Metal Work

I took a class last year to learn how to do the metal work that I have seen so much of here lately. The class was held at a local scrapbook store here in Norman and featured products by Ten Second Studio down in Fort Worth, TX.


I have always loved the beautiful tin work ceilings found in the older houses and businesses here in the plains. There are a number of ways to get the impressions you want but Ten Second Studios sells a lot of different molds, wheels, tool sets including balls and cups that you can use to make your impressions. Here are a few of the things I created in the class. The tote is painted and then covered with a designer paper except for the front panels which are metal.


The notebook shown here started out as an old black and white thesis book that we covered with a print paper and embellished with a metal square embossed with one of the molds. Once you get the metal embossed it is adhered to the work with double sided pink tape that is called a humongo killer tape sheet!! The technique is really easier then what I thought it would be but it was nice to start with something easy like this project.





The pencil cup or vase set is premade from light weight wood. We first painted the cups and try then made a panel using the metal and whatever design mold we wanted to use. I bought a set of tools that had a lot of different instruments in it and I was able to roll the edges and make designs in the metal. The metal is already painted and after you emboss the design in it you sand the piece with a sanding block and polish it with a paper towel. The paint is removed leaving the soft patina of aged metal!





I had to try doing my name and planned on hanging it up over my desk but haven't gotten around to it yet. The house is the second item I made during the class. The metal was black and once it was sanded and polished the shine of the aluminum came through beautifully.




For some reason I couldn't get a clear picture of the glass case but the point I was wanting to make here is that the metal is so thin that it will curve around corners lying flat and smooth.