Time to dust off the blog...Do people still blog? Seems like Instagram and Pinterest have taken over the world.
I am dusting this old girl off in order to share some tutorials with you.
My first is for this Siren's Song Necklace I made 2 years ago. It took me a whole month to make the beads and components and about a week to put the piece together.
I ended up sending this one to Stampington and they published it in an issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry. It took a couple years to get to publication, but it was worth it.
This post has the basics from the article, but no step-by-step photos. I won't be able to take a month to remake them and take pictures so you'll just have to let your own imagination fill in the missing blanks.
What you will need:
Supplies
Scissors
2 pieces of
Plexiglas
Waxed Linen
Cord
RIT
Dye-Purple, Aquamarine, Navy Blue, Green
Alcohol
Plastic
containers with lids
Slotted
Spoons
Micro beads
Sand
Varathane Clear Gloss
Water-Based Interior Polyurethane
Metallic
Lustres by Deco Art (all colors)
Bamboo
Skewers
Floral foam
Small
alphabet rubber stamps
Sculpey Mold
Maker
Seashells,
sand dollars, starfish
Ocean themed
pendants
Premo
Sculpey Clay in White PE02 5001
Premo
Sculpey Clay in Cobalt Blue, Green
Stampers
Texture
tools
Spray bottle
of water
Baby wipes
Sculpey Clay
Conditioning machine
Sculpey
Etch-n-pearl
Steel Rebar
Wire
Heavy Duty
Side Cutters
Needle Nose
Pliers
Sculpey
Super Slicer
Vinyl gloves
Silk Strips
19 gauge
black steel wire
Hammer
Bench Block
Step-by-step instructions
Making the beads:
·
For beads,
condition the white clay, then pinch off a piece of clay and roll it into a
ball. Then poke a hole through the center of the bead. Repeat from the other side of the bead. Add
texture or words.
·
For the quote
pendants, roll a ball of conditioned clay about the size of a golf ball. Flatten with fingers and press the clay
between two pieces of Plexiglas that have been misted with water to your
desired thickness. Stamp desired design into disk. Poke holes in the pendant.
·
For Disk Beads,
roll clay into a ball and flatten between fingers. Poke a hole in the bead. Leave on the skewer and roll over textured
surface or roll into micro beads.
·
For unique
beads and focals, use Sculpey Mold Maker to make your own molds from seashells,
pendants, and starfish. Then use the molds to make your own unique beads and
focals. Roll clay into a ball and press
mold onto the ball. Either use the
skewer to make a hole through the whole bead or add a piece of wire bent into a
U shape for a bail.
Following manufacturer’s directions, bake the
beads in toaster oven. Keep in mind that thicker beads will require more bake
time than thin beads.
Finishing the beads:
·
Once the
beads are baked and cool, make dyes by adding about 2 tablespoons of liquid dye
to about one cup of alcohol. Mix
thoroughly. Add white beads and focals
to the dye bath. When you have achieved
the look you want, remove from the dye bath with a slotted spoon. Rinse with cool water until it runs
clear. Spread out on trays or paper
plates to dry.
·
Use
DecoArt’s Metallic Lustres waxes to add color to beads. Layer multiple colors over beads and pendants
using your fingers. Once dry, buff with
a soft cloth.
·
Seal beads
with Varathane. I place my beads on a
bamboo skewer and dip them into a small jar with the sealer. Then I set each skewer in a board that my
husband drilled with holes.
·
For the
beads with micro beads and sand, I dipped the bead in Varathane and then dipped
it into a small container of sand or micro beads. For some, I mixed the micro beads right into
a small amount of sealer and then rolled the bead in the mixture. I also dipped some beads into the Varathane
and then sprinkled the beads with micro beads all over.
Making
Clasps:
·
Make a necklace clasp with
needle nose pliers and a piece of wire. Curl end around needle nose pliers to
make a small loop. Turn over so loop is
on top of the pliers and bend around to make a hook. Grasp end of wire with needle nose pliers and
curl up into a loop. Harden wire by
pounding it with a hammer several times on each side. Make heart loop for clasp
by cutting a piece of rebar wire about 3 inches long. Bend in the middle and
pull the ends so they make a loop at the bottom. Use pliers to bend tops of the heart. Harden
wire.
To Make the Necklace
*For the necklace back, use 4
silk strips and loosely braid 3, adding and dropping a strip in an organic way
repeatedly. Add wire clasp and loops to
ends so each necklace strand can be added. If the piece is too long, you can
shorten it by knotting it in the middle.
* Build your collar by creating each necklace
strand on waxed linen cord or silk strips.
Add them to the necklace as you work to check lengths and placement
Of course you can use these techniques to make your own earrings, bracelets, rings etc... This is just a starting point for your own fabulous creations. Please feel free to comment with a link of your own goodies. I'd love to see what you come up with.
If you are reading this, I'd love if you took a moment to comment so I know you are still out there...
Thanks for stopping by....
