Dental Hygiene worries

A year from now I will be taking national boards, finals and getting ready to perform as a dental hygienist. A year may seem like a long time, but for us it seems like too short a span to learn all that we must to be hygienists. We are constantly comparing ourselves to a standard in our minds that we feel we may never reach.

Next Monday, some of us see our first patients. We will review their health history, perform an extra and intra oral exam and perhaps start probing the depths of their subgingiva. We have been doing this for months on each other and on mannequins, but the thought of doing this on real clients frightens us deeply. I think that is because we are so focused on doing good and making everything perfect for our clients. We must remember that although we are seeing these patients, this is a learning experience for us and the clients know it too. We are not expeced to be perfect and ready for boards after only a few months, so we should not expect ourselves to be either.

The Many Colors of Copper

I Would like to present examples of the finishes I've been able to put on copper.

In the upper left are a variety of verdigris patinas. Each square represents a slightly different technique and the results can range from statue of liberty green to deep sea blue.
The upper right has some representations of the dark oxidizing colors of liver of sulfur treatment. The colors range from deep woody brown to black to deep gray.

The lower right pieces have been etched with acid and then cleaned with vinegar and salt. They have a matte orange appearance.

The lower left pieces were heated in the oven to high temperatures and depending on the pretreatment the copper comes out with anything up to rainbow colors.

The center piece is just clean smooth copper.

Copper can be manipulated to be almost any color and can even be enameled.

More on the chemical etching experiment.

Chemical etching is the newest technique I've learned in the realm of jewelry making, and I've got to say it has potential.


It even works on aluminum.

Copper etching experiment

I am currently experimenting with etching copper. I had not previously played around with the technique because I could not find Ferric Chloride, which is the main chemical used in the etching process. Tonight, though, I stumbled on a different formula for copper etching. This one is even reusable and much less toxic and I can make it from household products.

The basic premise is this. Add 1 part muriatic acid to 2 parts hydrogen peroxide for the etching solution, then add toner or permanent marker to the copper where the copper should not be etched.

For my first experimental attempt I took a scrap piece and scribbled some random runes on it along with a rough drawing of a keyhole. I left it in the solution for about 15 minutes and the images were etched into the copper, along with a lovely oil slick color pattern.

Copper thing of the week #2

I have had a ton of crafting juice in me lately so I made several pieces and experimental bits. The one I'm most proud of is this wire tree pendant.

Thing a Week

I think I'm going to try to do a thing a week type challenge for my little craft projects. Starting this week I will try to make and post at least one new trinket each week. Here is this weeks trinket.



Basically it is a slice of copper pipe with a viking knit going toward the center. I got the inspiration from library book called Fabulous Woven Jewelry and I think I will continue to work with it as an inspiration for the next project.

random projects

I'm in no mood really describe and label all this stuff, just let me know what you think of any of them.