CD Magic

Hi, Lea here!  This is my first post for Sakura Hobby Crafts, but not my first works and other blog posts working with 3D Crystal Lacquer.  I look forward to sharing ideas and art to help motivate your creative MUSE!

As you see above, a March SALE!  Yes, key in "Shimmer 03" when you check out and receive 20% off your order.

As I promised on my blog, my project is this fun and ecclectic CD Pin.  Learn how to work with CD's and use TS Mixers with 3D Crystal Lacquer for shimmery color and as an adhesive!

Terri Sproul Shimmer Mixer's Set
3D Crystal Lacquer


Working with CD's:

Creating with CD's (or DVD's) gives you a surface in which to create jewelry. 

You will need:  A clip or oven mitt to hold CD, heat tool for stamping, and scissors (more utility, not used on paper).
     *Use the clip to hold CD or hold CD with the oven mitt. 
     *Heat CD for 30-40 seconds to get it hot.
     *Once heated, immediately cut the shape with scissors.  The CD might break, but don't worry the shapes are always interesting.  Drill a hole with a Dremel Tool or Hand Crank Drill.
     * Let the CD piece cool and then clean surface with any cleaner.  I use permanent ink cleaner.

 

 

 

Creating the Art:

1.  Mix the color/colors of TS Mixers with 3D Crystal Lacquer.  I use a palette cup to do so.  The ratio I used is 3 parts lacquer and 2 parts mixer.  I want the consistency a little thicker so I can push the elements into the surface.

2.     Use a palette knife (or any tool you want like old credit card, foam brush, etc.) and "frost" the surface of the CD.  Use one color or mix a couple!

3.  Press a small piece of art mesh into the surface first.  I have different sized beads and types, with and without holes.  Gem particles and Glitter Pieces work great with this design!  Stock up on a lot of different Sakura products to have on hand when needed.  Use an awl or tweezer when needed to push various pieces into the surface.  Do Not Cover The Hole you drilled.  Let dry.

4.  Edge CD with a color of Metallic 3D Crystal Lacquer.  It adds contrast and dimension to your art.  I went over the mesh following the lines with metallic lacquer as well.  Let dry.

Note:  If you are impatient on letting your lacquer dry (especially in humid states) Sakura Hobby Crafts has a UV Light which will dry your projects quicklly.

5.  Take 19-22 gauge wire, string beads and charms, attaching it through the hole of the CD.  Once it is all set, adhere a pinback to the opposite side of the CD so you can wear it!!!  The photo doesn't reflect the beautiful shimmer of the art.  Blingy without being too Blingy!!!

I am really Happy to be a part of this team.  I love to do unusualy art, lots of mixed-media and altered.  Even beyond that, when I want to create a dew drop or tear; Sakura products are there to help me create the way I want!!!

Cre8tiveLea Yours - Lea

Until March 19th, enjoy the wonderful works of the DT!!!  Enjoy and may your March Shimmer.

A Nautical Fix w/ Becky Conley

Welcome crafty peeps! This is my last post with the Sakura Team, (sad face) it has been creatively fun!
The New Design Team will be announced on February 19th, please stop by to meet them.

Today I've created a "nautical fix" to a keepsake box. There was a clock in the front, but it arrived damaged and had fallen out of it's socket. It is also supposed to be a memory keepsake with an area in the lid for a photo or small artful image, but I turned it into a pin cushion.

SAKURA SUPPLIES:
3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Blue
3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Sky Blue
3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Glitter Aqua
3d Clear Crystal Lacquer
Gem Particles -Blue Flash

Other Supplies:
Wood memory box, hot glue, fabric batting, broken watch part, brass dolphin charm, small piece of chipboard.


The clock was square, therefore so was the hold it left in the box. It was quite deep so I filled it about half full with hot glue before adding a layer of 3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Blue and 3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Sky Blue. When that was completely dry, I added a thin layer of 3d Color Crystal Lacquer -Glitter Aqua and let it set for about 15 minutes before setting the charm on top.


