12 Days of Christmas: Snowy Mountain Top Pendant

A snowy mountain made from sheet copper? Yep! I wanted to create a fun and playful winter pendant. This is a basic metal work project, it’s great for a beginner but I do recommend a little practice before you dig into a finished pendant.

Supplies
.016″ or 22mm copper sheet
10mm polymer clay bead
5″ 19 gauge steel wire
15mm gunmetal jump ring
4mm copper jump ring
24″ copper chain
Live of sulphur gel
fine steel wool
Swellegant Tiffany Green Patina
Vintaj Patina Paint (marble)
Renaissance wax
Packing tape

Tools:
Sharpie marker
Metal Shears
Metal file
Steel bench block
Riveting hammer
Metal hole punch
Wire cutters
Chain, flat and round nose pliers
3 paint brushes
Small plastic container

1. Draw a triangle on your metal with the Sharpie marker that is 1 1/2″ wide at the base. With the metal shears cut out the triangle. Never cut with the tips of the shears, always in the center.

2. File the edges of the triangle with the metal file.

3. Tape one end of the triangle to the bench  block. Use the tapered end of the riveting hammer and strike on the metal with the hammer hitting flat on the metal. Hammer the lines vertically on mountain on 2/3 of the piece, leaving the top 1/3 plain for the snowy cap.

Note: If you hit on with the edge of the hammer it will leave a small mark instead of a long line. You may want to practice this technique before trying it on your finished piece.

4. Punch a hole at the top of the pendant.

5. In a small shallow dish, add a few drops of water and the pendant. Brush on the liver of sulfur gel to darken the copper. Turn over and brush the back of the pendant. Rinse in clean water. Dry with a paper towel.

6. Place the pendant on paper towel. With the other paint brush, brush on a light, even coat of the Swellegant patina on the textured half of the pendant. Don’t brush on a thick layer.

Set a timer for 4 minutes. Rinse the patina off in clean water as soon as the timer goes off. Carefully pat dry with a paper towel – don’t rub!

Note: The patina doesn’t show hardly any color until it’s rinsed off and dried. If you leave the patina on for too long or have too much of it on the metal it will turn bright green instead the blue/green patina.

7. Pat on a very thin layer of wax. Don’t rub. the color will darken and then lighten again when the wax dries. Let the wax dry completely.

8. Shake the patina paint well, add a drop on top a plastic lid or piece of wax paper. Paint on patina paint on the top of pendant, overlapping the paint and blue/green patina slightly. Repeat with another layer if needed. Let dry completely and pat on a thin layer of wax.

9. With the 19 gauge wire, use the round nose pliers to form a large loop 2″ from the bottom of the wire. Open the loop and slide on the pendant. Close the loop and create a wrapped loop above the pendant with the rest of the wire. Add on the polymer clay bead, create a wrapped loop above the bead.

10. Attach the 4mm jump ring to the bottom of both ends of the chain, close jump ring.

11. Attach the 15mm jump ring to the pendant and slide on the jump ring with the chain. Close the jump ring.

Resources: Jump rings, copper and Vintaj patina paint: Hobby Lobby. Liver of sulfur gel and Renisannce Wax: Fusion Beads. Wire: Ace Hardware. Chain: Yadana Beads. Polymer clay bead: Humblebeads.