Resin Watch Necklace

When I cleaned out my Mom's house after her passing I found a drawer full of broken wrist watches, I don't think she ever threw one away.  So I decided to preserve one of them in a necklace with my Piccolo Instant UV Resin.  I began with a Rectangle Acrylic Charm; gluing some cool watch collage paper on the back.  I disassembled the watch and glued some pieces onto my acrylic.  You can see gears in the upper left as well as the lower left corners.  The face is in the upper right and the actual spring from the watch is in the center.  Once I got them placed I began to add my UV Resin.  You want to build this up slowly, curing it either in sunshine for 3 minutes or under a UV lamp for 3 minutes.  Do this between layers to avoid any pockets that won't cure.  

You can see in the photo above the wonderful depth you get from the resin and yet overall it is only about 1/4 of an inch high.  I added a nice Bail and a Silk Cord Necklace and then sponged Walnut Brown 3D Stamp Paint on the back and edges for a finished look.  What a fabulous way to preserve a family treasure.  It has an amazing glass like finish.

Cogs Keyring

Morning all, Tracy here 

One of my favorite Globecraft & Piccolo products are Rectangle Acrylic Charms because there is so much you can do with them...including playing around with your Alcohol markers /inks like I have this week. 

The frame comes with the  Rectangle Acrylic Charms and I have given that a rough coat of Copper Kettle 

The acrylic charm I have coloured using my Spectrum Noirs and then flicked with the blending fluid...I love this effect. I have then used the cogs from the Gear Necklace set and have used Vintage Black Embossing Enamel I then glued them all down using Tacky Glue. 

I made this to be used as a keyring, but it could easily be used as a necklace charm. 

Happy Crafting 

x 

Steampunk Necklace

Hello my fine feathered friends!

I thought I'd try my hand at steampunk, and I'd love your feed back!

Let's make this!

What you need:

Acrylic charm

Gear Necklace

Cord Necklace

Pinch Bail

Enamel Adhesive Fluid

Enamel Powders: Victorian Bronze, Vintage Black, Aged White

Enamel Gels: Gold, Copper

Glastique

E600 Glue

Word Sticker (Tim Holtz), sparkling ultra fine glitter (My Stamp Box), mica chips (USArt Quest), metal gear brad (Eyelet Outlet), alcohol inks (Ranger), clamp or clothespin.



What to do:

1. Peel the blue protective stuff off of both sides of the acrylic charm. Ink up the front with alcohol inks. 

 

2.  Punch out the gear and coat the two larger gears with enamel adhesive fluid. Coat one gear with Vintage Black powder and the other with Aged White powder. Heat to melt the powders and activate the adhesive. Coat the remaining gear and the little turn key with gold 3D Enamel Gel. Coat the two circles that punched out of the gears with Copper enamel gel. Let dry.

3. Once your gears are completely dry and set, cut the prongs off the gear brad and use a little E600 to adhere it over the largest gear. Clamp together for a few minutes to ensure a secure bond.

4. Paint some glossy Glastique onto the acrylic charm. Sprinkle with the sparkling glitter and mica flakes. Let dry and then use a soft paint brush to sweep off the excess.

5. Paint the back of the sticker with Glastique and add it to the bottom edge of the charm. Coat top of sticker with matte Glastique.

6. Use the E600 glue to adhere the gears to the charm (I use a toothpick to put the glue onto the gears). Clamp down (put your clamp on the metal gear so you don't mar the surface) for a few minutes to be sure it's good and stuck. Add the two copper circles, the bail, and put onto the necklace. There ya go!!

Too Much Happy Keychain

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Need a quick gift? Something cute and simple? How about a darling keychain?!

Like this one.

Start with a Rectangle Acrylic Craft Charm. For this project use a piece of kraft cardstock and stamp it with a woodgrain stamp. Place the charm on top of the woodgrain image and trace around. Cut out the charm shape. Squeeze Glastique Gloss onto the charm and lay the cutout on top. Flip over the charm and move the cardstock and Glastique around making sure to get all of the cardstock surface. Use a slightly dry baby wipe to wipe the excess from the edges.

At this point, you can stamp a fun sentiment using an ink formulated for nonporous surfaces, such as Ranger's Archival Ink in Jet Black directly onto the charm. Let dry.

While the ink and adhesive are drying, get your tiny hearts and stars. I chose my elements according to my kids. Using tweezers and a bit of patience, emboss those tiny bits using Embossing Powder Adhesive and your favorite Embossing Enamel Powders! I used Poodle Skirt and Deep Blue Sky.

