Creating Decorative Ex-Voto Gifts for Christmas

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Hello dear Hivers, I'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas ! I hope you're all well, and for those of you who haven't yet replied in the comments, I hope you don't mind too much !

The last few days have been pretty hectic in terms of shopping and getting ready for family get-togethers... From the moment we got up until the moment we went to bed, we didn't stop, and I imagine that's probably the case for some of you too !

Before I start, I'd like to make it clear that I'm far from being a consumerist. For all that, I love materials in the way they can carry with them the spirit and intentions that are, by their very nature, immaterial.

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This year, my partner and I decided to make small ex-votos, symbolic talismans of sorts, from metal plates. To begin with, we drew up a number of intentional and inspirational designs...


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Here are a few tools, gloves to avoid cutting yourself on the edges of these metal plates, which are thin enough to be cut with scissors. The third tool is a large punch for sculpting the metal.

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In the end, we found these copper and brass plates, just a tenth of a millimeter thick. I'll tell you straight away, we'd have been better off using metal plates known as 'embossing plates', but we couldn't find any in time !

But these are more recommended because they're much easier to work with, and in our case, we had to work a bit hard at times to achieve what we wanted.

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The first ex-voto to emerge from its plaque is, of course, a mushroom !


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The first chip is also captured because it's so beautiful and graphic in its own right. I have to say that it's far from being the last !


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Then came several trials with brass. We found this metal to be more resistant and harder to work with because it is less malleable than the pure copper that makes up part of this alloy.

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The work surface on the floor after an hour of experimentation.


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Work progresses... A snake, a campfire !

We focus on things that mean something to us and whose symbols mean something to us and the people we think of as gifts !

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I'm also making a rather kitschy phoenix for my mother, as I know that lately she's been yearning for renewal. And what better symbol than this one to mark this desire in her ?

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Then there's a cat, soon to be joined by a copper octopus and lots more, which I'll tell you about next...!


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Here's the next part of this collection! I think the cutting plate background works quite well in contrast with the gold and copper of the elements, don't you ?


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Cork too, though...


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I took the time to photograph a few items separately, this pair of negative hands and my phoenix, which I find increasingly rococo ^^ !


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And here's the rest of the complete collection in a new layout :)

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The final stages will just involve drilling holes in the ex-votos and fitting them with gold wire or colored ribbon so that they can be hung on the wall.

And that's it! Note that there are metal sheets more suitable for this purpose than the ones we've found ! As you can imagine, all the images were taken with my D5500 and the 35mm lens that I'm very fond of at the moment :)

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of our preparations and that the ex-votos have inspired you ! Thanks for your visit, I hope you have a lovely holiday season and I hope you're with the people you love,

<3

@anttn


Tous les éléments écrits ou visuels présentés dans cet article sont les miens.






Bonjour chers Hivers, je vous souhaite une excellente fête de Noël ! J'espère que vous allez bien et pour ceux auxquels je n'ai pas encore répondu dans les commentaires, que vous ne m'en voulez pas trop !

Les derniers jours ont été assez intenses en termes de courses et de préparatifs pour les soirées de retrouvailles en famille... Dès le lever et jusqu'au couché, nous ne nous sommes pas arrêtés et j'imagine que c'est sûrement le cas pour certains d'entre vous !

Avant de commencer, j'aimerai préciser que je suis loin d'être un consumériste. Pour autant, j'aime la matière dans ce qu'elle peut transporter avec elle d'esprit et d'intentions par nature, immatérielles justement.

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Pour cette année, avec ma compagne, nous avons décidé de fabriquer de petits ex-voto, des sortes de talismans symboliques à partir de plaques en métal. Pour commencer, nous avons réalisés une certaine quantité de dessin d'intention et d'inspiration...

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Voilà quelques outils, les gants pour ne pas se couper sur les bords de ces plaques métalliques assez fines pour les couper aux ciseaux. Le troisième outil, c'est un gros poinçon pour venir ensuite sculpter le métal.

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Au final, nous avons trouvé ces plaques de cuivre et de laiton d'un dixième de millimètre d'épaisseur. Je vous le dit tout de suite, nous aurions mieux fait de prendre des plaques de métal dit "à repousser", mais nous n'avons pas pu en trouver à temps !

Mais celles-ci sont plus recommandées car bien plus simple à travailler et là, dans notre cas, nous avons dû un peu forcer par moments pour arriver à faire ce que l'on souhaitait.

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Le premier ex-voto sort de sa plaque et c'est bien évidemment un champignon !

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Le premier copeau est lui aussi capturé tant il est beau et graphique en tant que tel. Je dois dire que ce n'est vraiment pas le dernier, loin de là !

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Puis viennent plusieurs essais avec le laiton. Nous avons trouvé ce métal plus résistant et dur à travailler car moins malléable que le cuivre pur qui compose en partie cet alliage.

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Le plan de travail au sol après une petite heure d'avancée dans nos tâtonnements.

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Le travail avance... Un serpent, un feu de camp !

On se concentre sur les choses qui ont du sens pour nous et dont les symboles ont une signification pour nous et les proches auxquels nous pensons les offrir !