After this step was completely dry, I added a layer of 3d Clear Crystal Lacquer.
I also used 3d Clear Crystal Lacquer to adhere the metal circle which is part of a broken wrist watch face and the Gem Particles -Blue Flash around the edge.


The pin cushion is chipboard with 2 layers of batting covered in fabric and inserted into the photo area of the lid.



Thank you so much for stopping by to share my project! I have really enjoyed this team, I'm just too busy :o) (Happy Dance!) Best of luck to all of you who do apply.

Please come back here to the Sakura Hobby Crafts Blog often for more projects and inspiration.

Cheers!
Becky

Artful Journal by Becky Conley

Hello!! Welcome to my bi-weekly Sakura post. This week I created two embellishments to adorn my latest artfully covered composition book.

SAKURA SUPPLIES:
Oriental Paper (coming soon!)
3d Color Crystal Lacquer
3d Pearl Crystal Lacquer
Peacock Green Gem Particles

Other supplies:
Composition notebook
large postage stamp
Outline Sticker-Sparkraft Enterprises, Inc
Black & White Card stock
Cricut: Rock Princess cartridge
sheet of double-sided super sticky tape (Therm-o-Web)



The butterfly was cut from black cardstock at 3.5" in two layers and brushed with 3d Pearl Crystal Lacquer in blue and gold. While it was still wet, I rubbed the gold layer through the Gem Particles then let dry. Then I assembled the wings and added more details with 3d Colored Crystal Lacquer and 3d Pearl Crystal Lacquer. I added dimension to the body with black 3d Colored Crystal Lacquer.



I applied the sticker to white card stock, then colored in the open areas with 3d Color Crystal Lacquer and 3d Pearl Crystal Lacquer. When it was completely dry, I trimmed it to the size of the sticker.


I put a sheet of super sticky tape on the entire cover of the composition book to apply the decorative Japanese paper, roll with a brayer to get any air bubbles out and to assure good adherence and trimmed the edges. Merely embellish the cover with artful elements. I kept this one relatively flat, I need it to travel well :o)

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, please become a follower to receive updates and notices for new projects posted.

Cheers!
Becky

Glitzy Crystal Lacquer Christmas Trees

Tis The Season 

Christmas Train

I began with a package of sisal trees made by Darice. I found them at Michaels for $1.99. Lowes and Michaels also, have a 21 pack with larger size trees for $21.00.	Bleaching Trees Step 1:  Start by filling a jar with straight bleach. Place the trees in upside down, and closed the lid (I left them between 10 to 20 mins).  The longer you leave them the whiter they get.
Step 2: Once the trees are bleached enough, I used tongs to remove them and rinsed them under cold water, and allowed them to dry on a towel.
Step 1: This part was so exciting to me because of the endless color possibilities.  The bleached sisal trees LOVE Outside The Margins Color Mists (they soaked  them right up). Step 1A: While the tree is still wet sprinkle extra fine iridescent glimmer dust (this particular fine glitter will stick to anything wet) then allowed the trees to dry in a warm area.  *Caution- if you use a heat gun to speed up the drying process, make sure you keep it moving or else you will have a charred tree. *Optional	Decorating Trees Step 2:  Next using a nylon throw away brush and of course Sakura's 3D Crystal Lacquer. Step 2 Continued:  brush 3D Crystal Lacquer  heavily onto the tree.
As another option, after the glitter has dried on the tree, you can lightly brush white gesso onto the tips of the tree branches to give it a snowy look then sprinkle again with extra fine iridescent  glimmer dust	Step 3:  While the tree is still wet  with the Crystal Lacquer sprinkled glitter onto the tree. To color the above trio of trees I used the following  Color Mists colors:  Margarita Magenta, Sterling Silver and Lime Jello.
Variation 2 Step 1:  Start by squeezing a thick line of 3D Crystal Lacquer onto a piece of plastic and roll your tree around in it.	Step 2:  Next using a plastic spoon heavily sprinkle the tree with a *glitter mixture. (*I mixed several different types of glitters in a dish along with tiny seed and crystals beads)
Step 3: Shake off any excess glitter mixture and allow it to dry.	Step 4:  Using 3D Crystal Lacquer apply it in specific spots on your tree and adhere your choice of individual beads (I chose faux freshwater pearls and crystal beads for this tree).
Step 5:  This next step got me very excited again because I lightly sprinkled  Sakura's  Raspberry Iridescent Particles over the tree that was still wet with Crystal Lacquer and it looks amazingly like tiny tinsel!	Here's my finished Glitzy Crystal Lacquer Tree. (I must warn you these trees are addicting with all the endless possibilities of decorating they have.)
Here's an close-up shot of  three tiny trees that I colored using a combination of Margarita Magenta and Tahoe Turquoise Color Mists.	Here they are on my latest Artist Trading Block.