{Edited to Add: I used an old emory (aka used) board, like those paper sanders you use for nails to sand off any excess bits of paper that were hanging off the charm. Sand only in the direction that doesn't pull your cardstock from the charm. To sand the hole for the chain, I wrapped a small piece of fine grit sandpaper around a toothpick. Again, sand in one direction to avoid tearing the cardstock. You can also use this method to sand off any bits of the piccolos, if necessary. Brush off all the dust.}

When the ink and Glassique are dry, it's time to give your charm some faux soldering! Pour some Vintage Copper Enamel Powder onto a scrap sheet of paper. Dab the Embossing Powder Adhesive onto the edges of the charm and then dip the edges into the powder.

Heat with a heat gun and when the powder has melted and looks like liquid, dip the edges in the powder, again. Heat. Repeat until you get some overflow of melted powder onto the front and back of the charm. Let cool completely.

Once cooled, add the tiny hearts and stars using Glastique. You can also coat the charm with a thin layer of Glastique or use the Instant UV Resin to make your charm more durable.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to come again tomorrow to see more inspiration!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Enamel Stamped Monogram Necklace

Hello, Crafty Friends! Thanks for stopping by...what better way to start your week than to see some crafty goodness?

Have you stopped by the G&P shop, yet? There are a lot of goodies to be found! Sometimes I order stuff I like, but not really knowing what I will use it for just, yet. Not too long ago, I received a 2.25" acrylic circle and have been wondering how to use it. After a week or two of pulling it out and putting it back, I finally figured it out!

I've not made a lot of jewelry, but this was so easy, I may be designing a few more pieces! Let me show you how I made this necklace...

Peel off the top blue liner. Leave the bottom piece to protect the backside.

Dab the Enamel Powder Adhesive on to the acrylic circle. Sprinkle on Vintage Copper Enamel Powder and heat. (The adhesive will bead up, but don't worry! We will add 2 more layers...) 

Remember to be patient and take your time when heating to reduce the loose powder fly-off, especially with the first layer. Melt until the layer is molten and 'flowing'. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Think 'lava'.

Pretty rough looking, right? It's okay...trust me! Dab more adhesive, sprinkle powder and melt. Here's the second layer - much better!

Now ink up your stamp with the Enamel Powder Adhesive to protect your stamp (and make it easier to release the stamp from the melted powered) and lay it aside. You want your stamp ready to use when the enamel powder is molten. One more time: dab on adhesive, sprinkle on powder and melt. Here's the third layer, molten and ready to stamp. 

Stamp into the melted enamel firmly. Leave the charm to cool with the stamp still in the enamel for a minute or so. Lift off the stamp when the charm is cool enough to touch. Are you as impressed at the result as I was?!

Clean off your stamp and let the charm cool completely. You could stop at this point, but it was a bit too shiny for what I was looking for...

When cool brush on some black acrylic paint and then use a wet wipe or paper towel to remove most of the paint. This really makes the impression visible!

I felt it still needed something else, so I used a script stamp with Jet Black Staz-On. It adds a lovely vintage charm and interest to the monogram, don't you think?

Finish by peeling off the back blue liner and then use a brush to add a light layer of Glastique to seal the piece. Add a chain (the G&P shop has several to choose from), a bail, other charms...whatever you like and you have a stunning piece of jewelry handmade by you!

Did you try this technique? Did you use a different embossing enamel powder? Let me know so I can visit and see what YOU made!

Inky hugs,
Angi

Starry Starry Night

Hello there again ---- It Teresa - and I'm back with a new item to talk about this week. 

It's a constellation pendant.

I read lots of blogs and decor reports and noticed a trend for constellation items --- these can be for your zodiac symbol if you like, but in my case I chose my constellation for sentimental reasons. The very first one I was able to identify (and still the easiest for me to spot) was Orion.

So let's gather our supplies
- a teardrop acrylic bezel
- vintage black embossing powder
- embossing powder adhesive 
- glastique gloss glaze
- fine applicator tip 
- pointed tweezers
- interchangeable bails 
- a silk necklace cord

you will also need a
- heatgun
- tiny flat back rhinestones
- a fine point permanent marker (I used a sharpie)

 There are a lot of pictures - but this is really easy to do.

I printed a picture of the constellation I wanted to use and then shrunk it to fit the bezel size on my copier.

