Christmas in July Necklace

I have never taken a big interest in the whole "Christmas in July" concept before this year but with school being as hectic as it is and Christmas break being so brief I began to understand why making Christmas presents during the summer is really a great idea!

Before I get into the tutorial, I want to introduce you to a couple of my sponsors:

First up is Cats-Purrfect
She makes molds for resin. She sculpts the original pieces and casts the molds herself and sells them for a great price at her site! She has a lot of different molds available and she even has a YouTube channel display her molds!
You can get your own molds here: http://www.cats-purrfect.com/
And check out videos of them here: http://www.youtube.com/user/catspurrfect

She has graciously provided me with some molds to use including this wonderful Gingerbread Man!

Next on my list of sponsors is Aanraku Glass Studios
They have some wonderful pieces that work great with resin.
You can check their products out here: http://store.abasg.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

For this project I'm using their Large Silver Plated Pattern Bails. They come in a package of 10 with 2 each of 5 different patterns!

Another great thing about the large size is that they can slid over the necklace without using a jump ring!

I'm using EasyCast Resin, Cats-Purrfect Gingerbread Man Mold, Castin' Crafts Opaque Pigment in Red, Green, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Pearl, a Castin'Crafts Jewelry Mold, and some glitter!

I'm going to fill in the deepest areas of the mold first which are the face, bow tie, and buttons.
I'm using black, red, green, and some glitter- you could really use any colors here but I'm going traditional!

Spray both the Gingerbread Man Mold and Jewelry Mold with some Castin' Crafts Mold Release!Mix up a batch of EasyCast Resin!
*Here's a neat tip* Since I only need small amounts of each color and don't want to waste a bunch of cups, pour some resin into the small cavities of the jewelry mold and use them as mixing cups!

Mix the colors and glitter as desired directly in the jewelry mold cavities using toothpicks. Be carefully not to add too much dye because it can affect the resin hardening. When your left overs have set they should pop out just like normal leaving you with a clean mold and no wasted cups!

Use some toothpicks to carefully fill in the little gingerbread man's features and let these set for at least an hour or two before continuing.

Mix up another batch of EasyCast and color this one brown for his body. I used a mixture of Pearl, Brown, and a touch of Yellow to try and get a real "gingerbread" look.

Fill in the body with the brown. Try not to pour directly on the previous resin to avoid disrupting it!

Let the resin set for 24-72 hours to harden completely.

Look how cute he is!!

To turn this guy into a necklace I used a red necklace (from Hobby Lobby), some E-6000, and a Aanraku Bail (I'm using a design that reminds me of snowflakes!)

Apply some E-6000 to the bail...

Firmly press it to the back of the gingerbread man. Let this sit for 24 hours to get maximum adhesion.

Now we have an adorable necklace to spread some holiday cheer! Or to put away for stocking stuffers!

Bell X1 Discography Jewelry in honor of "Chop Chop" their new release

I am so excited about the new album just released by Bell X1! In honor of the new release I wanted to make something special.

The new album by Bell X1 is called Chop Chop. It has a great sound and the guys from Bell X1 are so awesome they put the entire new album up on Sound Cloud for everyone to listen to!
You can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/#bell-x1/sets/chop-chop-1
You can also order or download the album here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bell+x1+chop+chop&sprefix=bell+x1+%2Caps%2C323

This is also a great chance to tell you about EnviroTex Lite and show you the doming technique.
The key supplies to make these resin pieces are EnviroTex Lite, Mod Podge, and a paper punch (I'm using a 1 inch square. You can also cut your images out by hand if you don't want to get a punch.
*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

We also need some images! I'm using the covers of Bell X1's albums. Insert the images to your preferred program. I'm using Microsoft Word. You will need 2 of each image.

You can format the image and change the size to fit your paper punch. For mine, I sized them 1 inch by 1 inch. Be sure to leave enough space between the images to fit you paper punch.

You can use the punch upside down to line up the images.

