Rusting Recipe

Where I live I can't find rusted pins, bells, or wires so I looked online to rust the items myself. Here is a recipe I found at:

Create a Prim's School House

This concoction will nicely rust all those safety pins, jingle bells, or anything else you want to 'age' for your primitive creations. Do this outside in a safe place (away from children or pets, of course).

In an old mayo jar, combine:

1/2 cup of cider vinegar
1/2 cup of Clorox bleach
1 teasp. of salt

Add your pins or bells and cover loosely. Place in a safe spot and let it sit for about 2 days. Some ladies get desired results in about 2 hours, but I like them super rusty, so I've always left them for about 2 days.

When they are ready, take an old plate (one that you only use for this project from now on) and line it with a couple layers of paper towel. Remove pins or bells with an old fork - again, one you will never use at the dinner table again, and place them on the paper-lined plate. Put the plate in a safe & sunny place.

The rusting will occur as they dry. You can swirl the plate periodically to reposition bells so they dry underneath also. It will take a few hours.

So there you have it... beautiful rusty stuff!

~Nanny's Cottage IMPORTANT NOTES: *When ANY acid (such as vinegar in this recipe) is mixed with household Bleach (of any brand name) there is a rapid production of Chlorine Gas, an EXTREMELY TOXIC, even DEADLY gas. If using this recipe, please do so outside on a breezy day and do NOT breathe the air downwind of the mix. Wear safety glasses, as this can be an explosively fast reaction that creates some splashing. Repeated exposure to Chlorine Gas will do serious damage to your lung tissue. *DO NOT throw this solution down the sink when you are done. I dispose of mine out in the woods away from pets or children.

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