Team Treasury Challenge Winner

'Oceanographer' by flamesofamber

While deep sea diving, I found some treasures!

Aquarium Seascape Blue ... Mylana $18.00	ANGELFISH Nautical Fant... AngelfishOrigi... $25.00	Mermaid's Magic &qu... Clover13 $34.00	Ocean necklace, Ocean w... JewelrybyDorot... $29.00
Ocean Elements Ring. st... SimpleDaisy $119.00	mermaid, seahorse,nauti... windows2thesou... $39.00	Deep Aqua Turquoise Blu... UneekGlassFusi... $58.00	Marlin Beach Decor Wood... SlippinSouther... $59.00
DREAMS OF ATLANTIS Beac... AngelfishOrigi... $56.00	Red JELLYFISH - Mint Gr... Michelebuttons $12.00	Glass Octopus Sculpture... VortexGlassWor... $75.00	Seahorse Earrings Patin... MySelvagedLife $28.00
Large Sea Shell Soy Can... MyWindansea $16.95	Mermaid Ring. Ocean Fai... LizHutnick $13.00	Bronze Horse Shoe Crab ... GwenDelicious $41.00	Soy Wax Sea Lights- Set... PhenomenalCrea... $8.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Tutorial: How to Make Resin Photo and Mixed Media Pendants

My mixed media pendants- freshly filled with resin

Anyone who has a lot of interesting paper, small objects, paintings, or other doodads has probably wondered how to turn these scraps into wearable art. Creating your own resin pendants is easy; however the start up cost and investment is a lot more than one would pay for a piece made by a jewelry artist. A great idea would be to split the cost of materials and have a pendant making party with a few friends. Now, I am going to walk you through the materials and procedure of making your own assemblage pendants.
MATERIALS:

-2 part epoxy casting resin
-empty bezel cups/pendant trays/settings
-scissors
-jewelry adhesive
-craft sticks
-pencil
-paper, photographs, and objects to embed
-glitter nail polish
-2 disposable containers, such as small plastic cups
-cleaning rag for glue and spills clean up

WHERE TO PURCHASE MATERIALS:

Since I don't have a car, I bought everything I needed online at either etsy.com or ebay. You can also buy the resin and bezel cups at Hobby Lobby and other large craft stores. They are considerably more expensive there. I purchased the supplies in Jan. 2012 and paid about 25 dollars for 20 bezel trays and 20 dollars (plus shipping) for the resin. I also needed to purchase chains for the pendants separately, along with paper and decorations for my jewelry.

HOW TO MAKE THE PENDANTS:

Select background paper and trace an outline with a pencil. Trim the paper a little smaller than your outline, so that it fits in the empty bezel cup.

Using a craft stick, apply a small dollop of jewelry adhesive to the back of your background paper and press it into the setting. If you do not glue it down, the background can float up when you add the resin. Use a fast-drying adhesive with little water content. Trapped water under the resin can cause rust to form in your pendant.

Select decorations for your pendant and secure inside with the adhesive. Use nail polish for glitter effect. You can also use seed beads, small stones. dried flowers, twigs, photographs, and text from vintage books. The sky is the limit to using small objects to decorate your pendant.


Allow the decorations in your empty settings to dry for at least an hour before proceeding with the resin.



MIXING THE RESIN:

Two part epoxy resins have both a clear resin component and a hardener. They are in separate bottles. You will want to mix your resin in disposable cups, 2-4 oz in size that are flexible for pouring. Mix equal parts of A and B components and stir with a craft stick for two minutes. Then, pour the mixture into a second clean cup and mix for an additional two minutes. You can pour the resin in the settings from that cup. If you have questions, the resin has detailed instructions included. It takes up to 2-3 days to fully harden and cure.



The box of resin used to make my pendants. Bought online at etsy.com.





Resin, hardener, mixing cups.




Mix the resin twice for 2 minutes, then fill pendant trays.



The pendants I made are displayed at the top of the article. They require 2-3 days to harden completely. In the first hour after pouring, monitor the pendants every 15 minutes and poke out any large bubbles with a pin. When the pendants are hard, find a matching chain, add some extra decorative beads and you are ready to sell it, gift it, or wear it!

Please see my etsy shop Mylana to purchase these pendants, and others. They will be ready for sale during the first week of March, 2012.







Make Your Own Handforged Earwires: Step-By-Step With Pictures



Hand forged Copper Earwires



Hand forged Copper Earwires



Hand forged Silver-Plated Earwires



Hand forged Aluminum Earwires

Ever wanted to make your own handforged earwires for your jewelry? It takes some basic tools and about 10 minutes, but crafting your own earwires adds an artisan flair to your earrings and allows you to make jewelry even if you are out of findings. No more emergency runs to the craft store; invest in the basics and start practicing today. With the same tools, you can move on to clasps and eye-pins too. Plus, it is not difficult. I just got my hammer and bench block this week and I made the following items. Keep your eye on my online store, Mylana, for new and interesting handcrafted earrings.


In this tutorial, I will show you, with the assistance of many pictures, how to begin crafting your own earwires. You can use any type of wire you wish, except enameled wire- the color will chip off the exterior. Keep in mind that some people have allergies to some of the more inexpensive types of wire, like nickle, but pure precious metals can be very expensive! If you decide to use real sterling silver, vermeil, gold, or gold-filled, make sure to practice on cheaper metals first.


GETTING STARTED:
You will need basic jewelry making tools and intermediate level skills. This tutorial assumes you are proficient at cutting wire, making loops, and assembling the finished earrings.


TOOL AND MATERIALS:
-bench block or anvil (available at any jewelry supply or craft store)
-ball peen hammer
-20 gauge wire, half-hard, thinner wire will be more fragile
-side wire cutters
-round nose pliers
-flat nose pliers
-metal file
-rubber earring stoppers for finished earrings (optional)

4 x 4 Steel Bench Block and Hammer

If you are having problems finding a bench block locally, check online. Retailers such as Fire Mountain Gems and bead supply sites should have them. You can also check ebay or Etsy.com for a used one. I got lucky and got this one used for six dollars! They are abut 25.00 new at Hobby Lobby.


Scroll down to see all of the pictures of creating the earwires, then  try it yourself!

Tools

20 ga Copper Wire

Cut 2 sections of wire 3 inches long

Bend the 2 wires around a Sharpie or other object that is about 1/2 inch in diameter

Form the wires into two 1 inch long figure 8 shapes

Cut the wires so you have 2 horseshoe shapes

Form a loop at one end of each wire that wraps around 1.5 times

Lay earwire on bench block and lightly pound with ball peen hammer on each side. You can use either end or a different type of hammer if you wish to texturize the metal. The harder you hammer, the flatter your wire will become, making the earwires wider. Try to achieve a balance between strenght to hold the form of the wire and size of the earwires- to thick earwires will be painful and ones not pounded enough will bend. Experiment!

Pound the second wire flat, using your fingers to bend it and keep it as similar to the first one as possible

Snip the earwires at the ends, so they are even, using the wire cutters.

Use a metal file to smooth the ends and make sure they are not sharp. You are now done and ready to make earrings!

A Woodland Spring: Team Treasury Contest Winner

'A Woodland Spring' by Mylana

Trees, wee creatures, and botanicals in soft colors- goodbye cold weather and c'mon spring!

Just Married Engraved W... braggingbags $39.99	Pastel Lavender Cardina... joom $39.00	Whimsical Baby Blue Pur... WillowsNestCre... $65.00	Woodland Deer Fawn Phot... lucysnowephoto... $20.00
rustic wedding flower b... serenitycrysta... $40.00	Modern minimal pastel f... PrissDesigns $17.00	Wooden Acorns 30 Pastel... DreamingTreeFa... $24.00	Necklace with Wire Wrap... gabeadz $16.00
Handmade pink soap 3,5 ... Bathworld $1.97	Blue Forest Tree Art Pe... ShimmerCreek $8.95	Owl Photography Dreamy ... jpgphotography $26.00	Boho beaded leather wra... slashKnots $39.00
Bergamot Aromatheray So... aromacandles $7.00	Lotus Vase in Northern ... DoorPottery $248.00	Nicely Neutral Fall Swe... needlemaven $48.00	Hard Candy Lollipops -W... andiespecialty... $37.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.