Looking for tips on silver foil cutting out shapes

Moth · #1 2005-10-26, 2:34pm

I have an idea for a set of beads that involves using wee paper punches to punch out shapes of silver foil and encase them into my beads.

I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone might have while I wait for the arrival of all the punches I bought.

Probably it would have been smart of me to purchase ONE punch, test it out, then proceed, but NOOOOO...I had to order a whole buttload of them.

If I suck at this endeavor, please keep your eyes on the Garage Sale forum if you are interested in a bunch of paper punches. LOL

Specific questions would be...

The foil I have is definitely foil, not leaf...but does anyone have a particular supplier that has really sturdy foil? I would like to order that now to lessen the wait.

Has anyone tried this with leaf? I don't have any, but I would order it. I suppose I could try it out with the gold leaf and see how that goes.

Thanks in advance!

~~Mary

chrisdd · #2 2005-10-26, 2:36pm

I've never done this, but what immediately came to mind was punching the foil/leaf between 2 sheets of thin paper to give it some body.

JavaGirlBT · #3 2005-10-26, 2:37pm

When you do your punching - I would put the foil between two sheets of paper. It might punch better that way.

Oops! GMTA!

hummingbird3172 · #4 2005-10-26, 3:23pm

I have a leaf punch...and the only way I can get a good leaf for encasing is the putting the foil between two sheets of paper method. I have gotten pretty frustrated because my leaves keep getting ripped or distorted as I try and apply them. I think if you have a foil that is a little thicker you will have an easier time. My foil is very thin...almost like leaf (ha!) and it doesn't take much to mess it up. They don't look bad, but I am trying to get a really clear leaf shape. My punch is an oak leaf so it has a lot of detail and that makes it trickier to get a really good punch.

shawnette · #5 2005-10-26, 3:28pm

heheh. I tried this with hearts... They sucked, but i used leaf (between paper). Foil will probably work a lot better.

Flamechick · #6 2005-10-26, 4:08pm

Mary:

This is one of those notes that could be helpful, or annoying. I was shopping around the net the past couple days wanting to check out new vendors. While I was looking at silver and gold leaf, I distinctly remember seeing photos of punches and samples of the shapes from foil or leaf that could be made from the punches. Here's the annoying part: I think I saw this at:

http://heritageglass.com/index2.htm

But... everytime I try to log into their catalog, I get an error message, so I haven't been able to confirm this before sending this note. If you haven't found a supplier yet, check it out, and if I'm wrong, so sorry to waste your time!

Amber

IBB by Luann · #7 2005-10-26, 4:24pm

Mary: There is an extra-thick silver foil that I saw recently. It was either Jodel or Frantz. Can't remember which. I've always thought the punches would be fun.

Teague · #8 2005-10-26, 4:33pm

I know Kalera has super thick foil at Bridgetownglass that she will order for you.

Teague

Moth · #9 2005-10-26, 4:35pm

Thanks guys! I have an empty book of silver foil, probably I will use those empty pages as the sheets of paper to punch the foil between. Great tip!

I do think I remember JoDel having extra-thick foil. As a matter of fact, I think that is where I bought what I have, so maybe that is what I have after all.

It is thicker than the first book I bought from Frantz.

Let's see...for punches, I bought an oak leaf, an acorn, a dragonfly and a snowflake. Probably the snowflake is gonna give me headaches. LOL

I'm not sure, as I haven't tried it yet, but my plan is to punch out several little shapes. Set them one at a time on my graphite paddle. Gather a rod of clear into a hot molten blob. Center the gather vertically over the punched out piece of foil on the paddle, and mash down, like making a maria. In theory, I will then be able to gently reheat this gather and push it onto the face of a tab bead to transfer the foil punch without having to handle it.

We'll see if it works or not, but that's the plan. LOL

Thanks again you guys!

Anyone have any pictures of ones they did? I'd love to see them.

I want to make a bead set based on a series of books, hence all the different punches.

Hugs.
~~Mary

DesertDreamer · #10 2005-10-26, 8:44pm

Arrow Springs: The ULTRA THICK SILVER FOIL is about as thick as kitchen aluminum foil. It can be cut with scissors, knife or die cut by placing between sheets of paper and using paper punches.

ULTRA THICK SILVER FOIL: – Pure
$3.50 / Linear Foot 1-3/16” WIDE

rightbrainbeads · #11 2005-10-26, 11:01pm

I'm gonna try Arrow Springs ultra thick foil between two sheets of paper. Last night I tried my new punch on it *without* the paper, and it just crumpled up. I now have some crumpled up gobs of thick silver foil to melt in somewhere!

lynne

amybfromtc · #12 2005-10-27, 3:59am

If you all get frustrated with the leaf, go to your local craft store and buy some copper sheets. They punch out great!!

Amy

Moth · #13 2005-10-27, 5:59am

Amy, that is definitely NOT a bad idea. I was going to use the silver foil, then cover it up with some medium amber color to warm it up a bit. I'm thinking that the nice cherry red the copper becomes when encased might be even better.

Thanks for the twist!

