Zentangling

 What fun to try something new! I have been zentangling once a month with friends, and this month we tried doodling on fabric.  The first photo is before and the second is after, although as I look at the photos now, the first one is the other side of the bag.  Oh well, the scroll design was the same.  This is a canvas bag that Marsha of MarshNealStudio.com gave me.  Since it was natural canvas, I thought it would work well, but I was a little frustrated.  The texture was heavy enough that the ink wouldn't write a clean line and it was lighter than the printed pattern.  But after a while, I decided it was ok.  I like the bottom pattern more than the top, but it is all good.

It is always fun to learn a new skill!

Electroforming finally

I finally got my electroforming equipment set up.  I learned the process from Kate Fowle Meleeney late last year, and I finally had some time to try it out, although I had to clean off a flat space first.  I tried it on a few beads that I didn't particularly like.  They didn't come out quite how I expected, but I think I know what I did wrong.  The Berks Bead Bazaar is this coming weekend, and I had hoped to have some electroformed beads to show, but I ran out of time.   The beads on toothpicks have been painted and are ready for the process.  Just the paint is stunning!  There are also a few of Yvonne Irvins My Elements components to be done yet.
After the paint is dry, the bead is hung in the acid solution between two copper strips and the wires connected for current to flow, and copper is deposited onto the conductive paint.  If the solution is new, the process takes 8 hours or so, and as it gets older, it takes much longer.  Only one bead at a time can be electroformed, so I doubt if I will ever have too many beads.

This is a bead out of the solution, all bright and shiny.  I can leave it this way, or I can patina the copper.  So many possibilities to try!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Kate!