Opal Chips

This is a pretty antique broch that I purchased off of ebay, and decided to add a simple jewlery wire to it, while removing the pin hook. Once completed it made for a pretty opal chip ring.

Pearls In Ice

This one was a simple and quick bracelet to do. I first lined my mold up with faux pearls in different colors, and poured my epoxy mix over them slowly. I sat with it for about an hour popping bubbles as they rose to the surface so that way it would dry perfectly like glass.

When it dried, I removed it from the mold and layered another layer of epoxy to it to give it a high beam shine.

New Project, Peacock Epoxy Bracelet

I have been working on this bracelet for 4 days now, as epoxy takes 24 hours to fully dry. I've been working on each side bit by bit, and so far am loving how it's all turning out.

I initially placed some peacock feathers in a bracelet mold, and set them in epoxy. I did not like how it turned out though, as the original blues and greens were slightly faded out due to the epoxy. I decided I was not going to waste it though and throw it out. I figured why not line the feathers up bit by bit on the outside of the bracelet, slowly covering them in epoxy?

It worked, and it's working wonderfully, however it needs a lot more work, and only 2 sides are done so far, so I will share with you this bracelets journey, and where she is at right now.

Naturally it needs some cutting and filing before it will be wrist ready, and I need to fill the sides in with some more feathers. It is still wet in the photos you see here, but when it's done, I'll post the updated photos.

Caribbean Sea

Last night, I decided to work with Epoxy again. With my EasyCast in hand, and a collection of Pearl Ex Pigments, that I normally use as eyeshadow. I figured these pigment powders would look great if I mixed them up into some epoxy.

I'd still have transparent sheen, with a bit of blue coloring added to the mix. My imagination began to run wild, and I began thinking about my latest tropical vacation, and how I collected a nice selection of seashells that I never used for anything.

Put 2 and 2 together, and wallah, the mermaids lair is born.

I first mixed up my epoxy, and then added a very tiny bit of Pearl Ex to the epoxy mix, and then mixed and mixed some more until the powder was all throughout the mix.

Setting that aside, I then added my pretty little seashells to my mold, and poured the colored epoxy into the mold slowly.

I was not sure how it would turn out, or if even adding color was a good idea. In the morning when my epoxy was cured, I removed it and discovered what you see before you

Quite lovely wouldn't you say?

-----You can pick up some shells here on Amazon in bulk. The tinier the better, because you can fill the mold more.

Girls Kryptonite

I didn't know what else to call this one, but I did not like how it turned out too much. Granted it's very pretty, my mold is getting a it lumped up, and it shows...although some would find the lumps a little unique, as it looks like imperfect ice.

It would have came out a little more interesting had I filled up the mold with more swarvoki crystals and some pearl beads. However it's quite interesting on it's own, even less filled. The glow is unique, and I was not expecting it because the swarvoski didn't glow like that on it's own, outside of the epoxy. Man this stuff is neat.

A Good N Plenty Resin Bracelet

I just began working with clear epoxy. I had always had a fond admiration toward epoxy bracelets, and whenever I see a unique piece I pick it up and add it to my collection. Unfortunately though, most epoxy/resin bracelets I come across are so generic, and I hate running into a random person on the street wearing the same piece I have.

Not only that, the epoxy pieces I came across always contained something not so odd, or unique for that matter. I figured I would try to make my own.

The bracelet you see in the photo is my very first run working with epoxy, and I think it came out really, really neat.

I am sure some of you who are new to epoxy are wondering how I did it. So I will share.

How To Make This Good N Plenty Epoxy Bracelet

First and foremost you will need your supplies.

-A Bracelet Mold

For this exact bracelet you will need the mold I used, which you can find right here.

 You can really  pick any mold that you want, but this one allows you to add a bit more of the candy.

You will also need EasyCast, which is your epoxy/resin.

Next you are going to need mixing cups. I find that for bracelets the easiest cups to use are caps that you can yank off of hairspray bottles. Just make sure the caps do  not have holes in them. You will need 3 caps total.

Last but not least, your Good N Plenty candy. Nom.Nom.Nom.

In order to make the Good N Plenty Bracelet you will not need to take all your supplies and set them on to a clean surface. Take your EasyCast bottles and place them into luke warm water. The EasyCast has to be slightly warm, around 75 degrees before you can pour it.

Once you allowed your EasyCast to hit the proper temperature, you can not pour them into your cups.

