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Ideas/Section-4
You can treasure the
memory of your child's first steps forever
by bronzing his first set of baby shoes. And you can do it
yourself relatively inexpensively and easily.
Your first step will be to clean the shoes
thoroughly. With a
damp rag, clean the shoes of all dirt and polish. It is best to
complete the cleaning by rubbing the shoes with a rag saturated
in denatured alcohol. All wax and polish must be removed. Now
allow the shoes to dry.
Next you will want to arrange the shoes
as you want them to be
bronzed. Tie the laces and arrange them properly. Adjust the
tongue so that it touches the sides of the shoe. You may want
to hold the laces and tongue in place with a little rubber
cement. Now drive a tiny hole through the sole of each shoe and
loop a string or wire around it. You are now ready to begin
bronzing.
To prepare your liquid bronze use bronze,
copper or gold powder
and mix the powder with a fast drying spar varnish, stirring
well and adding the powder until you have a liquid about like
paint. Stir to prevent particles from settling on the bottom.
You will probably want to mix a fresh batch of the liquid bronze
for each job.
To apply the bronze, use a good camel hair brush and paint
shoes, inside and out, with several coats. If there are dull
spots when the liquid dries, it means the liquid has soaked
right into the material and more coats are needed until the
finish is even and glossy. Hang up each shoe by the loop of
string to dry between coats and clean the brush each time.
When the final coat is dry, you can create
an "antique" effect
by mixing a little burnt umber or black color in oil with the
bronzing liquid and painting it into the creases of the shoe
with a small brush.
If you would like the shoes to be heavy
and rigid, fill them
with plaster of paris to about 1/2" from the top and let them
dry for several days before starting to paint.
You will find bronze powder at any good paint or hardware store
or even a printing supply house.
You will be amazed at the very professional
job you have done
using this method. Perhaps you will do such a good job and
enjoy it so much you may want to begin a service doing it for
others. It is really a lovely way to make your treasured
memories last forever.