~~Mary

paintingwithglass · #14 2005-10-27, 4:50pm

Been there...done that....hehe! A bunch of years ago.Do not even waste your time using leaf. I used Arrow Springs ultra thick foil between two sheets of paper. I really wanted cool dragonflies...you need to be careful when applying and encasing...and heat slowly and evenly the encasement in. The worse is when you apply the cut-out to your core bead and encase perfectly then heat too much and the cut out starts to seperate

It was fun but you know me I get bored easily and move on to greater challenges. Have fun! You could do great things with the copper too. Another key is having really good shape-cutter-stamps...the better they are the better your shape will come out (and you will have less loss of silver). Don't forget to share with us your beadies!!

lunesse · #15 2005-10-27, 5:50pm

I got one. I love the dragonfly

Moth · #16 2005-10-27, 8:46pm

Hi Fay Katherine!! Yeah, I know I'm not the first to do this. LOL That's why I asked advice from people who have done it before.

I got a wild hair about creating a particular set...probably after I make this one set, you'll see my paper punches in the Garage Sale forum. LOL

Love the dragonfly on that yellow Lunesse!!! I can only dream mine will look that good.

If I REALLY have to struggle with getting these to turn out, I will definitely have to keep these for myself. I only hope I haven't wasted all this money. It would figure with my luck lately.

Thanks for all the input you guys. I appreciate it!

~~Mary

hummingbird3172 · #17 2005-10-28, 10:46am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moth

Thanks guys! I have an empty book of silver foil, probably I will use those empty pages as the sheets of paper to punch the foil between. Great tip!

I do think I remember JoDel having extra-thick foil. As a matter of fact, I think that is where I bought what I have, so maybe that is what I have after all.

It is thicker than the first book I bought from Frantz.

Let's see...for punches, I bought an oak leaf, an acorn, a dragonfly and a snowflake. Probably the snowflake is gonna give me headaches. LOL

I'm not sure, as I haven't tried it yet, but my plan is to punch out several little shapes. Set them one at a time on my graphite paddle. Gather a rod of clear into a hot molten blob. Center the gather vertically over the punched out piece of foil on the paddle, and mash down, like making a maria. In theory, I will then be able to gently reheat this gather and push it onto the face of a tab bead to transfer the foil punch without having to handle it.

We'll see if it works or not, but that's the plan. LOL

Thanks again you guys!

Anyone have any pictures of ones they did? I'd love to see them.

I want to make a bead set based on a series of books, hence all the different punches.

Hugs.
~~Mary

I tried using the paper that came with my silver foil...I had trouble getting a really clean punch....the paper that worked best for me was regular printer paper...got nice crisp edges.

I think your idea for getting the punch onto the bead sounds great. You shouldn't have as much trouble with the image distorting.

I rolled my oak leaves onto my bead...when you put the amber glass over them they turn really neat colors and really resemble really leaves. I just got so frustrated with trying to get perfect leaves with perfect edges....

I can't wait to see what you make with your punches!

maddog1050 · #18 2005-10-29, 7:03am

Try Thompson Enamel for fine silver foil. They have quite a few to choose from and they carry one that is about an inch wide and you order by the inch. I bought a 12" roll of it and it's pretty thick. I believe it's made for cutting shapes and incorporating into enameled pieces.

JoDel · #19 2005-10-31, 3:28pm

a few people have used the foil we carry for this, I just love your dragon fly, yes, foil we carry is what most call extra thick and it's reasonably priced as well.

Monique

R4GlassStudio · #20 2005-11-01, 6:30am

we wrote about this in our book "The Exotic Art of Glass Bracelets".
The best way we found to cut out the shapes using craft paper punches is by putting the foil (or leaf) inside the wax paper envelopes from a post office. When you buy stamps they give them to you free and you can always ask for some extras. The wax paper doesn't stick to the leaf and is stiff enough to get a clean cut-out. Plus, it makes the leaf or foil real easy to handle.
Enjoy!
Ron Jr. and Rocio

pierces*designs · #21 2005-11-01, 12:03pm

LOL this is so funny, I have never been to this forum before but last night I made a butterfly, a gecko and a dragonfly punched from the heavy foil and fused.

I'll try to post some pics tonight.

Moth · #22 2005-11-09, 11:12am

Yes, please do post pictures!!

I did a single dragonfly one, and it wasn't too hard, so I did an acorn, then the oak leaf. None of these were very difficult, they didn't have multiple slender extensions like the snowflake, which I saved for last.

I was really expecting to have problems with this, but it was so easy I feel dorky for making such a big deal of it.

Anyhow, here is a picture of the snowflake ones. It is effetre medium blue, two snowflakes per bead, carefully reheated and rolled in pixie dust. Since I was leaving the snowflakes on the surface (I had encased all the other ones) I wanted to make it a little harder for them to rub off or wear away, hence the pixie dust.

Not sure it was really necessary, but it gave me a peace of mind.

Thanks for all the advice!

~~Mary

beachglassgirl · #23 2005-11-09, 11:26am

Mary,
Those are gorgeous! You did a wonderful job, now I have something else to try!

Tami

Jennefer · #24 2005-11-09, 12:54pm

I use a heart shaped paper punch and silver leaf. I put it between two pieces of paper to punch then pull the paper off.

I will see if I can find the picture of a bead that I made with hearts on both sides. One of the hearts ripped right down the middle when I encased it so it is a broken heart on one side.

Jennefer