Archive for the ‘Jewelry’ Category

Sugar Plum – Friendly Plastic Designs by Mylene Hillam of Milllane Studio

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Sugar Plum!  This design by Mylene Hillam really caught my attention because.....when I was growing up my Grandma Campbell always called me her little "sugar plum".  Didn't like it so much when I was growing up...but now that she's not with us anymore, I'd give anything to hear her voice and call me "sugar plum"...which is a name not to be confused with "sugar booger" that my Dad called me! 

You can imagine the happy memories the name of this bracelet brought to me when I saw it - I knew it had to be today's feature. 

Mylene has this for sale on her website gallery - Im sure it would make "someone" a perfect little gift....hint hint (If you need my address to send it to me- just email me! :O)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Don't miss my free demo's on Cool2Craft's Live

I will offer a FREE giveaway on each show!!!
  • May 3 - Jewelry Making basics;  This is for all beginners and a first step in creating any kind of jewelry - especially of the Friendly Plastic kind
  • May 10 - Play in Polymer Clay - Learn some very basic faux  turquoise stone technique - EASY AS PIE..and it WILL fool the eye! (that rhymes...hmmm...)
  • May 17 - FUN WITH FRIENDLY PLASTIC - technique to be determined
** NEW **  ONLINE interactive WebCam based LIVE Craft Classes

  • MAY 20TH - 11AM CENTRAL - Fun With Friendly Plastic - The basics of Fusion Illusions
  • May 22th - 11AM CENTRAL - Fun with Friendly Plastic - The basics of Fusion Illusions 
Both classes are live and will be featuring the same material.  Introductory class fee of $12 allows access to both sessions.  Classes are also archived for viewing on demand at a later time.  Archived Classes available for purchase.





Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.

CELEBRATE NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH WITH FRIENDLY PLASTIC

Monday, March 8th, 2010
Help me celebrate National Craft Month with Friendly Plastic.  To get you started, Im giving away a copy of my book Metal Jewelry 101 which does feature a couple of Friendly Plastic projects inside.

All you have to do is tell everyone via a comment to this blog or to our Fan Page on Facebook what your favorite Jewelry making tip is.  I'll enter you into the drawing to be given away March 19th. 

Get your friends to join in!  The more the merrier!  Also join the Inspired at Home Pajama party on Wednesday nights and share your jewelry too!!  We'd love it if it was Friendly Plastic related!


Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.

Friendly Plastic Pendant tutorial by di-did-it!

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Thank you Di for sharing your tutorial on making this pendant!  
This is a great project to start with if you are new to Friendly Plastic.  Simple yet elegant!

Di shares:


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!





Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.

Design Challenge Inspiration from Liz and Linda

Saturday, November 7th, 2009
The Open Design Challenge deadline has been extended! WHEW!!! NOVEMBER 18th is your absolute drop dead date that packages have to be post marked in order to be entered for prizes (of course ...if you just want to send us something...we'll accept! :o)

The above is one of the MANY beautiful pieces of alluring eye candy that Liz Welch brought with her from the UK for sale. Not sure if this piece is still available but if you're interested contact her thru her blog: http://www.rarelizzie.wordpress.com/

Just look at the loads of mixed media presented in this piece - all combined with friendly plastic. Even more stunning in person!

For my take on mixed media, I chose found objects...okay..sort of found objects...little watch parts, patina'd brass washers all combined with Artemboss Copper and hammered WireForm Brass rods

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Two totally different takes on mixed media....isn't art wonderful??

Tomorrow...Design Challenge inspiration from Jana and Jen!!

Free PROJECT – Autumn Fires by Jana Ewy

Monday, August 17th, 2009
It is back to school time....and even though summer isn't over officially...summer break is over for the kids and it's time for them to go back to school.

Autumn in the US is a beautiful time of year with lots and lots of colorful changes. It's really my favorite time of the year - the air is crisp, tree's changing into vibrant colors and Arts and Crafts festivals galore.

Why not get a boost on accessorizing your autumn wardrobe with this beautiful project designed by Jana Ewy. Add your personal touch to this project to create a variety of variations!






Carft Project - Autum Fires Jewelry

Carft Project - Autum Fires Jewelry




Friendly Plastic® Pendant, Necklace, and Earrings

Designed by: Jana Ewy




Materials Needed:




AMACO® Friendly Plastic® 7” sticks – Copper/Black, Red/Red, Indian Red/Black, Purple/Black, Royal Blue/Black, Swirl/Blue

Small dish of ice cold water with a few drops of olive oil in it.