Get the details for
Entering Aileen's 

Blog Giveaway

HERE

Winter Wishes

During November, the DT for Sakura Hobby Craft has had the opportunity to play with stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps! There are tons of stamps to choose from, but when I saw Lady with a Snowglobe, I knew this image would be the perfect companion for my Sakura goodies!

Any time a stamp has something that is supposed to be glass on it - I want to cover it in Crystal Lacquer! So the snow globe really caught my attention. I sprinkled some fine, transparent glitter around the edges, while it was still wet to make it look like the glittery snow inside. The other cool embellishment that I added were some of the Gem Particles to the confetti background. Weren't they perfect there?



I hope you will take a look at the tons of stamps that Viva Las VegaStamps has to offer, and remember how cool they are with you Sakura Hobby Craft products!

Blinged-out Timeless Wings Pendant

As the month comes to an end my brain gears up for the impending time change. It's just a few weeks away! This year in particular time just really seems to have flown by. That was my inspiration for this project.
Today I wanted to share some fun layering with Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer and the little gem particles.

For this project you will need:

peacock green and blue flash gem particles

Black-coated Large Jewelry finding

Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer

watch gears [removed by me from a watch]

recollections butterfly diecut [transparent]

bling

Add Peacock Green Gem Particles to an empty Black-coated
Jewelry Finding.

Add a layer of Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer.

I let this layer dry before layering more.

I added the Blue Flash Gem Particles and more Sakura and
then layered on my watch parts in the bottom left.

After getting all the watch parts arranged like I wanted
I added the transparent Butterfly and added a coat
of the 3D Crystal lacquer to the top of it.

As the lacquer dried I found a few places on the butterfly
that I felt needed more lacquer so I added a bit more.

Some of the flatter watch parts just screamed for some bling
so i added some brown and clear bling to the centers.

 Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy my pendant!

Sapphire Pendant by Becky Conley

Hello! Welcome to another Sakura DT post. Today I'm sharing a pendant, it's quick and easy to assemble, but lots of drying time :o) and it's my FAVORITE color!

Supplies:
Blue Flash Gem Particles (3 colors available)
Black Coated pendant blank (1 5/8 x 1 1/2")
1/2" High Quality Fancy Glass Tile
Clear 3d Crystal Lacquer
Black Pearl 3d Crystal Lacquer

I used the Black Pearl 3d Crystal Lacquer to adhere the 1/2" High Quality Fine Glass tile to the Black Coated pendant base. Then, I put a thin coat of Clear 3d Crystal Lacquer inside the base to give the Blue Flash Gem Particles something to stick to. I covered the entire remaining base with the Gem Particles and then covered them with Clear 3d Crystal Lacquer. The only thing I wish I'd done differently is turn the High Quality Fine Glass Tile 45 degrees, looks like I'm going to have to make another one!

The light catches the Blue Flash Gem Particles and it's just beautiful.
Thanks for stopping by the blog!

Becky