Tonight I finished up my submission for the Money Swap at the Carving Consortium.
The task was to create currency--pretty open-ended :-) I decided early on that I wanted to make coins instead of paper. It took a while and some messing around to decide just how I was going to accomplish this. After several false starts, I ended up embossing metal, adhering it to wooden nickels, and covering the edges with stained-glass copper tape. I wish they were heavier, but I like the size and especially The Shiny!
I bought some thin metal sheets and started playing. I stamped my pattern on one side and used an embossing stylus to trace the pattern, which makes it raised on the other side. I made all the "bird" sides on the pewter sheets, and then carved my LORAX - 2006 stamp and started on the brass.
Well, it didn't take long to realize that the habit of carving letters backwards so they print frontwards was a bad habit in this case! I'm not a very accomplished letter-carver in the first place, and I wasn't about to try to recarve the stamp "frontways" so I let the project sit for a day while I thought. I finally figured that I could stamp onto paper and emboss through the paper onto the metal. Crisis averted!
Around this time, it also occurred to me that it was not at all obvious that I had actually done any stamping, much less carving. Not only that, I didn't leave myself any space to put my name or the date or any other standard swap-type stuff. Sooooooo, I decided to make an accompanying card. On the front I put a message from Lorax Herself, and I put all that other business on the back, including an impression of the bird stamp.
Then I needed a way to keep the cards with the coins, so I made envelopes. (Like I need much of an excuse to make envelopes. They are so much fun!) And that was that. I think that explains everything in the picture :-)
Off to the PO tomorrow! And off to bed now....
Hi Darcy - Whew! what a process! I wish I could see the final product pic - for some reason - it isn't showing up for me. I just realized I missed the deadline for my swap (Wonders of America) and since it's my first one, I feel quite bad. Will I be blackballed, ya think? Lena Francis
Okey dokey - after I posted my comment, the pic showed up. Now I see what you were describing. I absolutely love 'em! Wish I had been part of this swap so I could get one of your very creative coins! What a treasure! Lena
Hi Lena,
Glad you got to see the picture, and thanks for the compliments! They were lots of fun to make :-)
I can't speak for the group of course, but my experience is that they're a very fair and understanding bunch. I was more involved several years ago, and lost touch when they went to the forum. I've just gotten back into it now that they're back on the yahoo group.
Hope to see you in another swap soon!