Glass Tile Pendants

This is the easiest pendant you will ever make!

You will need one of Sakura Hobby Craft’s glass tiles and matching bezel cup, Crystal Lacquer and an image that fits the tile.

The glass tiles are available in rectangle, square and circular shapes.

There are bezel cups to match.  There are also bails you can glue right onto the glass tiles

I made two pendants.
 
One features a piece of paper I printed with my Gelli plate.

The other uses a Mad Hatter image from Graphic 45’s Hallowe’en in Wonderland Collection.

You could use almost any paper, and I think fabric would work fine, too.  I think this would be great with a map featuring your hometown or some of your favorite text.  You may want to seal the image with Mod Podge if you think it will run.

You could trace the shape of the glass tile onto your paper and cut the paper to fit, but it’s really easy to adhere the glass tile to the paper with Crystal Lacquer and then trim it when it starts to set up.  Crystal Lacquer comes in a bottle with a small dispenser tip that is perfect for squeezing out small amounts.  I lightly coated the back of my glass tiles with Crystal Lacquer.  I didn’t spread the Crystal Lacquer all the way to the edges of the tiles, because it sort of gets squished out when you put it down on the paper.  After coating the tiles, I placed them where I wanted them on the paper.  The tile wants to slide around on the Crystal Lacquer, so you’ll want to hold it in place for a moment while it settles.


Once the Crystal Lacquer started to set up, I trimmed the paper with scissors.

Then I coated the back of the paper lightly with Crystal Lacquer and set the tiles down into the bezel cups.  I used a wet paper towel to wipe away a little Crystal Lacquer that got squished out.

And that was it!  All I had to do then was put the pendants on chains.  Sakura offers ball chain in several finishes.  I used some chain I had on hand.

Wouldn't this be a great favor at an Alice in Wonderland party?  You could use a different character for each guest!

I live in a really dry place, and I could make these in the morning to wear the same evening, but in other places, you’ll want to let the Crystal Lacquer dry for at least a day or so.

Just think!  You can make this pendant with absolutely any image you want!  I hope you will try it.  Now is the perfect time, because for the month of July, you can get 20% off your total purchase from Sakura by entering coupon code Summer07 at checkout!

Belt Buckle Redo

Good morning, Brenda here and welcome to my second post of the month for Sakura Craft and Hobby.  I cannot tell you how much I love using the 3d Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers.  I'm not much of a painter, but if I were, I would paint the world with these two items.

Today I want to show you the difference in colors.  I purchased this belt at a closeout store.  I think I paid 50 cents for it.  I loved the detail in the buckle and new I could "fix" it up.  I just really wasn't too keen on the metal look, but I loved the design of the buckle.

I mixed the Interference Lilac Pearl with the 3D Crystal Lacquer and just painted the buckle with it.  I missed and some got on the leather part of the belt and I LOVED the color it gave.  Sometimes oopses are happy mistakes.  Anyway, so you can see what the difference in the "color" there is depending on what you are applying the "paint" to.

It turned out soft on the metal part.  I love the "lavender" color on it.  Now the leather on the other hand became very bold.  I just love the contrasts and it's the SAME color.  So in a round about way, you could have multiple colors using just ONE color.  More bang for your buck!!!  I added a few crystals because I have to have bling and created drab to fab.  Tell me what you think?

You have a couple of days left to get 20% off your order when you purchase any of their products here using the coupon code crystal06.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my transformation of the cool belt buckle can't wait to show you my next project next month.  You can always come visit me here anytime.

Airbrush with Pearl Mixers

Airbrush with Pearl Mixers

I own an airbrush system and wondered if I could airbrush with Pearl Mixers - Well the answer to that is YES YES YES!

The first thing I did was set up my airbrush system. I needed to use a top load airbrush for this job. 

I mixed about a teaspoon of water and about a 1/4 teaspoon of Pearl Mixers in a container and stirred this mixture very well. I poured this mixture into my airbrush. 

I had all my supplies, Prima templates, fabric, ribbon and paper ready to start airbrushing.

