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Tuesday 20 March 2012

Bling & Glitter/Sparkle - Craft-Room DT Creation

Hi, it's time for the next challenge over at the Craft-Room.  The Shabby/Vintage entries were absolutely stunning!  This time it's the lovely Debi's turn to choose the theme of Bling & Glitter/Sparkle - check out Debi's blog to have a look at her beautiful projects and scrapbooking pages.

This month we are sponsored by Liz Welch of:
The prize is one of the wonderful jewellery kits incorporating Friendly Plastic, which Liz is well known for.  
Click on the banner to visit the shop.

As Liz is sponsoring this challenge and offering a jewellery kit as a prize, I decided to take the plunge and have a dabble -  it's something which I have never used before, nor have I made any jewellery.  At a bit of a loss for where to start, I checked out Liz's blog, Rare Lizzie, and also had a look on YouTube for some hints, tips and techniques, and generally some inspiration.  These are what I made:
I purchased the hardware from Rare Bird and used the FP in a couple of different ways:

Rectangular Tray Pendant
For this I used a tray pendant, cut the two pieces of FP to fit and heated them whilst they were in the tray then pressed the seam to fuse them together.  While it was still soft, I used the end of the handle to gently tap down to create a hammered effect (I made a little picture like this as well, which I'll upload later in the week).  I put a coat of resin over the top and cured under a UV lamp for about 20 minutes (I believe the little nail ones work just as good).  I then added the metal flower and another coat of resin.  After the second coat I ended up with a couple of air bubbles at the top so I pierced them and added a third coat which made them invisible.  I love the shimmer of this under the glass like top.
For this one, I used a lacey heart pendant and the oozing technique.  I heated my FP on my craft mat with a heat gun, then when soft I pushed the pendant over the top so that the soft plastic oozed through.  You can then use transfer foils on the back to finish and some cord or leather to thread though. 

Now, I know they're not perfect but I'm pleased with them for a first attempt. I think I like the tray pendant best and intend getting a few more of these and experimenting - this stuff is really good fun, there's no waste as all the little bits can be used up in other projects.  You can even stamp into it (dip your stamp into cold water first to stop it sticking)!

Of course you don't have to use FP in your creation, but we would like to see your Bling & Glitter/Sparkle in other ways, and one lucky person will win a jewellery kit to try this fabulous stuff for themselves.

Have a great week.

Maria x






13 comments:

Ephemera said...

Hi Maz, these are just brilliant. I can't believe it's friendly plastic, they look like dichroic glass and enamel, fantastic work. Xx

craft-roomjulia said...

Wow Maria, I can't believe that you haven't used FP before, these are just fantastic. Can't wait for Sunday. Julia xxxx

craft-roomjulia said...

Wow Maria, I can't believe that you haven't used FP before, these are just fantastic. Can't wait for Sunday. Julia xxxx

craft-roomjulia said...

Wow Maria, I can't believe that you haven't used FP before, these are just fantastic. Can't wait for Sunday. Julia xxxx

hazel said...

Absolutly fabulous Maria - I love what you've made and I would never have guessed that you hadn't used it before.
xxx Hazel.

I've put your blog candy in my sidebar.

Zoechaos said...

Wonderful, both pendants are fantastic and you sound to have fallen in love with FP XOXO Zoe

Mervi said...

Stunning both of them, i quess you'll do more of these,
love the heart pendant;-))m

Vicky Hayes said...

You'd never know you'd not made these before Maria - they're spectacular! Hope you're enjoying the sunshine this weekend! Vicky x

Suzanne B aka brookfies said...

Hi Maria, I have enjoyed looking round your blog. You make such wonderful pieces of craft. These pieces are just stunning. Suzanne B

Unknown said...

Wow Maria, these are absolutely brilliant! Love your gorgeous pendants, very elegant! Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog, all the best, Ira x

Debi said...

these are so pretty and remind me of the paua shell which is so popular here in Nz, Debi x

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

Wow! These are stunningly beautiful hun, really really love them, fab colours
Lindsay xx

Dolly Daydreams said...

These are stunning pieces I was totally blown away when I saw them, especially love the one with the little hearts just beautiful.

Marie