Gathered my supplies. (I pulled out Matte Glastique first but ended up using the gloss)

The Acrylic Bezels come with this blue protective coating on each side that peels off before use. You can see through it. So I simply placed my bezel with the blue coating over my picture and marked the constellation points with the Sharpie. Then carefully peeled off both sides of the coating.  Keep this marked piece.

Pounce on the adhesive all over the front of the bezel and cover with the Vintage Black Embossing powder. The Vintage Black Powder is a gorgeous Black, Gold, and Silver mixture.

Things to remember here  ----- do NOT squeeze the adhesive bottle, a simple pouncing motion is perfect and ALWAYS roll the powder jar to mix the colors before you sprinkle your powder.

I used two coats of the powder and adhesive and learned that you can move the pattern around a bit with the air flow of the heat gun if you are going for a smooth finish like I was.

The longer you heat the powder the more smooth the finish is. A quick set leaves lots of texture. 

If you look closely at the picture above (the arrow), you will see two little place that the powder did not cover. Here's the fix.

I took a cotton swab and dabbed more adhesive in the thin area and than used my tweezers to pick up small amounts of the powder to fill just those areas.  (sorry - this picture is a little blown out, but I tried and tried to get a better exposure and being that close, it just didn;t happen) Reheat and ----

Here you have a really pretty representation of the night sky.  I did use my heat gun to "push" the powder around to get those two darker areas.

Take that marked piece of the protective coating and align it with the now covered bezel. (Be sure your orientation of the constellation is correct) Using something sharp (I used the point of the tweezers), press the star pattern into the enamel. The enamel is soft enough to take this pointed pressing and you will be able to feel/see the little indented areas for the next step.

Using the fine point applicator, dot the Glastique on those marked places and add your rhinestone "stars"

If you look closely (again see the arrow), you can spot the little indented places for the stars.

Let this dry -

After the stars dry, coat the entire front with more of the glastique. Let this dry completely.

Another tip ---- I have a cat who loves to help and can be a disaster for drying finishes. I grabbed a small clear bowl from the kitchen and cover my shape with that while it dries.

I added the pendant bail and a hung mine on a black silk necklace.

I love the Globecraft and Piccolo bails - they are interchangeable so you can switch your pendants as often as your mood changes.

I would love to see your versions of the Constellation pendant.

You can leave comments here or also on the Globecraft and Piccolo Facebook Page.

I'll see you next Thursday, but please visit everyday. There are lots of inspiring projects here.

Have a great day.

Life is Beautiful

Teresa (aka MaggieGraceCreates)

Froggy's Foliage Accents

One of this month's new releases is the Piccolo Froggy's Foliage Accents.  I love frogs, they were some of my best friends when I was a kid.  So I just had to make a pendant with this cute little guy.  I began with an Acrylic Teardrop and it's matching frame.  There are blue plastic protective sheets on both sides of the acrylic that need to be removed.  Just work at it with your fingernail and you can peel them off.  I embossed the frame with Gilded Rose Gold enamel powder and glued it down to the teardrop.  Using a mix of Kiwi and Luscious Lime Smooch Inks I colored the Foliage Accents and then glued them down on to the teardrop.

Next came a layer of Instant UV Resin, 3 minutes under a UV lamp or sunlight and it hardens to a beautiful glass like finish.  For my Froggy, I used Mossy Glen enamel powder, adding a bit of green cardstock behind his mouth and white behind his eyes.  I coated my frog with Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze for a lovely shine.  The last step was to color the back of the acrylic with Light Blue 3D stamp paint.  Love the sparkle from this paint.   Be sure to stop by tomorrow for more inspiration from the team. 

A Pendant. . .well, a Keychain for Mom

This is my very first post as a Design Team Member for Globecraft & Piccolo.  I am so excited to be a part of this dynamic team! I hope you will enjoy my tutorial and please be sure to stop by the G&P blog daily to feast your eyes on more of the fabulous creations the Design Team has in store!

Let me tell you that I am not the most coordinated person, in fact, I am really clumsy.  It has gotten worse since I had my back surgery (almost 2 years ago) as my equilibrium is still trying to adjust to my “new” back – I often walk into walls, trip over my own two feet and other fun party tricks! I have always been clumsy and only recently have started to trust myself with sharp objects and other dangerous items.  I tell you this because it will make sense later on in the post.  Read on. 

My mom is my biggest fan – how could she not be? – and I love making her gifts and cards.  Unfortunately, my mom is legally blind due to glaucoma, but she does have some sight, depending on the time of day, the weather (sunny or cloudy) and how tired her eyes are.  When I saw these acrylic blanks and the adorable chipboard shapes from Globecraft & Piccolo, I knew Mom would love a pendant. 