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Je réalise aussi un phénix assez kitch pour ma mère comme je sais que ces derniers temps, elle aspire à un renouveau. Et quel meilleur symbole que celui-là pour marquer ce désir chez elle ?

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Viennent ensuite un chat, bientôt rejoint par une pieuvre en cuivre et encore bien d'autres que je vous dévoile juste après...!

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Voilà la suite de cette collection ! Je trouve que le fond de plaque de découpe fonctionne assez bien en contraste avec le doré et le cuivré des éléments, vous ne trouvez pas ?

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Le liège aussi cela dit...

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Je prends le temps de photographier quelques éléments séparément, cette paire de mains en négatif et mon phénix que je trouve de plus en plus rococo ^^ !

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Et voilà le reste de la collection complète dans une nouvelle disposition :)

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Les dernières étapes consisterons juste à percer les ex-votos et à les munir d'un fil doré ou d'un ruban de couleur pour qu'il soit possible de les suspendre au mur.

Et voilà ! Notez bien qu'il existe des feuilles de métal plus adaptées que celles que nous avons trouvées pour faire cela ! Comme vous vous en doutez, toutes les images ont été réalisées avec mon D5500 et l'objectif de 35mm que j'affectionne énormément en ce moment :)

J'espère que vous aurez apprécié ce petit tour dans nos préparatifs et que les ex-votos vous auront peut-être inspirés ! Merci pour votre visite, je vous souhaite de nouveau de belles fêtes et j'espère que vous êtes avec les gens que vous aimez,

<3

@anttn


Tous les éléments écrits ou visuels présentés dans cet article sont les miens.




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Many thanks dear @steemflow, I hope you're doing well ✌️ !

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Merry Christmas @anttn 🌲🌲

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Thank you very much 😉

Have a great one too and take care !

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Not much celebrston but it comes out nicely...enough to make me feel good 🌲🌲🙂

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If you feel good, that's perfect !

Have a great New Year 2024 dear @steemflow 😇 !

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Très original
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Wow! That's some lovely and interesting pieces. What a great idea. Those things make up for a very personal present. And even though relatively cheap in terms of the materials used it's the time and effort you put in these that matter. No way of a more well thought gift that shows you care for those gifted wit those.
I wish you a merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with family and friends! Take care!

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Yes, we love symbolic things like these ! It' was a pleasure to craft them :D and I'm glad you liked them !

Have some good Christmas times dear 😘 !

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Oh they look so good. That first one, the mushroom, is a favourite for sure. I have been thinking of doing something similar with aluminium cans. Xxx

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Thank you dear @trucklife-family ! I love the octopus too, but for sure, it'll work perfectly I think one aluminiums that thick..!

I seize the occasion to tell you that I really liked the reading of your text about how you feel about Christmas. I feel quite the same, though for different reasons, and thank you for sharing it !

Be well 😘😘

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To create a gift like this, of course we have to have extraordinary art and I am interested in what my friend has prepared.

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The end result really look amazing
You and your partner did a great job
Keep it up!

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Thank you dear :)

Have a merry Christmas 😘

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The tokens that the command sends are: 0.1 PGM-0.1 LVL-0.1 THGAMING-0.05 DEC-15 SBT-1 STARBITS-[0.00000001 BTC (SWAP.BTC) only if you have 2500 PGM in stake or more ]

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!discovery 30
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Oh, these are beautiful, man. You've designed them in so many different ways. Do you do this every year? Or is this year different?

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Thank you kindly dear :))

In fact, it's the first year, but I think we'll continue doing this, even not in this time of the year, this is so much fun ! There's still a lot we didn't do hehe !

Thanks again, I hope you're well 😘✌️

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Oh,my! So creative designs and the outcome is awesome. The phoenix got a close meaning for me some weeks ago, so I like that one. But I like all of them, the mushroom, the cat, the leaf, the hands... And I see a dachshund too 😉

Marvelous!

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Thank you !! I'm glad you liked those and I want to tell you that I would be super happy to make you one phoenix in the same (or different) style 😇 !

And I see a dachshund too 😉

Hehe.. Always !

I hope you're doing well and having some good Christmas times 😘

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The phoenix can be included in that piano concert + lunch + siesta schedule 😁

Thank you and I wish you too a wonderful Christmas 🎄 :)

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Indeed, this could work that way, but I will be happy to offer you that before... Probably simpler to send through the post than a piano concert hehe !

Many thanks, I'm currently in the train for some more family times 😇😘

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Oh, cool for the train journey!! 🛤️

I hope the day with family was lovely and peaceful 😇🥂

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Definitely, it was great and I hope for you too !

I wish you a great New Year 2024 dear @mipiano ! May this one bring health and success to you and your beloved ones 😘 !

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Your so creative in making those wonderful design and figure♥️

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Something else you can do with brass plate is etch it with ferric chloride and fill the relief with paint. Brass is one of my favorite materials to work with.

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It's a really beautiful material ! Thank you very much for the advice, I will think about that for the futures ones 👍 !

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!PIZZA
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