid base for becoming creative with craft metal. Start off by tackling some of the easier projects. The first few projects were designed to familiarize you with basic techniques such as cutting, embossing, sanding and glueing. You only learn through experience and from making mistakes. Don’t be discouraged if something doesn’t work out as planned on the first attempt. There have been times when we’ve had to repeat a project two or three times before getting it right; in fact, some projects didn’t even make it to the book—but trial and error is, after all, how you become a master of your craft. The projects in this book are merely suggestions and examples of what can be achieved. It is important to have fun and at the same time to give your own creative ideas the scope to change them to suit your own style and taste. As you embark on your metal-crafting journey, remember our motto: If you can move it, you can metal it. Go metalistic—go mad about metal.
Description:The list of books you might like