The Items I Used:

• Oval Acrylic Craft Charm 
• Fine Flower & Vines Flourish Accents 
• Tiny Stars, Hearts, Flowers & Swirls (I used one heart) 
• Glasstique Gloss Finishing Glaze 
• Mardi Gras Embossing Enamel (I had already embossed the tiny heart) 
• Sharpie Marker in Green
• LuminArte Radiant Rain in Rich Cobalt
• Small Paint Brush
• Mrs. Grossman's Alphabet Stickers, black with clear background
• Blue Plastic Flower Gem
• Piece of Purple Shimmer Cardstock for backing
• Keychain (which is not listed in the store yet, but will be!)

The Fine Flower & Vines Flourishes naked :)

First thing I did was figure out my layout.  I knew I wanted the pendant to say Mom, to have flowers & hearts and be vibrant enough so she could see it.  I had colored the flower with Distress Markers first, but then I was worried that they’d run and I’d be left with a bare flower once they had contact with the Glasstique, so I recolored with a green Sharpie for the stem of the flower and LuminArte Rich Cobalt for the actual flowers.  Since LuminArte is also water soluble I knew there’d be some running of the color, but I wanted to give it a try and I felt a halo effect would almost enhance the pendant.  I colored the flower & stem quite a few times, letting it dry thoroughly in between coloring.

The beginning of the layout

Now I had to dig through my immense stash of letter stickers.  I confess, letters and fonts are another crafty addiction of mine and I had quite a bit of stickers to choose from.  And of course, the last bunch I looked at had the perfect black letters on a clear backing from Mrs. Grossman.  I stuck those on the acrylic base and then fooled with the flower and the little heart (that I had previously embossed with Mardi Gras Embossing Enamel when I was using the enamel on a card I made).  Once I was happy with the placement, I glued everything down.  Let that dry overnight, just to be sure.  I also had a hell of a time getting the blue covers off the acrylic, which was nothing new, and in hindsight, I should have left the back cover on the pendant until I was done.  But nooooo, I had to take all the covers off - my mistake!

The last step was to cover the entire design with Glasstique.  I hadn’t worked with this top coat yet, but I have worked with similar products in the past.  I bit the bullet and slowly squeezed the Glasstique in the middle of the pendant and let it flow naturally over the front.  Beautiful.  I left the pendant alone for about 8 hours.  When I went to check on it, I noticed that some of the Glasstique had flowed over the sides and went under the acrylic piece, (see why I should of left the back on?) and in my terror that I would have Glasstique stuck to the back I picked the pendant up to clean off the back before it had dried completely.  Well, in doing that I also cause a ripple and a fingerprint in the front, right were the “o” in Mom was. And then I dropped it (see, this is the clumsy part) but thankfully no more damage was done and I was able to pick the cat hairs off the pendent.  OK – not to worry – I let the piece dry completely and then I figured I’d be able to fix it somehow. 

My fix was a fiasco.  I thought if I dabbed just a bit of the Glasstique where the ripple and finger print were it would magically meld itself into the already dry coating and would be fixed.  Nope.  So now, I had a blob over the ripple and fingerprint – the good news being I couldn’t see the previous mistakes, just the blob now. 

The arrow is pointing to the blob of a mistake - I didn't take a pic of my fingerprint LOL

 I wrestled with just throwing the whole thing out and trying again, but I hate to waste products (as evidenced by my overflowing stash of scraps and doo dads) so I went to plan B – after I thought of plan B.  I have quite a collection of plastic gems so I picked through the ones I felt would work with what I’d already done and humbly asked my G&P Design Teammates which “fix” looked best.  That narrowed it down to 2 possible solutions, so I chose to use a blue plastic flower gem, which I glued right onto the Glasstique with a tiny dab of E6000 glue.   And then I put the cardstock paper on the back and that also helped a bit to camouflage the blob.  Whew!  You can still see the blob in certain light, but I think it’s a save.  Mom may not have a new pendant anymore, but she has a fabulous keychain! 

The fabulous Manny holding the keychain

And the keychain - whew!

I already have my eye on what I am going to dive into next – Mom may get a pendent after all!  I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial ~ Fondly, Christi

If you’d like more information about Globecraft & Piccolo’s products, you can go to the main webpage HERE - you’ll even find some tutorial YouTube videos!