You can see here in the photo below just how much fun I had.

Some things you need to know about this process.

- Pearl Mixers will smear on paper and aren't photo safe so make sure you heat set (fabric) or seal your paper.

- Pearl Mixers can be mixed with alcohol or water.

- Airbrushing thru lace is a lot of fun!

- Make sure you mix your mixture really well, you don't want to clog your airbrush.

- Clean your airbrush immediately after using.

Here are some of the finished pieces.

 The background lace and ribbon were airbrushed. The bird was made using Pearl mixers and 3D Crystal lacquer.

 The ribbon turned out very well.

 Airbrushed canvas - Pearl Mixers and Pens.

So you don't have an airbrush system? Thats ok, you can achieve the same effect by using one of those little pump atomizer bottles. 

You can find the Pearl Mixers and 3D Crystal Lacquer HERE

Why not try this technique today - get 20% off your entire order in June when you use code Crystal06 at checkout.

Check out my blog for more great techniques - www.createalways.com

Polymer Clay Flowers

 

 

Hi! Today I would like to share with you a project I
thoroughly enjoyed. I love to make flowers and these
were no exception.

 

The items I used today are:

Polymer Clay
Terri Sproul Pearl Mixers

Piercing Tool

Exacto Knife (to cut the clay)

Teflon Mat 

 

I started with soft clay and cut slices to form into petals.
I adhered the petals to a clay dot and pressed each petal
with a piercing tool into the clay dot center.

I also used the piercing tool to make veins in the petals.

 This flower below I used two

colors of clay with the darker color in the middle.

 

Then it was time to paint with some Terri Sproul Pearl Mixers.

I prepared my paint by mixing the mixers with water and binding powder.

I used a finer brush with this particular  flower as it as

easier to control the amount of paint.

 Now its time to bake following the instructions on the package.

Walla, I have three flower embellishments ready for my next project.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and

Don't forget - for June, you can get 20% off your total purchase at Sakura Hobby Craft for the entire month of June by entering coupon code Crystal06 at checkout! 

Ancient Relic - Pearl

Another embellishment and how different ways of using Terri Sproul Mixers with or without 3D Crystal Lacquer can effect the appearance of finished art work. 

This embellishment is casted with Paper Clay.  I worked TS Mixers- Pearl into the surface, blending and mixing some colors together.    The look achieved is an ancient coin. 

After working TS Mixers - Pearl into the surface, I used  a touch of clear 3D Crystal Lacquer in a light coat to add a little more to the effect of metal.  Because of the properties of the Paper Clay, you would use one heavy coat or several light coats - HOWEVER - in this case, one sparingly small coat is done.  It gives the metallic look, without making the embellishment TOO SHINY.

I tend to mix colors and experiment with how the colors mix together to form another color or look!  Some days I'm in a mood for total shiny, so I combine my TS Mixers with 3D Crystal Lacquer, and on other days, I like to use the mixers by themselves.

There are millions of combinations that can be created, millions of different looks.   Shimmers will give you a shear, light look.  The Pearl is of course pearl shimmer but also opaque.  Using 3D Crystal Lacquer will totally change the look, metallic, glass, or other type looks.

Quick, easy, techniques can transport your art in ways you never thought before.  Express your inner creative spirit, while getting compliments on what you design.  So many will ask, "How'd you do that?"

Cre8tiveLea Yours - Lea

Chipboard Frame Magnet

Hi everyone!

For this week's project, I used Father's Day as the inspiration.

My husband loves working on puzzles during the winter. I had these chipboard frames that kept getting set aside and moved from place to place, so it was time to use them. They are 4 inches square.

I started by painting on Green pearl 3D Crystal Lacquer directly onto one of the chipboard frames.  The second frame will be the back, so I felt it could stay the way it was as the puzzle pieces would totally hide the frame.

I layered the puzzle pieces - some had text on them and some were from a child's puzzle.  I flipped the child ones over and used those.