Most people measure them precisely, but I find that keeping a keen eye on your cups, and making sure you have the exact amount in each cup, works fine if you have a good eye. If not, you will need to measure the EasyCast in measuring cups, and make sure you have the perfect ratio amount in each cup. Basically, in simple terms, you must pour an equal amount of each bottle into a cup. Do not mix them together yet.

Stir each of the cups for around 2 minutes. Do not worry about the bubbles.

Once you have stirred, you can now pour each of the contents of the cups into one cup to mix the solution together. Mix for around the same time. 2 minutes.

You can now set this aside for a moment, and fill your bracelet mold with the Good N Plenty candy.

Some folks add their embellishments after pouring the epoxy, but I found this method to be messy.

Once you have added your candy the way you want it, you can now slowly begin to pour your epoxy mix into the mold.

It is OK if some of the epoxy pours over the sides, and to the middle of your mold. You an cut it off later. However if you want, you can take a clean towelette to wipe it away.

Now that you are done, you can leave you epoxy filled mold somewhere where the surface is flat, and there is no dust. Try leaving it alone on a windowsill for 24 hours in an unused room in your home.

Once your bracelet has hardened you can remove it from the mold. Take your time and have patience. It's not that hard. The mold can be pressed down in the middle, which will release the bracelet easier.

Once you got it out, you may not be to happy with the results. The sides look a little cloudy don't they?

Don't worry, a simple shot of resin spray will fix this problem. Or if you do not feel like buying that, you can simple mix up another tiny batch of epoxy using your EasyCast, and painting on a thin layer of it for a high bean shiny finish. Make sure you leave it alone to dry though.

A Little Abstract

I had the larger odd shaped jump rings, and figured they would look cute with some flat swarvoski's dangling in the middle.

I'm not sure how I feel about them, but they are one of a kind so...

Blue Balls

These were the same beads I used to make my Grapevine Grape Earrings. The are a deep black, with a gorgeous half blue metallic shimmer to them.

I decided to make these little guys for darker winter nights. They shine really  nicely, and are a nice compliment to blue or black winter evening gowns or dresses.

Punky Glamster

This bracelet took a ton of time to do, as each small section equired me to add small jump rings, head pins, and so on. I added the pink and black swarvoski crystals for a punk-o-liscious glam, and a heart toggle for some added sweetness.

Pink Holy Waters

The Pink Holy Waters Earrings were really simple to make. I simply jump ringed together 2 larger textured hole discs to a headpin decorated with pink swarvoski mirror cut balls. Here is the result. Not too bad!

Oh Pearl

These earrings are made from simple faux pearls. The photo shows them looking more drab than what they really are, which is a nice silvery gunmetal color, and a deeper pearly purple in color.

I Heard It Through The Grapevines

These chunk grape earrings actually took more time to make than any other piece found on my blog to date. The reason was because I had to use jewelry wire to strand through each bead, more than once to make sure we had a good tight solid hold.

I used some cheap beads I found at Michael's and paired them up with some mini plastic leaves. They came out really lovely.

Oh Lolli-Pop

These cute little fellows were really easy to make, and although yellow is not a favorite color of mine, I really liked how these dainty lollipop earrings came out.

I think I got the little swirled gems at a local Walmart sold in a bag of 10 or something. The moment I saw them, I thought of lemon flavored suckers, thus the final result of these earrings.

A simple addition of mini swarvoski yellow crystals really finished this pair up nicely.

Check Out What They Made For Me

Now the particular ultra awesome eyeball ring you see here was not done by me, but I was beyond impressed with how it turned out.

You see over at The Eyeball Company you can have them custom make you a piece of jewlery. I was so dazzled by these lifelike eyeballs that I had to ask them to make me a ring. A few weeks later, and in my mailbox there she sat, in all her glory. Look at it, just looking at you! It's a real gem to me, and I wear it throughout the year; not just on Halloween.

Click here to be taken to their site

Just look at that, the attention to detail is flawless. Missing out on one of these custom made one of a kind beauties is your deal, personally if you are looking for the ultimate in eyeball jewlery, look no further than this company.

Daisy, Daisy

Now flowers have never been my thing, but when I was given a small batch of flower beads I figured I may as well put them to good use. The result is these pairs of flower earrings.

Aqua Swirl

These earrings were rather simple to make, a few jump rings, a nice aqua colored bead wrapped in silver wire, and wallah, I called them Aqua Swirl, although they are closer to denim in color.

