Filling In The Blanks

Sorry 'bout that; sometimes the clever titles come easily, sometimes you just gotta push it.  So, today's post is all about Vintaj brass blanks.  They are pieces of brass, different sizes, different shapes, different finishes, just waiting to be altered in some way.  The metal is thick enough to be sturdy, but thin enough to take embossing and hole punching (if you have a cropodile or japanese screw punch).  Well, I'm pretty sure you could also bang a hole in them with hammer and nail, though I haven't tried that.  According to the Vintaj website, the blanks can also be cut with metal shears and filed.  For more information and a look at the whole line, click on the link above.

Vintaj recently partnered up with Sizzix to manufacture little embossing folders (they look very much like the Sizzlits; more on that later).  What is unique about them, is that they have different designs on each folder, so you get several different looks from each one.  

Vintaj also got together with Ranger, and now there are MANY bottles of patina to choose from, should you want to totally alter the look of the metal.  And a sealer too, to make your colors permanent.

I've had some of the blanks, two embossing folders, and a handful of patinas for quite some time, and this past weekend I finally got around to experimenting with them.  First I made these dangly earrings.

Too much glare to really make out the design, but I used the folder with the leaves and ferns and isolted the area I wanted on my blanks.  Then I used my japanese screw punch to make an extra hole in the circles so that the little rectangles could be attached.  As for the patina....well, there are many layers and I used lots of colors.  You can apply one color at a time with a paintbrush, or several (the way you would alcohol inks), which I did, dabbing them onto the metal with a foam sponge.  The predominant color though, is verdigris. 

I wanted to see if I could use my Sizzlits, as I have a few of those.  The answer, yes and no.  I tried.  I got an impression, but I won't be doing it again.  The Sizzlit seems a tiny bit bent and the blank is also a little less than flat.  I just have a feeling that using one again and again with the metal will end in disaster.  Also, the Sizzlits aren't designed the same way; most are just one larger image or scattered smaller ones, and don't work well with the sizes of the blanks.  I have one of a dotted heart, and when I used it on the necklace I made (next photo) only the dots showed up.  The overall heart was too large, and the round blank I used just nestled inside it.  Not a problem; I like the dots, but that is just an example of the design differences between these two (at first glance identical) Sizzix products.

For this one, I punched three extra holes on the bottom to attach the charms and the key.  All were colored with verdigris, moss, jade, and onyx (that would be black) patinas, with just a touch of ochre.  Easy peasy, and a great way to unify metals that you might not normally put together.  And it's a totally different look than what you get with alcohol inks, so I consider these products to be a good addition to my (ever growing) stash.