 

Once you have punched out the images they need to be coated with a sealant so the paper doesn't get "wet" and "blotchy" in the resin process. I'm using 2 coats of Mod Podge.
The green surface I'm using is the backside of a silicone mold. The silicone offers easy clean up but you can also cover your surface with wax or parchment paper.

Glue two of the images together back-to-back making sure that you get them both right side up.

 

 

Now you should have some 2 sided images that are coated with sealant.

Mix up a batch of EnviroTex Lite (it mixes almost just like EasyCast Resin) the big differences are: it is used specifically for resin projects that are 1/8 inch deep or less, it is a bit thicker than EasyCast, and it hardens more quickly on small projects!

Start by slowly dripping some resin onto the center of the image.

Using a toothpick, spread the resin over the image. Be sure to get all the way to the edges but try not to go over them. Once it has been fully coated you can slowly drip extra resin to get a nice domed effect.
If you have some bubbles you can exhale over the surface to pop them. Be sure not to inhale the resin fumes though! The carbon dioxide from your breath is what pops the bubbles not the force of the air. A heat gun on low will also work (you must keep it moving though you don't want to burn or melt anything) A candle lighter will also work but don't get it too close to the surface or anything else for that matter. I don't want to be responsible for anyone setting things on fire!

Let these harden for 8- 12 hours. They should not be tacky after the 8-12 hours but they will still be somewhat pliable. It will take about 48 hours for them to be completely hardened.

Once they have set for the initial 8-12 hours they will be set enough for you to flip them over and coat the other side with resin.

When all of the images have been coated on both sides and have hardened at least 8-12 hours we can start putting our necklace (or bracelet) together.
For the jewelry making portion you'll need a chain (necklace or bracelet), jump rings, a drill bit (or dremel, or hand drill), and jewelry pliers.

When working on such a small surface, especially being a two sided piece, I get nervous about the electric dremel skittering across the surface. You can actually take the drill bit and twist it manually through the piece.
If you are worried about the drill bit scratching the surface you're working on you can put a popsicle stick underneath the area you're drilling.

 

Attach them to the chain loops with jump rings. By hooking the jump ring in the chain loop it will hold the charm in the same spot while wearing.

Where you drill the hole will dictate how they hang on the chain.
The first 4 albums are drilled in the top right corner...

The last 4 albums are drilled in the top left corner...

For the center tile (a pic of the band) I drilled in both corners...

Here you can see how the hole placement changes how the charms hang on the chain.

A bracelet will hang more in a straight line like this...

While the necklace would hang more like this...

I just love how some paper can be turned into a great piece of jewelry!

Beach Vacation Souvenir Necklace

This can be done with sand and shells that you found while on vacation at the beach or ones that were purchased at the local craft store.

I'm using EasyCast Resin, Castin' Crafts Mold Release, Sand, Tiny Shells, and a Seashell Candy Mold.
*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)
I'm doing this project using 2 pours.

For the first part: Spray the mold with mold release and mix up a batch of EasyCast Resin. Pour a layer of clear resin into the mold but only about half fill the cavities.

Place a layer of the shells into the resin making sure they get cover completely.
I let this harden for 24 hours before adding the next layer.

For part 2: mix another small batch of EasyCast Resin. Pour a layer of clear resin into each of the cavities but don't fill all the way full.

Add a layer of sand to the resin...

 

Top off the sand with another coat of resin to make sure that the sand is completely encapsulated.

 

Let these sit for 24-72 hours until hardened. This type of mold might need to be put in the freezer for a few minutes to help pop out the resin pieces.

These are super cute souvenirs that could be turned into magnets or keychains or in this case a necklace!

To make this into a necklace we'll need a necklace cord, split ring, bail, E-6000, and some jewelry pliars.
This necklace cord was found at Hobby Lobby.

Apply some E-6000 to the bail...

Press the bail onto the back of the resin piece and let dry for 24 hours to get maximum adhesion.

Attach to the necklace cord using a split ring and Viola!! You can take your vacation with you everywhere!!