Bountiful Bows in Ice Resin- DIY Tutorial

So, we actually found the colorful little bows in the nail section at Walgreens. Who knew they would be so cute in jewelry?! And the next part, they are so colorful, it. An be worn with a variety of outfits!

It is so easy to make and we are here to show you how!

1. Start with a blank pendant tray.

2. Apply a thin coat of ice resin to bottom of the tray.

3. Now just start dropping in the colorful little bows! These are just slices of polymer clay. So, when searching, you can look for that if it helps. Once all bows are set, cover in ice resin. Fill to the brim of the tray. Set aside and let harden for 24 hours. **Pendant must be level**

4. Once hardened, add to necklace and wear! We added it to one of our organza necklaces. Enjoy!

Resin Rose Pendant

With all of our experimenting with crystal clay, we are probably now MOST excited that we can even add our resin roses to it! Worked wonderfully! And of course we can't just keep this to ourselves....

Here's how we did it:

First, roll out two equal parts of your crystal clay parts A and B. 

Next, mix the two together until completely mixed. No marveling of colors at all. If it is not mixed completely, it will not set and harden correctly. So knead away! Usually takes a few minutes of kneading together.

Now, we placed the crystal clay in to one of our old style 1 inch square pendant trays. Be sure to press it in firmly so it sticks. Once we had it pressed in, we pushed the rose into the clay. 

Now, you can go ahead and starting adding in any other embellishments you want! We added crystal chatons and plastic pearls. Again, press them firmly in to place.

Because we wanted a colored clay, we dusted on some powder. Be sure to really firmly pounce it on so that it will stick to the clay, but not so hard that you actually change the shape of your design. Cover the entire piece in an ample amount of powder. 

**we actually use eye shadow powder but there are crystal clay pigment powders you can buy as well and are what the manufactures recommend**

Once the powdering is complete, let the piece sit for 24 hours. It can be ready in only a few hours, but the extra time just confirms it will be entirely cured and hard.

After the time is up, just wipe off the excess powder. You can even use a lightly dampened cloth.

And it is complete!

Craft Supply Spring Sale!!!

 

Use code Spring20 at Www.Etsy.com/shop/Willowruncrafts for 20% off.

Use code Spring 10 at Www.WillowRunCrafts.com for 10% off.

 

Coupon codes must be used at time of checkout. Minimum order is $5.00 (not including shipping).

Any questions, just let us know! Happy shopping!!!!

 



Ice Resin meets Polymer Clay- Tutorial

So, while we were at the bead show in Tucson earlier this year, we spotted some polymer clay rolls in the Lisa Pavleka booth/ room. They just looked like fun! Sooooo, we decided to introduce them to one of our favs, Ice Resin! They added that extra touch or pizazz to our creation!

In case you wanted to try your hand at the two, here are our instructions on how to make this Ice Resin pendant. Enjoy!

1. To begin, slice off as many polymer pieces you plan to use. You don't want them too thin, or they could break, but definitely not thicker than the height of your pendant tray. We have even seen these slices sold in the nail polish section of random stores.

2. Mix up your Ice Resin. Be sure to scrape the walls, too, as a way to ensure it gets totally mixed. You will see tons of tiny bubbles, and that's okay! It's made to do that. The bubbles go away on their own.

3. Using a pendant blank, apply a thin layer of Ice Resin to the entire inner area.

4. Next, add a layer of Mica Flakes. Be sure to press them in to the resin. This will keep them from moving or floating up when we pour in more resin later.

5. Once they are pressed down, you can pour in another thin layer of resin. You do not have to allow any drying time in between steps.

6. Now carefully place your designs (we used a sticker) and your polymer clay pieces into the pendant tray. Using a tooth pick or even a long push pin, position and firmly place your items. Once placed, slowly pour in the rest of your resin, filling the bezel to the brim.

 

Ice Resin is also self doming, so if you are careful, you can fill it to the very top of the brim and it should not spill over. I've even over poured VERY slightly and it still did not spill. But be sure you are working on a protected surface anyway. IF it does, be sure to wipe it up right away. Otherwise, you can't get it off.

If any of your items moved while pouring, just readjust them into place. Let sit for 24 hours on an even drying surface. 

7. Add a necklace chain, and you are done!

Let us know if you have any questions! Thanks!

Materials can be found in our shops:

Www.WillowRunCrafts.com   And  Www.etsy.com/shop/Karenscraftsupplies

Yay! Crystal Clay!

So, at the Craft and Hobby (CHA) show this year, we had all kinds of fun playing with crystal clay, or sometimes called epoxy clay, and even resin clay, for the first time ever! Similar to our relationship with Ice Resin, it was love at first sight!!!! This stuff is just so cool! It is a hardening jewelry clay that does not require heat. Here is how it works:

1. Each pack of crystal clay comes with a part A and part B. You want to pinch off a piece from each, roll each into a ball, and make sure they are as close to same size as possible. You may want to wear gloves. This clay contains epoxy and can irritate sensitive skin. 

*Tip- if it seems sticky, use a tiny bit of olive oil on your glove or finger tip, just a tiny bit! It will make it smoother to play with. *

2. Once you have the two balls rolled out, mix them together. This will take a few minutes to do because it needs to be VERY mixed. You should not see any marbling at all. 

*Tip- rolling the balls into "snakes" and then mixing together makes mixing a little easier.*

3. Now place the epoxy clay into or onto whatever surface you are working with. We used a pendant tray. Press it firmly into place to be sure the clay is very secure. 

4. Now it's time to decorate! Grab your little beeswax tool. You will use this to pick up the crystal chatons. The tool should come with the crystal clay. If you huff warm breath on the wax, it works better. Pick up chatons with wax end and place where desired. 

5. Once in place, use the other end to tap them firmly down, to be sure the epoxy clay has a firm hold on the crystals.

6. Once you have a design done, you are free to set aside and wait for the crystal clay to cure. It hardens in just an hour or two, but takes 24 hours for the crystal clay to completely cure. 

Orrrrrrrrrr...... You can add some color to the clay!

Now, there is pigment powder made just for crystal clay. However, if you don't happen to have any on hand and still want some color, you can do what we did..... Eyeshadow!

***This is for risk takers only. This is NOT the official way to add color. But, I happen to have a whole lot of colors that looked terrible on me but so pretty in the container! Soooo, I tried it, many different times now, and works like a charm for me. It has even stayed on the clay after being submerged in water. But, IF you do try this, you will not want to use that eyeshadow or brush on yourself or others again. They should be considered contaminated from crafts. 😄******

Use a generous amount and pounce it on. You need to be firm enough that it will stick to the jewelry clay, but don't smash so hard you ruin the structure of your design. Here is our example. 

7. At this point, we set the piece aside for 20-24 hours, just to be safe. But remember to be sure you completely covered your item in whatever type of colored powder you use! 

Once the cure time has past, gently dust off the excess powder. We use a soft cloth to polish up the crystals and setting as well. Add a necklace and ta-da! Done!

We hope you enjoy! You can find crystal clay in all sorts of colors at either of our shops:

Www.williowruncrafts.com     Or www.etsy.com/shop/karenscraftsupplies

As well as the organza necklaces and a variety of pendant trays!