First Forays

 

One of the blogs I follow is Carmi Cimicata at Resin Crafts blog. I love seeing all the things she can make with products from Enviortex. Mostly, she creates with their resin but they've recently come out with a new product called Jewelry Clay. You mix the two part clay together and you can use it for just about anything, like, oh, say, attaching two (or more) pieces together. Which is what I did here.

I saw a suggestion (article? don't remember, now! with my luck it was probably one of Carmi's posts!) about using the BIG, glamorous, flamboyant buttons from the sewing section to make cocktail rings. My last visit to Hobby Lobby yielded quite the button haul and I decided to take a small step into the Envirotex world (I'm still not brave enough to open the resin... chicken!) I was a little concerned at first because I didn't mix a large enough amount but I had no problems adding to it until I had the right amount. The button has a deep curve so I wanted to be sure the clay held it in place! I filled the ring bezel and had a good sized mound of the clay to press the button into. Per Carmi's suggestion, I then took some silver embossing powder I happened to have on hand and brushed it onto the bits of clay you can see underneath (pink arrows!) to help the clay blend with the ring and button. The clay sets after two hours so the ring is wearable after that, but I left it to cure overnight. Here's what I now have to wear on those occasions I'm feeling a bit more show-off-y:

Isn't that the coolest!  LERRRRRVE IIIIIT!!   So, folks, get a little brave, try something new, and let me know how it turns out. (I plan to try more of this! Must get more ring blanks!)  New skills are great to add to your collection of know-how. And check Carmi's blog for further knowledge.

Thinking....

I did manage to get into my craft studio on Tuesday evening, but I didn't actually get anything done. Oh, I played. I learned that embossing powder won't "melt" onto metal (no matter how close you hold the heat gun) but the powder *will* go everywhere. My own, personal "Color Run" without the run! (hee) I looked at my jewelry clay from Envirotex Lite and pulled out some bezels and pictures to make jewelry... then chickened out... for now! I'll get back to it, I swear! Maybe I'll be braver tonight? If nothing else, I should pull out some of my copper wires and make headpins. I need more and I certainly enjoy the melting and making of them (it's the Pyro in me). So, no pics today, but maybe later? When I screw my courage back up to just jump in and DO IT instead of thinking too much.

Playing and Amusing the Muse

So, this weekend (I'm counting Friday night, here) I experimented with something new... well, new to me. Ice Enamels!  I really do like them! I have turquoise, a sort-of chartreuse green, and a clear/opalescent set of colors.

This first one is a steel washer I layered with turquoise, then added some small pieces of the chartreuse color and a teeeeeeensie bit of the opalescent (no, sorry, don't remember to precise names... I'll add 'em later)  I really like how this turned out. And I haven't done anything else to it, no resin topping or anything. Cool, no?

This one... well, it didn't work as well. I don't know if I got too excited, or just straight up too messy with my work, but it blotted in a few places on the wings and slid off around the dragonfly where it's attached to the shell casing.  Still, I think I may be able to do some clean up if I take my time with it. More experimentation is in order. Yes.

I'll keep you updated as I make further attempts.

What new things did YOU try this weekend, hm?