Filed under: Art Of Jewelry Design, Metal Work, Mixed Media, Non-Traditional Jewelry
My mom saw one in a store recently and fell in love with it, so I made her her own, personalized version (modeled in the picture by my daughter) for her birthday this year. The charms are bits and pieces I have collected over the years and couldn’t seem to get rid of, including ones I made myself, like the resin filled bottlecap. The links are prebab, but when I soldered them shut I used extra solder to texturize the surface of each link. This gave it a one-of-a-kind hand-hammered appearance. Super easy!
This is my bracelet with all the charms from the ArtErratica swap. Acutally I only did a half set and it was more than enough goodies! My favorite charm is probably the red glass heart with the silver detailing and the deer stamped on the glass. I’m guessing it’s a pun on “dear heart” and it tickles me, but I really enjoyed them all!
I cut a length of sterling chain, added the charms and closed it with a jump ring. I may frame it in a shadow box like my other charm swap bracelet, just attaching it with hot glue so I can pull it out and wear it when I’m feeling the urge…but locking it up in my jewelry box just seems like a crime!
The charm swap I particpated in (and posted directions for making my Corozon charms several postings back) is complete. I haven’t scanned my finished bracelet yet, but you can see one that is selling on ebay as a fundraiser. The auction ends on Feb 18th.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220081583929
More info about the fundraiser:
http://thegardenofpinkshadows.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/valentine_art_c_1.html
My charms is I believe one of the three on the bracelet but not in the original picture…5 of the people who did signed up for the swap did not send in their charms and did not send word they were dropping out so there was some scrambling with extra charms and pieces…several of us donated all of our extra charms for fundraising projects so more pieces may pop up later!
I’m participating in a valentine charm swap and these are what I’m making (I still have to make several more…it’s a BIG swap). I started with plain wooden disks from Michaels and painted them black. I decoupaged corozon loteria cards on the front of each one (that I sized especially on the computer to make them fit). Then I sprayed them with Krylon triple thick glaze. I drilled a small hole in the top and in the bottom of the wooden block, and set an eye pin in each hole with E6000. I added a glass heart bead to a head pin and attached it to the bottom eye pin with a jump ring and added a larger jump ring to the top eye pin. They are big enough to wear as a pendant!Does anyone want to see more step by step pictures? I can take them when I make the next batch!
Originally uploaded by faithwearspurple.
I am going to date myself horribly by saying I remember ShrinkyDinks. I thought they were the coolest things as a kid, and their fierce comeback pleases me inordinately. And I’m not the only Gen Xer who thinks so…I am seeing them used more often by adults than by kids…and jewelry designers are no exception. Shrink plastic is a great tool for making pins, charms, pendants, and earrings out of a virtually indestructible material…not to mention fun to work with! I recently bought a small sheet of it, and after a couple of trial and error pieces, came up with a basic pendent design that is going to look fabulous hanging on a choker length black silk cord.
For This Project You Will Need:
Shrinkable Plastic (I used Chunky Stamps brand…purchased from my local Wal-Mart)
An Ink Pad (I used black)
A rubber stamp (I used Stampabilities stamp #F1053, the Chinese character for “faith”…purchased from my local Hobby Lobby)
Acrylic paint, ink or colored pencils (I used Trans-Mix Media Brilliant Ink in Translucent Scarlet…purchased from my local Michael’s)
A hole making tool (I used a small hole punch) and a hole making tool if you wish to make a pendent or earrings
A pin backing and strong craft glue (such as E-6000 or Jewel Glue) should you wish to make a pin.
First you must cut your plastic to shape and size, keeping in mind that it will shrink considerably during baking (note the before and after shots accompanying this article). If you are quite incapable with a pair of scissors as I am, you can cheat and use a craft punch. I used a large round craft punch made by Marvy Uchida.
If you will be making a pendent or earrings, punch the hole for this now. It will be easier to center your stamp to a preexisting hole than properly center a hole after the plastic has been stamped. You must punch the hole before you bake or you are out of luck…shink art is not drillable like polymer clay is. Depending on the media you use to color the background, you may want to color first and then stamp to prevent smearing later on. When I stamped first, and then painted, the ink from the stamp smeared terribly even though I had let it dry for a long time before painting. If you are using paint or ink, make sure it goes on very thin, you want the final product to have a translucent feel to it. If you use colored pencils make sure the colors are blended very well. Any lines that show up now will be very apparent in the final product, as the shrinking process makes each color stronger and deeper (and each flaw more readily visible).
Let the paint dry completely, and then stamp your image, taking care to center it with your jump ring punch. Let the stamp ink dry completely as well.
Follow directions for baking and watch the shrinking begin. I used my craft dedicated toaster oven and a layer of tin foil underneath the shrink plastic. The original directions call for a piece of brown paper bag, and since I didn’t have one on hand, and being one for immediate gratification, I experimented with wax paper and tin foil and found the tin foil to work best. After removing the product and letting it cool, you can attach your jump ring or pin backing. With all the complicated jewelry making processes I experiment with, this one was quick, fun, and a refreshing change.
With a little web crawling, I came up with a couple of sites that could be of use to you should you decide to work with shrink plastic as well:
Art & Computer Craft Printable Papers
This company sells an ink jet printer version of shrink plastic that opens up a whole world of jewelry design possibilities, you can print out photos, drawings, or a host of other intricate images with a clarity you can’t get from stamping and painting.
