How do you make your jewel-studded metal edging?
STEP 1: Start out with a small rectangular or square sheet of virtual metal about 1/16 - 1/4" thick. The thickness may vary, depending on how much you want it to rise off the surface of the page. It doesn't have to be a precious metal like gold; I achieved my effects with an inexpensive alloy. Using a jeweler's saw, cut the shapes you desire (I used spirals) on one edge only, leaving the other three edges uncut (this makes them tile better) If you use 1/4" thick metal, be sure to
use a thicker blade in your jeweler's saw than if you were to use very thin metal. You'll probably go through many saw blades at first...don't worry about that, it's just a part of learning to be a metalsmith or jeweler. After you have the general cut-out shape you desire, fine tune it by filing down the edges using a metal file. You may want to consider beveling the edges as I did, but if you do, only bevel the side with the cut-out shapes.
STEP 2: Next you'll want to gather some virtual stones or jewels. If you have real gems, precious or semi-precious, by all means use them. Contrary to popular belief, your gems cannot get ripped off of your webpage; just the images of them can. However, some really interesting effects can be achieved with colored glass (especially iridescent art glass) if you're out of jewels. Be careful to never use plastic...it's always obvious and looks tacky. If your stones are pre-cut and polished, skip the next step.
STEP 3: If your stones, jewels, or pieces of glass are still in the rough (meaning they're not already in cabochon or faceted form), you will have to make them yourself or take them to a certified jeweler to prepare. Beware of any filters you may have heard of that claim to be "jewel filters." Creating a jewel takes more than just clicking a button, but a careful process of applying multiple filters and steps to achieve the sparkling, glowing effect. The method of cutting and polishing gems is a long and involved one--too long to go into in this tututorial. If you want to do these yourself without taking them to a professional, I suggest taking courses in lapidary at your local college or through a community outreach educational program.
STEP 4: You are now ready to set holes for your stones. Make sure you have drill-bits that are the width of your stones/gems. You will need to drill a hole for each of the gems you plan to set. Once this is completed, using your metal file, file the edges of the holes. After the piece of metal has been fine-tuned with the metal file, it is time to move on to thick-grit sandpaper. Sanding the metal is a laborious process. You may want to engage in this part while watching your favorite show on TV. After you are done sanding with the thick grit sandpaper, move down to the next finer level of grit, and so on, until you are at the finest grit available. You will want to wet-sand with this fine grit. After you've sanded your piece of metal, it's time to buff. That's what makes it shine. After you've buffed, set the stones, and voila! You've got a web-page tile!
SPECIAL EFFECTS: I put some of my metal tiles in a furnace and heated it to get the color changes on the surface. For others, I
used various chemicals like vinegar, ammonia, (I had a professor tell me cat urine from a litter pan works, too) salt-water, lemon juice, etc. on the surface to get that patined look. Experiment. Have fun. You may also want to try etching into the surface...use asphaltum to cover up the entire piece of metal, and then scratch away an image into the hardened asphaltum. Set this in an acid bath for a while, (Be sure you have proper ventilation.) remove your tile from the bath--wear gloves!--and then remove the asphaltum with mineral spirits. Remember to do all of this before you set the stones, or else the stones will corrode or change nasty colors.
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