Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Gun metal Bezel Tutorial

Have you seen our new gunmetal colored pendants?
We decided to take them for a test drive by introducing them to Crystal Clay and some Swarovski Crystals.
The result? We LOVE it!
 
We love it so much, it is only fair we share the steps!
 
Materials needed:
Crystal Clay/ Epoxy Clay- we used silver color
Swarovski chaton crystals
25mm circle gunmetal bezel tray
Wire necklace- we used black
Eye shadow- only if you want to alter color- we used black shimmer
Eye shadow brush
Paper tissue
 
Let's get started!
Step 1-
Roll out equal amounts of your crystal clay materials A and B.
 
 
Step 2-Mix the two together until there is one solid color, no marbling.
 

Step 3-
Have your empty bezel ready to go!
 

Step 4-
Place the clay into the bezel and carefully spread it and smooth it. In this example, the crystal clay came to just over the lip line of the bezel, and a dome was formed in the middle. If you need to smooth it out, place a tiny amount of baby oil on your finger and gently smooth the surface of the clay.
 

Step 5-
Place you crystals in desired positions. A tip*** place them a bit loose on the clay until you have an idea as to how you want your final piece to look. Then go ahead and tap each crystal into the clay. Be sure you tap them firmly enough that they do not wiggle and will be held securely in place once the clay cures.
If you need to move a crystal, simply remove it, smooth out the clay on that spot, and place in its new spot!
 

Here is another view, to show how deep we set the crystals into the clay.....

Step 6-
Once all crystals have been placed, we took things a step further.... of course we did, why not!?!?
Using some eye shadow that will NOT be used on anyone at a later date, call it craft shadow, we slightly changed the color of the clay. Simply take your eye shadow brush, or a paint brush would work, and load it up with the shadow. Then pounce it on to the clay. Don't press so hard that you change the shape of the clay, but enough pressure that she shadow will stuck. You can be very generous with the shadow. Anything that doesn't stick will come off later, when the clay has cured.
Set aside- we left for 12 hours, but usually 6 hours works too.
 

Step 7-
Take your soft tissue or even a slightly damp rag, and basically polish the pendant. This will remove any residual eye shadow and clean up the crystals so hey sparkle again! Add the pendant to a necklace and ta-da!






You can find the bezel tray/ pendant tray as well as a whole assortment of necklaces in our shops!
Www.WillowRunCrafts.com
or Www.Etsy.com/shop/Willowruncrafts

Any questions, just let us know! Happy Crafting!

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