Note: keep the cutter in this dish.

Non-stick baking sheet

Envirotex Lite® sealer or any high gloss acrylic sealer

Non stick cookie sheet

Jewelry Findings

o 3 Sizes of silver, oval link chain

o Silver pendant bail

o 2 Silver lobster claw clasps

o 2 Silver ear wires

o Silver head pins

o Silver eye pins

o Silver jump rings

o Silver and antiqued brass bead caps

o Silver spacer beads

o 8mm Swarovski crystals in assorted colors

o 3mm crystal and glass beads, bi-cone and square




Tools :




AMACO® Craft Marbling Comb

AMACO® Needle tool

AMACO® PolyRoller

AMACO® PolyBlade

Cutters – rectangles in three sizes

Cutting mat

Matte knife or utility knife

Scissors

Electric griddle set at 265°F (130 °C)

Heat tool

Round nose and needle nose jewelry pliers

Wire cutters




Step 1

Using the cutting mat, ruler and matte knife, cut two 1/4” strips from each color of plastic. Now cut each strip in half with scissors.

Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 1




Step 2

Pre heat the griddle to 265°F (130°C). Place the baking sheet onto the griddle. Place the plastic strips onto the baking sheet one at a time in the color pattern shown. Make sure each strip is stuck in place before adding the next strip. Try to press each strip tightly against the one before, to prevent any gaps. Allow the plastic to soften and seal together. If any gaps do appear, simply tap over them with your finger pressing the softened plastic together. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 2




Step 3

When all the strips have softened and sealed together, place the teeth of the Marbling Comb against the baking sheet and draw the comb towards you in a wavy “S” pattern cutting through the plastic.




NOTE: It is very important that you keep the teeth of the comb against the pan while cutting through the plastic. If you only rake over the top, you only split the metallic finish and take the chance of exposing too much of the base plastic. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 3




Step 4

Place the teeth of the marbling comb in between the lines you just cut. Now push the comb away following the same wavy pattern, bisecting the previous pass. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 4




Step 5

Remove the pan from the griddle. While the plastic is still warm, cut two large rectangles (pendant, front and back), 4 medium rectangles (earrings, front and back) and 8 or 10 small rectangles (bracelet, front and back) by pressing the cutter into the softened plastic. Dip the cutter back into the cold water after each cut. This will help keep it from sticking to the plastic. Allow the plastic to cool. You may place the pan under cold running water to speed the cooling process along. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 5




Step 6

Use the Needle Tool to press under the edges of the cooled plastic and remove it from the pan. Pop out the rectangles. If needed, use the craft knife to cut around each one. Repeat steps 2 through 6 two more times. You need at least 10 marbled pieces.




Step 7

Apply the Envirotex® Lite sealer following the manufacturers instructions. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 7 NOTE:Place pieces on a non stick cookie sheet. This way if there is any run off, it will be easy to remove later. If you are working with small pieces like in this the bracelet, place a strip of double sided tape across the cookie sheet and adhere the pieces onto the tape. This will help keep them from moving around. For the other pieces, just hold them in place with the needle tool. Once the Envirotex® Light sealer is mixed, pour it into a small squeeze bottle. The application will be more precise. Blow softly through a straw, in order to pop any bubbles that remain. Allow 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. You can cut the excess off with scissors. Envirotex® Light cures completely in 24 hours.




Step 8

To create the components for the pendant, earrings and bracelet heat and soften the back of a marbled rectangle using the heat tool. You don’t want to soften the whole piece, just the surface, enough to press the jump ring with bail (pendant), jump rings (earrings), or eye pin (bracelet) into place. Be careful not to touch the softened plastic with your fingers. Once the jump rings eye pins or is in place, align the two pieces (front and back) one on top of the other and gently press the two together. Moisten your fingers with water and lightly rub around the edges of the component to smooth and secure the bond. Allow the components to cool completely. For the bracelet components trim the long end of the eye pin to approx. 5/16”, use the round nose pliers to form a loop. Example of what Autumn Fires looks like after step 8




Step 9

Assemble the jewelry pieces into a pleasing composition. The beaded components are created, by sliding the beads and bead caps onto the head pins and eye pins. Trim the long end of the pins to approx. 5/16”, use the round nose pliers to form a loop. Use the jump rings to attach the beaded components to each other or to the chain. Try cutting and attaching different size chains together for a more updated and interesting look.


For more project ideas order Jana's Book:


Friendly Plastic 101


Join Jana on her etsy site to get your very own one of a kind piece from the artist herself!