The original ShrinkyDink folks have also recently introduced a printer safe version of shrink plastic, as well as offering free patterns for shrink projects on site. Lots to explore!
Filed under: Beading, Holiday Projects, Kid Friendly Projects, Non-Traditional Jewelry, Wire Work
Dad-Friendly Jewelry Making Projects!
A beginner’s leather working project that easily lends itself to a masculine design
Want to avoid leather working? This project just involved braiding leather cording.
This looks like a watch band that even MY husband couldn’t break!
Whether you use dice or other trinkets, this is a great idea for a personalized dad’s day present!
This Lark’s Head Knot choker is decidedly masculine with leather and wooden beads.
An easy polymer clay project even for little hands!
A beadwork double zigzag pattern perfect for hip dads!
Jewelry Making Gift Ideas For Dad
Lots of ideas including chains, key fobs, money clips, and tie slides
Another kid friendly polymer clay tie tack project!
Variations On The Self Linking Copper Wire Bracelet
Sean Russ’s masculine version of a classic design!
The Self Linking Copper Wire Bracelet
The original article. A simple, elegant project.
A nice finishing technique for masculine corded necklaces!
Show your appreciation for Dad by wearing this safety pin project!
Filed under: Art Of Jewelry Design, Creativity, Mixed Media, Non-Traditional Jewelry, Product Reviews
Mei Noel was the first person to turn me on to this site…the things you can do with it are amazing, and can be used to make wonderful personalized jewelry gifts!
Load a head shot on the system and fill out the information requested in order to register the image.
The next screen will give you a box that will allow you to crop the image down (I cropped mine to face only.) The screen after that one has you use circles to mark where the eyes and mouth are so the image transforms properly.
You choose how you want the image transformed from different categories and then let the program do its work!
Right now the save button on the system is down, but you can save the image by clicking your Print Screen (PrtScr) button, opening paint, and clicking paste. That will give you a whole screen shot which you can trim down into the image you want.
You can then resize the image to fit the jewelry project you wish to complete.
These images were created using the same head shot that is at the top of every BellaOnline Jewelry Making page. Stay tuned for more jewelry making projects that incorporate these sample images!
Faith As A Botticelli
Faith As A Mucha
Faith As A Modigliani
Filed under: Non-Traditional Jewelry
I was reading a back issue of a beading magazine recently and saw a feather earring project. Although the project wasn’t terribly complicated, it was more complicated than it needed to be…involving beads, head pins, and other unnecessary objects. This version is funky, fabulous, and five minutes or less!
Supplies:
Two peacock feathers (ones from the craft store will have been properly cleaned and have the ends wrapped)
Two small sized leather crimps
Two split jump rings
Two earring wires
Pliers
Scissors or wire cutters for trimming the stem of the feather
Directions
Crimps and feathers before trimmed down
Trim down the stem of the peacock feathers a bit. (Even with the trim these are VERY long earrings…great for wearing with an Updo!) Slide the remaining stem in to the leather crimp (these crimps have a loop on one end and an “U” shape opening….the stem goes in to the U shaped opening). Close the crimp (the U-shaped part) with your pliers.
Open a split jump ring, and run it through the looped end of the leather crimp and through the looped end of the earring wire.
If you want to add beads to this project you can thread them directly onto the stem of the feathers before crimping!
I recently received a copy of Italy Out Of Hand By Barbara Hodgson and I’m totally in love with it! Italy Out Of Hand is the follow up book to the 1995 collaboration between Elizabeth Gordon, Nick Bantock, and Barbara Hodgson that created a magical, mystical Paris that exists only in the imagination of the authors and readers. Italy Out Of Hand takes a somewhat different route. While it is filled with the same lush images and photos and art as the original, “Italy Out Of Hand” operates on the truth that truth is actually stranger than fiction, so this capricious tour is a real one! Barbara Hodgson delves in the all of the fabulous quirks and idiosyncrasies that fill the history of Italy and historical Italian figures. This isn’t a typical guidebook…nowhere will you find information on where to buy the best pizza in Rome, but you will read many wonderful stories that never made it to your history book!
I adored the book so much, I was inspired to create my first piece of microscope slide jewelry as a homage to its wonderful stories! The paper ephemera bits I used under the slides include pages from an Italian novel, bits of a wine label, cut-out magazine words, and a wonderful stamp from the Magical Signs And Symbols stamp set (the same set I used for this project).
Supplies:
Collage ephemera, stamps, inks, etc.
Decoupage medium (I used Mod Podge Matte)
2 glass microscope slides (Mine are from Manto Fev
Alumminum tape (can be purchased at any home improvement store)
Scissors
Eye pin
Wire cutters
Paint brush for decoupage medium
E-6000
Directions:
Cut out your background image that will show through each slide. Use Mod-Podge to layer other images and ephemera on to the background sheet and let dry. Paint a thin coat of the Mod-Podge on the back of each microscope slide and press your collage image down against it. Let dry.
Cut off all bout about ½ inch of the eye pin. Glue the eyepin to the back of one of the microscope slides (it doesn’t matter which one) then glue the slides together back to back. Either way the necklace hangs, you will have a cool image showing this way!
Trim a piece of aluminum tape and wrap it around the edges of the glued together slides. You may want to use a little glue under the tape for a longer lasting seal. (You can also use copper tape or solder around the edges!)
Let the whole piece cure at least overnight, then you can add a jump ring and string from a nice weight bearing silk cord or leather lacing!
Arte Es Vida 