I used the Blue Pearl 3D Crystal Lacquer all over the puzzle pieces once they were glued down.

I glued 4 pieces of the magnet strip onto the corners of the unpainted chipboard frame.  I, then, glued 3 of the sides of the two chipboard frames together to create a pocket for a photo.

This frame is now on our fridge.

Don't forget - for June, you can get 20% off your total purchase at Sakura Hobby Craft for the entire month of June by entering coupon code Crystal06 when you check out! 

Fabric Cuff with Crystal Lacquer Embellishment

The heart on this fabric cuff was made from Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers in Green Pearl.  You can get 20% off your total purchase at Sakura Hobby Craft for the entire month of June by entering coupon code Crystal06 when you check out!

Here’s how I make the Crystal Lacquer “film.”  I save the packages from wafer thin dies.  They are perfect for this because they have a little bit of a lip that holds in the Crystal Lacquer.  I pour a little Crystal Lacquer into the plastic container, add Terri Sproul Mixers and stir.  When this hardens, you can cut any shape you want.  Once you trim the edges off, you can put the film through a diecut machine.

I chose my die and then used it to cut a template of white paper.  Then I used the template to cut a
piece of my Crystal Lacquer film.

This allows me to use the smallest possible piece of whatever I am diecutting. When I am cutting a small piece on a large black plate, it’s hard for me to see where to put the material I’m cutting.  So I placed the template on top of the die in the exact place it was cut from, and that told me where to place my Crystal Lacquer film.

I used an awl to make holes in the heart, so I could sew it onto my cuff like a button.

I tore a strip of canvas to use as the base for my cuff.  I cut two pieces, each 8 ½ inches long.  I wanted to turn under ½ inch on each end and I wanted a 7 ½ inch finished cuff.

I chose some materials to work with.  I recently took a class in Gelli Plate printing, and I had some canvas pieces I wanted to use.  They coordinated well with some gauze and  seam binding I had dyed, and with some vintage buttons I just got.

The printed canvas wasn’t long enough to cover the entire cuff, so I cut a strip, centered it on the canvas and stitched it down.

I cut a piece of seam binding, put Fray Check on the ends and pinned it in place to make a loop closure.  Then I cut a piece of the gauze.  The gauze had crinkled itself up while it was drying, so I didn’t have to do anything to it to give it that gathered look.  I decided to stitch down the seam binding before sewing all the layers together, so I turned the edges of the canvas under on the side with the loop and used a straight stitch to secure the seam binding.  It turns out that fabric cuffs are sort of like other bulky bracelets in that you have to allow extra wearing ease.  The cuff was going to be too tight for me this way, so I ended up not turning the other ends of the canvas under.

I assembled all the layers with a zigzag stitch, and I stitched all the way to the end of the unturned edge.

Then I sewed on my heart and my button:

And my cuff was finished!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. 

Compact (ing) with 3D Crystal Color Lacquer

Hi, Brenda here and welcome to another great evening with Sakura products.  For this project I was thrilled to try the 3D Crystal Color Lacquer.  I've never had a chance to use these and I tell you, they are AWESOME.  The color is so rich and vibrant.  Let me show you what I did.

I started with an old compact that had these ugly skulls on them.  I know I purchased it with this project in mind and it was only 25 cents.  Imagine that. (Sorry if I offend anyone who loves skulls, just not for me)

So I took the label with the skulls off and used my goo gone to get ALL the glue off. 

Then I used the 3D Crystal Color Lacquer and simply squeezed it into the rim of the compact with no particular rhyme or reason.  Just went with it.  Next I took a tooth pick and simply "pulled" the colors together a bit and this is what became of it. I added some dew drops into the mixture while it was still wet.

and here it is.  I'll be styling now with my new compact.  Better than those skulls, LOL

So quick and easy!

Now if you can't wait to try this technique and if you purchase in June - use the coupon code:  CRYSTAL06 for a 20% off on all your purchases and you can by styling also.

As always, thanks for joining me here at Sakura and have a great rest of the weekend.