GIVEAWAY & TUTORIAL

This is my last week of training for my new job - WOOHOO!!!!
Thursday will be my last day of traveling 130 miles everyday!!!


So...I need to celebrate. I am celebrating by hosting a giveaway, what better way is there to celebrate?? My followers (YOU) are the BEST!!!

How to enter -


1. If you are already a follower - You do not have to do anything!!! You are automatically entered.

2. If you are new to my blog - Become a follower and leave a comment here.

That's it!!!


The rest of the giveaway details will be given at the end of this post.


NECKLACE TUTORIAL










If you are not a jewelry artist or beader but would love to make simple jewelry for yourself or as a gift, this project is perfect for you. I am going to show you how to assemble a necklace. It requires very little tools, supplies or money but will give you the satisfaction of making a beautiful necklace. Of course, you will inject your own style and personality by the pendant and clasp you select.





What you will need:



Chain - 1
Jump Rings - 3
Closure (toggle, clasp, lobster claw, etc) - 1
Pendant - 1
Pliers
Wire Cutters












Measure out the amount of chain you will need to make the necklace the length you want. Cut the chain with the wire cutters.




Open 1 jump ring with your pliers. Make sure you open the ring by twisting sideways - DO NOT open the ring by pulling the 2 ends apart.

Hook the jump ring on the ring of your pendant and close the ring by twisting the 2 ends back together.



Now slide your chain through the jump ring you just placed on your pendant.

Open another jump ring and insert it through the last link on one side of your chain. Place one end of your closure on the same open jump ring that is attached to your chain. Close the jump ring.

Open your last jump ring and repeat - placing the second half of your closure on the second chain end.
That's it!!!! You now have a pretty necklace you can wear or give as a gift. Why not make all your friends a necklace for Christmas?!!!












Every once in awhile you will find a pendant that does not need a jump ring. The chain opening on the pendant will already be in the proper position. This pendant did not need a jump ring but I included the instructions because you will need to add a jump ring to the majority of pendants.
As you can see in the picture below, I have removed the jump ring and just inserted the chain through the pendant opening.




GIVEAWAY DETAILS:


1. The winner will be announced on Sunday - September 6, 2009

2. The winner will receive the necklace that was just made in the tutorial above.

Also, if the winner owns an Etsy shop (or any other shop - Zibbet, Artfire, your personal website, etc), I will blog about your win in a feature and put your Etsy mini on my sidebar :)




Thank you for following my blog!!!

xoxoxoxo

We Need Votes, Please!!!! (UPDATED)

******UPDATE******

Cynthia entered a new picture for this weeks contest. So...we need votes again, please.
You can vote once a day. I have changed the link below, it will take you to the new picture :)
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My daughter entered a picture in The Cutest Dog Photo contest and she needs your votes!!!

Just click on the link below and click on vote, it's that easy. It only takes a second.

Thank you in advance :)

xoxoxox

http://www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=8F4F72FD5D5F6540F0F0F9A00BA0AEF0

I Am The Lucky Winner!!!!

I am so glad I finally have time to blog about winning a giveaway on this beautiful blog

http://theetsian.blogspot.com/ !!!!

The blog belongs to KTPaperCrafts who offers elegant, fun and personalized cards and more.

Here is an example of the lovely Cards:

Awesome Personalized Notepad:

And adorable Gift Tags:

There are many, many more beautiful items in KTPaperCrafts Etsy shop.

As for my wonderful prize....

I won this fabulous Scrubber/Soap Saver from FunnyFace12345 !!!!!

I am thrilled with this Scrubber/Soap Saver!!! It is such a clever idea and the craftsmanship is just wonderful!!!





I want to share a couple more items from FunnyFace12345's
beautiful Etsy shop.

Sweet Crochet Dish/Wash Clothes:




Beautiful Hexagon Ecru Doily:

I have been crocheting for 42 years and I can honestly say FunnyFace12345
is a very skilled crocheter!!! Her work is very professional.
This is her blog: http://www.giftsandmore-funnyface.blogspot.com/

Please visit both of these Etsy shops and follow their blogs!!!

Once again, KTPapercrafts and FunnyFace12345 , thank you so much for the great giveaway and the super nice prize!!!!

Let Me Follow Your Blog

I just got home from my first day of training for my new job.
I am tired but happy. I feel so fortunate to get such an awesome job, especially now when jobs are so hard to find. It's really a career rather than a job!!!

I am posting this because I came home tonight and had 4 new followers. I found 2 that I wasn't already following and I am now following them. I am not sure if I am already following the other 2.

