Welcome Fall
Hello everyone. Hard to believe it is the last day of August. Where has the summer gone?
In my area, there is an annual Apple Festival and the yummy cider brings thoughts of Fall to my mind and to my post for your today. I used a heated copper technique thanks to a friend who had some spare copper roll.
I wanted to showcase how Poppystamps dies can be used to cut thin (.003) copper sheeting so I used three different dies and ended up with my main card and two additional variations. I hope you enjoy!
I cut an A2 card as a top fold. Next I cut a smaller darker brown rectangle and ran through an embossing folder to create the wood-grain texture before moving onto heating the copper.
In order to heat copper, you must have a heat proof surface. I used an old half-sheet baking pan flipped over. I used a mini-torch (think Creme Brulee kitchen torch) as my heat source. After it cooled, I carefully cut it with a paper trimmer. The edges can be sharp so be careful not to get cut. It is a good idea to heat the copper outside if using a butane mini torch.
I had a few missteps in running the dies through. The frame around the leaves is very delicate and stuck to my cutting plates. Then I thought to add a piece of cardstock below the copper, then the copper and then the [1064] Maple Leaf Poppystamps die. I ran through my Big Shot a couple times in order to be assured a clean cut as the copper is thicker than cardstock. Problem solved! It didn't stick to the cutting plates. You can simply (but carefully) peel back the cardstock and you have the copper ready to adhere to your card.
Your could use foam adhesives to give some height or glue circles or hot glue. I used a combination of glue dots and foam adhesive squares to adhere to the card. Inside, not shown, I simply put a vanilla color of cardstock and stamped [CS308B] Thank You So Much greeting from Poppystamps.
My second example with heated copper is a Christmas card using [1056] Viviro Ornament and [CS307B] Holidays Sparkle Cling Stamp with [1005] Classic Ribbons Die.
The last example uses a the [1028] Delaney Butterfly Poppystamps Die against a plain black background. This card is quite flexible and can be used for a thank you, sympathy or even to say hello.
This will be one of my last posts as part of the Poppystamps Design Team. I will be stepping down in September. I want to thank Poppystamps for the wonderful opportunity to be part of their Design Team for the last 12 months. I have made a lot of friends among the talented ladies on the team and hope that I have inspired some of you to get crafting with Poppystamps. I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by the Poppystamps blog and view my creations.
Have a wonderful Autumn and Holiday season.
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These are very pretty but what about the mail man and vulnerable spectators who don’t see the sharp edges coming? Metal foils are very attractive to children. You can dull the edges by hitting them or bend them under but using metallic waxes on card is a much safer method for a similar effect.
The sharp edges can be addressed by running it through the Big shot after it is cut into a shape after removing the die.
Very pretty! Thanks for the inspiration!
Beautiful cards!
Gorgeous cards. I especially love the leaves on the grey woodgrain background – stunning.
Those leaves are exquisite!
Kimberly,
These are fantastic! I too, have been experimenting with all kinds of materials to use with the Poppystamps dies, but this heated copper technique is absolutely beautiful! These would make unique mobiles, or wind chimes, or window hangings – -endless possibilities!
It has been a real pleasure being a part of the design team with you. Best of luck in all your future projects!
Thanks Michele. Stay in touch and I will be watching the Poppystamps blog!
These are SO beautiful!
When I saw your gorgeous copper leaves were cut with a Poppy die, I was shocked & excited to find out they cut the copper so nicely… I don’t know where I got the idea that another die was the only one that could cut copper this nice. Where have I been that I didn’t know this??? I feel like an idiot but this does open up a new window for me using copper & I’ll be looking at dies in a totally different way now. 🙂 I do have a lot of dies I thought would look awesome made w a patina or heated copper but they’re all thin dies like Poppy but now I can try those dies & see which ones will cut copper, at my own risk… 🙂 I know there’s the Patina Techniques that I have used & but it’s just not the same as using real copper is going to be. Oh this is going to be so much more fun. Yes Sue, wind chimes & mobiles are going to be so much fun to make. Thank you Kimberly for showing this old brain that it can be done! hahaha
Hi Kimberly, I was wondering if you could find out where your friend got her .003 copper sheeting? I found a place in Canada that carries the .003 copper but the postage was going to be the same price as the copper. I didn’t though that Lowe’s or Home Depot would carry copper that is that thin. Thank you…