2 Fails for Every Success

My efforts to force a patina on the holy water font by using ammonia and salt met with abject failure. Likely because the bowl and crucifix are not actually copper and brass, the technique did absolutely nothing to either item.

So I reverted to Plan B: heating the metal to create a patina-like surface. However, this also has the same flaw in that because they're not actually those metals, they don't react and "tarnish" the same way real copper or brass would. As a result that was a failure too!

The end result was that I turn to the old standby of just using paints and washes to achieve the desired patina. I think washes of greens, blues, and black created an effect that this is an aged holy water font.

After completing that task, which took a surprisingly long time to achieve, I turned my attention to the stained glass window. I completed outlining the design in the grouping of three circles then began painting the images in the lower windows.



Okay! This was actually a lot of fun to do. Admittedly it was a bit tedious, but painstakingly plodding along helped move the project much closer to completion. I think when the window is painted and installed, and the lighting is put in behind it, it will look like a real stained glass gothic arch window. Check out this artist's stained glass window, and you'll see the effect I'm talking about with the window lit from behind with rope lights:

So far I'm very happy with the project's progress,  but of course, there's more to do on this window as well as on the second one. So this project is not yet one for the books.

However, I plan to begin working on the candle offering luminary table, doing both projects simultaneously (for my sanity as well as that of those tagging along and following my progress int hat they don't have to just watch me paint small areas on the stained glass window).

I think I have a workable solution to what could have turned into a major project, but unnecessarily so.

Forced Copper Patinas and Faux Stained Glass Leading

Because the holy water font really should be aged, and not be so shiny, I try my hand at giving the copper bowl an appropriate patina as if it was an old piece.

I should be so lucky if my holy water font comes out looking half this good

A search of the Internet found quite a number of methods, from using a propane torch to heat the metal to using some seemingly caustic chemicals that create a reaction. I opted for a simpler method, one that requires just two household ingredients: ammonia and table salt.

This method of creating a patina appears to be heavily favored in the vaping community. An outgrowth of the electronic cigarette industry, vaping is "smoking" a heated flavored liquid nicotine. Since it's not burning, but rather heating, it creates a vapor (hence the term) rather than smoke. It's purported to be healthier than actual smoking. And it's insane the amount of "smoke" these units, called mods, produce. It looks like an old Cheech & Chong movie.

But the devices, or mods, can often be boring designs. Though they're made of copper or brass, they're not very visually exciting, so owners create a more interesting design on their devices by forcing a patina. To do so, they suspend the devices above ammonia-soaked paper towels in a box for several hours, liberally sprinkling both the towels and the pieces with regular table salt. The patterns created are pretty interesting and I think it will provide a cool effect on my holy water font.

That is if they're really copper and brass. I suspect they're not and are only plated with a thin veneer of the reactive metals. I'm assuming some other metal underlies both coatings, so it may have an impact on how it turns out.

The second project I'm undertaking is creating the stained glass windows. I have two sheets of 1/8" clear plastic and I'll be creating a scene on it after which I'll use acrylic paints to color it in. However, I debated how best to do the lead outline. My initial thought was to use a permanent marker and call it a day -- but where's the fun in that?

I saw online someone used black glue sticks to create the lead, but my search locally for a source turned up only glitter sticks, not black so I guess they're only available online. Well, how many people really have a need for black glue sticks?

I did find an alternative though that I think may just work even better. Fabric paint. Dimensional fabric paint. After application and drying, it leaves a raised line which will give me the look that I'm going for. And because the applicator tip provides a very find line, I think this is just the thing I need. I think it's a convincing result, though perhaps I should have applied it after I painted the window, rather than before. I've got two windows to do, so I'll do one one way, and the other the other way.

A Quick DIY Build - The Holy Water Font

When entering a church, there is always a small font where holy water is kept so parishioners can bless themselves as they enter. I knew my church was going to need one too, after visiting a church several months ago to get some design ideas. Having completed the gothic arch windows, I needed to back up a moment to the church vestibule -- or the narthex, as it's called, and make small prop that would help deliver layers of depth to the haunt and give it a more convincing.

Although I had no clear plan going in, I knew I wanted to use the copper bowl I had picked up at a thrift store the other day to serve as the font itself, but it wasn't until I looked at examples of real holy water fonts online, that the the idea of using a crucifix to complete it dawned on me.

I had picked up one recently from Freecycle and realized would be a great addition it. Originally I had been disappointed with the crucifix, because at the time I had been working on my own crucifix for the haunt, and when I saw it listed as "large" I had in my mind that it would be of a similar size. So when I picked it up, it was a bit of a let down.

As it turns out, it worked out perfectly. Combining the brass crucifix with the copper pie tin would give me the necessary look and feel I was going for.

All that was left to do was to mount them, and that was simple enough using a piece of scrap wood. But rather than just screw it to the plank and call it a day, I traced around the crucifix and bowl, cut out the pattern with my jigsaw, stained it with a dark start (to help the brass crucifix stand out), then mounted them with a couple of copper-headed screws I found laying around.

For what was originally going to be a complicated project -- I was thinking of sculpting something out of paper clay -- it turned into a very quick and simple project, one that I think it looks great and will be a perfect addition to the haunt's prop collection.