Spotted Brass

by Nancy Vaughan.
(San Diego, California USA)

A couple of weeks ago I was putting some lotion on my hands and when I set the bottle down it burped. The burped lotion landed on a brass bracelet that was on my dresser. I started to clean it up but then stopped and looked at it. I wondered what would happen if I left the lotion on the bracelet for 2 or 3 day.

When I washed the lotion off a few days later I got a real surprise. There was an unusual pattern where the lotion had been and it was a different color than the rest of the brass.

Not being one to pass up the possibility of an interesting experiment I decided to see what would happen if I put lotion dots on sheet brass. Would you believe…leopard spots!

Of course the next step was to make a piece of jewelry. So I made the pair of ear rings in the first photo. Then proceeded to put lotion dots on the piece of scrap in the second photo. Later I tried the same process on copper but the resulting spots were too faint with almost no color change.

Be prepared to take advantage of accidents. The results just might be so unusual you’ll have to find a way to make some jewelry with it.

Nancy Vaughan
WickedWireworks at Artfire

Comments:

Very cool
by: Leigh

Don’t you just love when accidents turn into great inspiration. What a great way to get another look.

Happy Accident
by: Joan

I believe “happy accidents” such as this are how many great discoveries are made! This is a much easier method than some of the patina formulas I’ve tried – thanks for sharing!

Way Cool!
by: Michelle Buettner

This is way cool – great accident!! Did you have to put any type of sealant on them so the dots would stay and not rub off or do they just stay permanently? This is really pretty!

Great surprise
by: Colleen

What a great find! I love the look. Did you seal the brass with anything after?

I hope you find a cool new surprise to discolor copper next.

Love it!
by: Tracey M

Can you share which lotion you used? Have you done any further experimenting with other lotions or liquids since your happy discovery?

Spotted Brass
by: Linda

Love this look! I echo others – what type of lotion and did you seal the piece? Thanks for the info!

tumbling?
by: drapedinjewelry

Have you tumbled the piece? I’m curious what would happen…

Wow!
by: skye

Like everyone else said, it looks great. I have another question to add, did you hammer your pieces too or is this all the beautiful patina from the cream that gave the brass this cool look? What an awesome “accident” to have and thanks for sharing!

Skye Fresh

Skye’s the Limit
Custom Jewelry Design