Resin Jewelry

I have been experimenting with resin this past month and finally have some finished pieces. It's an involved, multi-step process, but a very versitile medium that affords endless possibilites. The necklace above was painted on two seperate layers within the resin, which gives it a really neat 3-D effect that is hard to capture in the photo.

When I first got the itch to play with resin, it was with the goal of duplicating my most favorite necklace. It's a tiny little rosebud in a clear resin pendant, so simple and sweet and I just love it. So I played around a bit with embedding flowers in resin, but haven't been really happy with any of them so far. Here is one of them, a miniature yellow rose. It's tiny (about 1" in diameter) and very pretty, I think, but just seems to be missing something.

I'm going to keep trying with the flowers. There is really so much you can do - embedding all variety of objects, playing with color, making layers, mixing resin with metals...
Which creates a problem, because my mind keeps bouncing around from one idea to the next without just focusing on one project and getting it done. So, I'm going to give myself a task - this weekend I am going to work with embedding flowers, FINISH a few, and post the photos by Tues of next week. (Alana, you can bug me if I don't follow through.)



Here are a few of the painted pendants. Yes, I love flowers!

And another project I saw and had to try...photo transfered images onto polymer clay. I think they turned out pretty cute. I'll be keeping my eye out for some different fun images. Let me know if you have any ideas...

Glass Tile Pendants Done

Ahhh, my first "back in the saddle" crafting project is done! These are by no means an original idea, but I just love them and had to give it a try. They are basically made by decoupaging paper to the back of these pretty glass tiles. In this case, I used Japanese Chiyogami (origami paper), but the possibilities are endless. I will be keeping my eyes out for any unusual prints and hopefully some fun vintage images too.

Upcoming project...resin jewelry. Now there is a realm of endless possibilities! I'm just waiting for my supplies to come in the mail...

Just the Beginning...

What do I love? Everything crafty! Stick me in a craft or art store and I can spend HOURS just walking dreamily through the aisles.(My husband will woefully verify this!)
I thrive when surrounded by paint, beads, paper, you name it... Then I had two beautiful baby boys and my first love sort of fell to the wayside.

Lately though, I've gotten a bit of a wake-up call from one of my very best friends, Alana. She is an extremely talented knitter and has just ran with it, pursuing her passion wholeheartedly. She teaches classes, creates her own patterns, and pretty much everything yarn/knitting related. Visit her blog at www.nevernotknitting.blogspot.com to see some of the beautiful things she's made lately. Well, she has inspired me. Seeing her joy and success has reminded me how much I miss creativity and getting my hands a little messy.

At the same time, I was faced with the decision of having to possibly get a part-time job. What I realized is that I shouldn't give up on the things I really enjoy. And maybe, I can even make a little business from it, while teaching my kids to follow their own passions too. So now I'm getting back into the crafting groove, and already having tons of fun!

I'm working on my Etsy shop. It's not much to look at right now, but I'll be adding some fun items soon. One of my biggest problems is that I have so many ideas and interests that I fear I may just keep bouncing around and not really finish any one thing. I'm hoping this blog will help me keep on track by organinzing ideas and keeping me focused on one project at a time.

What am I working on right now? Japanese chyogami glass pendant necklaces. My first few are almost finished, so I'll have some pictures up soon. Thanks for reading...