Sunbeams

This pair of swarvoski earrings are probably my favorite pair I have made to date, and that is because they shimmer and shine like no other pair. Weaving the beads together using jewelry wire was a little difficult, but the result is simply stunning, as they seem to cast off micro rainbows even in poor lighting conditions.

The Eerie Eyeball Necklace

Look at that creepy eye looking at you!!!

I know some of you are probably wondering where such a realistic, and nasty looking eyeball came from....well this one is an actual glass prosthetic eye ball, which oddly enough was worn by a WW2 Veteran. Yep, that's his eyeball!

I have such a thing for eyes, and the whole evil eye warning odd evil spirits and bad vibes sent to you by others, so I wanted an eyeball piece that was unique, and unlike anything you can find at some cookie cutter mall.

I ordered the prosthetic eye on eBay for a really low price of $35.00. I think the prosthetic eyes have gone up in price though.

At any rate, this piece was very easy to make.

I could not place a glass eyeball into a ring setting, because I knew that it would likely just break, as I'm a bit of a brute with my jewelry.

I decided for Halloween that this prosthetic eye would look best wrapped in colored jewelry wire. I chose red and black because it seemed all the more eerie.

Simply wrapping the eye up in the wire was easy, but I had to make sure everything was tight and snug, and here is the final outcome. Not too bad!!!

Simple Swarovski Earrings You Can Make Too

I know that the earring posts in the photo look a little rusted, but that was because this was one of my first pairs ever made, and sadly I did not use sterling posts. No problem though, because they can easily be exchanged. I just wanted to show you how simple it was to make these.

I see seller on Amazon selling these handmade swarovski earrings for a lot of money, when the reality is, you can make them in under 20 minutes, and for pennies on the dollar.

First you will need the appropriate tools.

1. Your Crystals

You can but any crystals, but swarovoski rounded seems to be a favorite of mine due to the mirror ball cut, and the way they shimmer and shine.


2. Head Pins

This is like your stranding wire, where you place your beads.




3. Bead Caps

You do not really need these, but they add a more fancy element to your earrings.


4. Bead Divider

This tiny little beads I used to divide my beads, so they stand out a little more on their own.


5. Earring Hooks


6. Jump Rings

You need O rings to basically attach your bead work to your earring hook. You can directly add the bead work to the earring hook without an O Ring, but the finished product will look much better with one.


7. Long Nose Pliers



These are my favorite to work with, because they allow me to easily make my own loops. You will need to make a loop around your Head Pins in order to close the bead work, so it does not slip off.

Now all you need to do is add your jump ring to your loop on the head pin, and attach it to the earring hook.

Seriously everything is simple, and won't take long at all.

The earrings you see in the photo will make for great gifts for women and girls, so get busy, and make a batch of them. It's easy, and cheap.

Fire Opal Ring

I made this lovely lady about a year ago because I could not find a red opal ring within a price range I was willing to pay. Can you believe some of the folks on ebay trying to sell red fire opal rings set in sterling silver for over $100!?!? I mean most are gorgeous, but they are not even real opals. Like this ring I made, the opal is not real, it's a man made synthetic opal, but still gorgeous, if not prettier than a red opal.

At any rate, you can make the same dang ring for under $50.00.

I got my ring settings at http://www.pickyourjewelry.com/rings.htm, and you can buy them there too. They are sterling prong settings. You can find your opals, or gems on ebay for far less when bought loose. This particular opal cost me like $10.00, and setting it was a breeze. Simple, easy, and not to mention beautiful.



Blue Opal Ring, and a Druzy Necklace

Nothing special here. I found a pretty druzy pendant at a local craft store, and just added it to a plain necklace chain.

The ring on the other hand was my first attempt at setting in a flat pad ring. This ring I found on ebay for $15.00, and all I had to do was use some jewelery glue to get it to stay in place. I then needed to press down the sides, but pressing down was too hard, and began to scratch the silver. Not my best piece, but I still love that opal cabochon.

Mosaic Opal Ring

This ring is one of my favorites because it features a nice gigantic opal mosaic cabochon. I could not find a setting larger enough to set this one in, so I decided to wrap it in some silver wire. The silver wire looked beautiful but kept stretching out of shape.

Although I do not have a photo of it yet, I removed it from this original setting and placed it into a larger necklace setting, and then wire wrapped it for a more fancy set.

Although this picture does do this opal some justice, what you miss is the flashing greens, oranges, and yellow lights when worn.