Valentine Jewelry

I am back in business!  I'm out of bed and craft supplies are once again laying all over the house.  I got a new camera and photo booth for Christmas.  While they are Faboosh…I need to learn how to use them both.  Some of my pictures are great and some…not so much…. bear with me… user error.

For some reason I decided I wanted to make some Valentine Jewelry… Valentine really ended up mostly because of the colors...I've dabbled in jewelry before with very bumpy results.  Frankly I usually end up frustrated.  For some reason I decided NOW is the time to figure this out.  Along the way I discovered a new product that made me do a big ole happy dance…hint* it involves Swarovski Crystal Chatons…yeah, no, I didn't know what a Chaton was either.  It is the SHAPE of the crystal.

I started with these fun wrapped bracelets.  They are all the rage right now.  There is an artist in California making these high-end by using real diamonds.  She is not me… I ordered the supplies and wish I had ordered a lot more…I really love making them and I love the way they turned out.

The bracelet below is my niece's.  She had a sparkly bracelet that broke and they gave it to me to fix. There was no way I could fix it but I hung on to it because, well it's rhinestone isn't it?  When I was making the pearl wrap bracelet I remember her broken bracelet and the rest is history.

Sticking with the Valentine theme I made this fun necklace.  My Ryann saw it and immediately staked a claim...that is a good thing, right?  I adore it.  I think it is shabby chic but elegant.  All of the beads- except the pink glass heart-are Swarovski crystals or pearls.

I'm not sure what sparked the blue and brown bracelet.  I used a Tim Holtz bracelet and more Swarovski crystals and pearls. 

Can you see me? I'm doing the happy dance!!!  I learned what a Chaton is…This is a Chaton... crystals with the cone shaped bottom.

What is this in the middle of the photo?  Hark... is that a Swarovski ring?  Oh yes it is…. I discovered Crystal Clay.  Crystal Clay is a 2-part Epoxy Clay that is so much fun.  I ordered it from Crystal Clay Online but I see lots of places have it.  Once the two parts are mixed together you have 1 1/2 hours to work with it and it hardens overnight.  The clay comes in like 20 colors.

I bought the white and the silver kit to start.  Each kit includes the clay+the hardener= 2 party epoxy clay, 2 beeswax tipped sticks, a little bag of Chatons, and 1 pair of latex-free gloves for $15.  The little bees wax sticks are invaluable for picking up the Chatons.  You will need to buy extra Chatons because the stones that come with the kit are tiny and there aren't nearly enough to complete a project unless you are designing for the citizens of Whoville.  That said, the kit is a good way to get started.  There are other 2-part epoxy clays, I used Crystal Clay simply because I found it first.  Most of the stores that sell the Crystal Clay Kit also sell a separate bag of mixed Swarovski Chatons for around $5.  The problem with them is they are "mixed" for sure and I can't see getting more than one piece or maybe 2 small piece out of the bag…yes there were extra stones but there aren't enough to actually make another project.  I ended up sourcing the stones individually- not easy and not cheap but I am committed to making these fun pieces.

Front: Red Stones in Silver Clay
Back:Pink Stones in White Clay

There is a learning curve when working with the clay and the stones and I should have realize this and used some cheap acrylic stones to begin with.  Luckily I didn't use an excessive amount of Swarovski stones because my first 2 projects are a fail.  I can't bring myself to throw them away but I will never wear them.  Maybe I will give them to the neighbor kids to play dress up.

This is my first successful ring.  I realize I need to put the stones closer together but this was made using the Chaton Bag that I ordered with my kit and I was limited in the size and selection of stones.  

I didn't love the silver clay as is because it didn't look silver…it looks more grey.  I watched one video where the artist used glitter but frankly it looked like crap.  I was considering what to do and I remembered I have PearlX in several colors. 

Divine right?  I love what the Mica does to the silver.. I used my finger to gently pat the PearlX onto the top of the clay.

 I LOOOOOVE this ring.

I have white pearl PearlX which I will try with the white clay when I make my next ring.  I ran out of gloves so production stopped.  

I need to get my Valentine projects going…problem is my studio is still a mess but I can't create until I clean so I better get cleaning….

Laters..