Ketchup - not just for french fries

I finally tried the Ketchup bath to shine up tarnished copper. I read that the acidity of the vinegar in Ketchup removes tarnished copper. Wow. Was I ever surprised! I know this isn't anything new and many of you probably are aware of this, but for those of you who are not, I'm sharing my findings. Please excuse the crud photos, but you'll get the idea.

So above we have our Ketchup (or "catsup" as my grandma used to say), any brand will do, a bowl, tweezers, paper towel and an unfinished copper clasp I made a couple months ago from pure copper wire.

Here is the aged copper clasp. It is a beautiful earthy color, but lets brighten this puppy up a bit.

If the copper piece you are wanting to brighten up is just that - a copper piece, you actually submerge it in the Ketchup. However, if there are beads, stones, etc. included, then I would suggest to not submerge it. I'm only partially submerging the clasp to show the difference after the Ketchup bath.

I only left it submerged for about 30-45 seconds, but you can leave it in longer. When I took it out of the bath it had already removed most of the tarnish on that section! I wiped it off with the paper towel and I was happily surprised with the outcome. Of course you clean it off with water afterwards as I did after the experiment and it was much brighter than the photo. Oh and you can also take a soft toothbrush with the Ketchup to help remove the tarnish.

This was so much fun that I wanted to do more! Although I got the strange urge to eat some french fries. Anyway, I looked around the studio for any other aged copper as I didn't want to waste my Ketchup bath! Nothing. Darn it! Hmm. I wonder if it works on aged skin?

Although Copper looks quite beautiful as it ages, especially that deep earthy brown shade (love it!) some people prefer the bright and shiny look. So if you want to brighten up your copper and want to go about it naturally, give it a Ketchup bath. And hey, while you're at it, toss some french fries in the oven and have a snack at the same time!

Sasha's Ketchup Facts of the Day:

(okay, they are not hers, she got them while surfing the web)

- People other than my grandma call it "catsup"

- 1 tbls has 16 calories and zero fat

- 4 tbls has the nurtional value of a medium ripe tomato

- ketchup originally contained pickled fish (YUCK!)

- is the main ingrediant of barbeque sauce

- you can kill a pickle with a toothpick and ketchup (according to my son when he was younger... very funny story I'll share one day)

"Ding" - ooh, gotta go, french fries are done!

Rocki

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Specials!

Muy Caliente - Hot Cherry Pepper Coral and Turquoise Nugget Necklace

I'm having specials in both of my shops for Black Friday & Cyber Monday - all 4 days! So what are the specials?

Rocki's Rock 'n Beads: 20% off my entire shop or 25% any item with the color RED in it! Ahem... like the hot piece above (read the description and you'll see why I call it Muy Caliente!

Rocki's Supplies: Free Shipping! Sorry, due to the International mailing process this is for US only. BUT for my International customers you will receive a very nice bonus gift instead!

Oxidized Wild West - Artisan Handcrafted Sterling Silver Ear Wires

Above is another new addition to my Etsy supply shop. I've actually added a couple other new ones, but just haven't been able to post them. I'll be introducing another new item next week.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday festivities. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you all next week!

☼ Rocki

More New Additions...

I planned on blogging about something else this morning, but got a late start and am running out of time, so thought I would just share some more new additions that I have added to my shop.

Above are my new Oxidized Brass Long Ovals. I've been trying different methods of oxidizing Brass and I think I've found my favorite one :)


These little hotties I call "Sexy French". What can I say? That's the first thing that came to my mind.

I know, nothing exciting about headpins, but I'm slowly adding a variety of gauges and below, obviously, are my 20 gauge headpins for larger beads.


Well that's it. Just another quickie and now I'm off to get some orders filled. I'll be back later on to visit all my buddies blogs :)

(added note: Hop on over to my buddy's blog "Heart of a Cowgirl" to read the awesome feature she did of me this morning - plus look around, her blog rocks! Thank you B!)

Happiness to all,
Rocki

Just a quickie...

Yes, I said a quickie - as in a post (yes, I hear those of you saying, "Rocki? A quickie without getting wordy? Riiiiiiiight"). I'm just too exited to wait and want to share my newest additions like the ones above: Oxidized Fine Silver Headpins! I've been working on getting these oxidized just right (as I like them to be anyway) and am quite pleased with how they turned out - even more so with the photos (not my favorite thing to do (folds arms and shakes head no-no-no-no...)

I'll be adding the above later tonight or tomorrow morning. These are my Long Ovals that I already offer in my shop in Sterling Silver, but now they are also available in 14K Gold Filled!

Alas, my Elongated Squovals are now also available in 14K Gold Filled - per Laura's request. Yes Laura, I finally did it (happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you... :)

Well, that's it. My quickie post. Now I'm off to make supper then watch the new Journey to the Center of the Earth - in 3-D!

Happiness to all,

♥ Rocki

Patina, Patata, Pinata

So I owe another big thank you to one of my customers. She wanted dark oxidized earwires and asked if I could do that for her. Of course I said yes as I will do anything that I am able to in order to please my customers. I don't just say "I'm happy when my customers are happy" for nothing, I sincerely mean it.

Above are my Medium Hoops in a dark patina, rather like a gunmetal to black. I was quite surprised how cool they turned out. Even Mark commented how great they looked.

These are my Signature Elfin earwires in a random brushed type patina, kind of like an antique look. Again, big approval from Mark who originally thought that oxidizing them wouldn't look very good. Okay, I have to be honest, I kind of thought the same thing, but wow - these are so pretty!

Above are my Baby Elfins in the same finish as the hoops. I just can't get over how awesome they turned out.

I've oxidized before and having been wanting to add some oxidized supplies to my shop, but guess I was waiting for someone to nudge me along. It's actually kind of fun to do, well except the horrific smell of the Liver of Sulfur (LOS). If you don't know what LOS smells like here's a little hint: have you ever smelled rotten eggs? I mean LOTS of rotten eggs? Well, put them all in a zip lock bag, stick your nose in the bag and take a little whiff. There you go. Now you know.

My customer's order has been shipped out and I listed my new additions the other day. Last night I sold 2 of them! Much to my surprise they were sold to one of my sweet friends who I will not name unless she wants to let everyone know (just in case what she is making is a surprise).

I'm off to start my day. Lots of earwires to make and the smell of LOS is calling my name.

Patina, Patata.... anyway you say it, Patina ROCKS!

Smell you all later,

Rocki