Uh oh - I think I'm in love with another technique!  You've all seen me use salt on projects before to achieve unique patterns, like my yummy textured mixed media background. Well today I'm using a similar process to add a pattern and texture to make a faux copper verdigris patina created with Lindy's Stamp Gang Products.  I think I've hit the product combination spot on to create a realistic faux version of verdigris - have a look and let me know what you all think - did I get it right?

Wikipedia defines Verdigris as:

Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates^[1] or the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time.

It looks a little like this...

or

Well this is what mine looks like....

What I used:

• Lindy's Stamp Gang Products:
  Starbursts: Cattail Copper Brown, Delphinium Turquoise, Tibetan Poppy Teal and Teeth Chattering Teal
  Flat Fabio: Toto's Tornado Black
• Salt - both Table salt and the larger Rock Salt crystals
• Plain white cardstock
• Plastic eye dropper or pipette
• Water
• Flat plastic tray / marbelling tray

What I did:

1. Cut card to size and lay in flat tray
2. Spray generously with Cattail Copper Brown until card is covered, no white showing
   
   
3. Add larger rock salt crystals and then sprinkle the finer table salt in patterns to mimic veins in rock, then spray with more Cattail Copper to build up the shimmer.
   
   
4. Add drips of the Teeth Chattering Teal (which is an opaque white based spray), by both spraying and adding drips on top of the Cattail copper
   
   
   
5. Spray the Delphinium Turquoise on top of the white and let the colours mix a bit.
   
   
   
   
6. Using eye dropper add concentrated drips of Tibetan Poppy Teal and disperse any that are too eye catching with water
   
   
7. Splatter on some of the Toto's Tornado Black
   
   
8. Leave to air dry overnight for best effects. 

Vigorously brush salt crystals off with fingers (you can leave a few of the smaller ones on there if you like) and your background is ready to use.  Please note you will not be able to remove all of the salt, as some will have dissolved and reformed within the paper - if you brush too hard you can rip the surface off!


I hope you like this idea - I adore the colours and how these turned out to be so natural and organic looking. Now if you are wondering what to do with these backgrounds now that you have made them - think photo matting, embellishments, banners, text - the sky is the limit!

AND for those who prefer to see how this was created, you can watch the clip below: