I'm trying something new today and posting a tutorial. I don't know that this is my forte, but I indicated in a November post I would share the process I used to make the purple Friendly Plastic pendant, and today's the day. Today we're making a blue FP pendant.

Start with a bargain piece of costume jewelry. I'm using a silver clip earring. Cut a piece of FP slightly bigger than the earring and choose a stamp (I'm using one from Fancy Pants). Unmounted stamps work best if your piece isn't totally flat. You can use a stamp that's smaller than your piece, but I'm not good at placing them in the center so I just use oversize stamps to eliminate that problem.

Lay the FP over the piece & melt it with a heat gun.

When it's nicely melted, prepare your stamp by pressing it into a watermark stamp pad (I use VersaMark) and then pressing it into the FP. Use your fingers to press everywhere to ensure full contact. Experiment with the pressure for different looks. Firm pressure will reveal the metal underneath, which may or may not be your intent. That's what I did for the purple piece, but for this blue piece I chose to use less pressure.

When you're confident the stamp isn't going to lift from the FP, place the piece in a cold water bath to solidify the FP.

After a few moments remove the piece and carefully lift the stamp from the FP. The edges might be a little jagged, as you can see here.

Place a nonstick craft sheet (I use Ranger's) on a griddle and heat the griddle to 275. Lightly touch/drag the edges to melt/smooth them. Once cool, add your preferred glaze/sealer (I like Triple Thick by DecoArt) and a bail. Thread on a cord or chain and you're set!

Friendship Cards – Free Friendly Plastic Project – Fave Crafts

Linda Peterson Designs — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Share your artwork with a Friend by creating these unique and beautiful cards for any occassion. Just imagine how nice it would be to open your mailbox and receive one of these cards from a thoughtful friend! It would make your day to say the least!

Project by Jana Ewy - courtesy of AMACO and Favecrafts

Materials:
Friendly plastic 7â€ sticks: 3, mother of pearl/white,
Adirondack Alcohol inks: colors of your choice. I recommend playing around with all of the colors.
Alcohol blending fluid
Rubbing alcohol, 91% isopropyl
Paintbrush
Scissor
Ruler
Stylus
Paper cutter
Envirotex Lite, resin sealer, or any high gloss acrylic sealer
Non-stick cookie sheet
Distress ink: vintage photo
Black card stock
White card stock
Black and white checkered paper
Printed sentiments or words
Antiqued brass 1/8â€ eyelets: and setting tool

Instructions:
Place the stick of plastic on a protected work surface. I start with a wash of the blending fluid over the plastic stick.

In a random pattern apply drops of ink in one or two colors as your background colors. Allow the colors to blend together. Use your paintbrush to fill in any white areas that are left. Clean brush.
Dip the brush into the rubbing alcohol and touch the plastic where you want to create white circles. These circles will resemble puddles.

Choose another coordinating color of ink and dilute slightly with rubbing alcohol. Using the brush apply this color within the white puddles. Continue this process until you have obtained a pattern you are happy with. Try using different colors.

Now comes the splashing part: dip you brush into the rubbing alcohol, apply a drop of a desired color of ink to the bristles and splash (splatter) the ink across the surface of the plastic. Repeat this with as many colors of ink as you like. Allow the finished design to dry completely.

Using a scissor cut the plastic to the desired size. I cut mine 2 3/4â€.

Apply the Envirotex sealer following the manufactures instructions.

Note: I like to place my pieces on a non-stick cookie sheet. This way if there is any run off, it will be easy to remove later. Once I have the Envirotex mixed, I like to pour it into a small squeeze bottle. The application will be more precise and much easier. Blow softly, through a straw to pop any bubbles that remain. Allow the resin to dry at least 12 hours. If there has been any run off, remove the piece from the pan by pressing the needle tool under it and lifting it off the sheet. You can cut the excess that has run off with a scissor. Envirotex cures completely in 24 hours.

Create three 5 1/2â€ square cards, using black card stock. Measure 1/2â€ from the fold and score using a stylus.

Measure and mark the hole placement along the fold. 3/4â€ from the top with the holes 2â€ apart. Punch the holes, insert and set the eyelets.

Print the sentiments of your choice onto white card stock and cut out as 3/8â€ strips. Tear the ends off to a suitable length. Use the remainder of the white card stock and cut three 2â€ x 3 3/8â€ rectangle mats. Distress the edges of both the sentiment strips and the mats using the distress ink.

Now cut three 1 7/8â€ x 3/1/4â€ rectangle mats from black card stock and three 1 3/4â€ x 3â€ mats from the checkerboard paper.

Layer and adhere the mats together using glue or double-sided tape. White, black, checkerboard. Adhere the Splashed plastic onto the checkerboard mat. Next, position and adhere the matted piece to the center of the card.

Position and adhere the sentiment below the splashed plastic.

For more creative inspiration follow these links:

plastic industry india » Free project sheets

Friendly Plastic Pendant tutorial by di-did-it!

Friendship Cards – Free Friendly Plastic Project – Fave Crafts