I think it's disappointing when you take the time to follow someones blog and they do not bother to reciprocate. I do not want anyone to be disappointed by me!!!

This will probably be my last post until my 4 weeks of training are finished.
I will only have enough time to check my email and take a quick glance at my blog, Zibbet and Etsy.

So, please, if you follow me in the next 4 weeks, leave a comment on this post. Let me know you are following my blog and rather or not I am already following you.

I will check this post every evening so that I can follow everyone.

I will be actively following all of your blogs once my training is finished.
I love to read blogs, enter giveaways and leave comments.

Thank you!!!
xoxoxoxoxo

New Banner!!!!

I just had to share my beautiful new banner with you!!!
I won this awesome banner from Muskmallowdesigns!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7730514

I am also using this new banner for my Etsy shop.
I am thrilled to have such a beautiful, professional banner!!

You can see Muskmallowdesigns' Etsy mini on my sidebar.
Please purchase your next banner and avatar from her. You will not be disappointed.

More About Resin & A Message For You

I would like to share a few more resin tips with you.
I also want to let all my awesome followers know that I will not be posting anything new for awhile. I begin training for a new job on Monday. I will be driving 1 1/2 hours - one way - everyday. My training is from 8:30am - 5:30 pm and lasts for 4 weeks. So...I will not have the luxury of working on my blog and hanging out on the Etsy forums.
Please don't give up on me and unfollow!!!
I will be blogging like crazy once I have finished training :)


Resin - Continued:

I was wondering what I would do if I wanted to do a resin project and I didn't have a pendant setting.
This is what I came up with. I coiled up regular craft wire and ended the coil with a loop. I left the loop even with the rest of the coil so the pendant would lay flat. I glued my picture onto the wire with E6000 glue and let it dry.
I spooned the resin on the picture and allowed it to over flow. I was not trying to control the resin at all but on 2 of the coils, the resin stayed right on the picture.
You can see in the picture below, the resin over flowed on the large pendant. If this bothers you, cover the back with a circle of felt.

I made the large and tiny pendant using that great collage I bought from Cachecache
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5529873.
The middle sized pendant was made with one of Cynthia's floral pictures.


This is the front of the large pendant. I deliberately Mod Podged this picture only 1 time. I want you to see the importance of all the Mod Podge steps. The dark halo around the witch (especially by her hat) is staining from the resin. It was all white before the resin was applied.

Once the resin was cured, I used chain nosed pliers to twist the loop into the proper position. This eliminates the need for a jump ring.

So there you have it. A resin pendant without a pendant setting. I know you will come up with a million other ideas!!!

I found these lockets at Michael's. I wanted to see how resin would work in them.

I put photos of Cynthia's min pins in the lockets by repeating all the preparations in the resin tutorial. I very, very carefully filled the picture side of the locket with resin. I literally filled it one drop at a time. If this locket is over filled, it will not close. As you can see, they turned out great.

I also wanted you to see that your photos will work great with resin. I printed these pictures on matte photo paper but glossy photo paper will work great too.

I hope you will make some wonderful resin projects and post them on your blog!!!

If you do, please let me know, I would love to see them.

I will try to visit the Etsy forums for a few minutes each evening over the next 4 weeks. I hope to see you there :)

xoxoxoxoxo

Resin Pendant Tutorial

Before I begin this tutorial, I want to share with you where I purchased some of my supplies

I bought the very cute pendant settings from ChristianHaylie

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6047415.

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The awesome Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes Collage is from Herculiz

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6470117

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The adorable Halloween Collage is from Cachecache

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5529873

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And the fantastic fireworks and floral pictures are Cynthia's. You can see more of her pictures under the "pictures" heading on this blog.

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For this project you will need:

Resin ( I used Easy Cast )

Mod Podge

Pendant settings

Pictures

Embellishments

Chain, satin cord or pin backs

Jump rings

mixing cups

spoons

measuring spoon

I used these pendant settings on most of my projects. I also used a very tiny pendant setting I just recently purchased. All of the settings can be found here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6047415

I printed out the fantastic collages I bought from my fellow Etsians.

Agatha Christie/Sherlock Holmes http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6470117

Halloween http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5529873

Both of these sellers have a lot of wonderful collages!!!

(The collages were too large for my projects so I made them smaller. Since I am not very good at sizing pictures, I made them a little too small. To combat that problem, I used satin cord to line the inside edges of the pendant. The cord covered my size problem and also embellished the pendant.)

Once you have your pictures, coat both sides with Mod Podge. I usually coat the front 3 times, allowing each layer to dry and then repeat for the back.

Once your pictures are dry, cut them out. Coat the inside of your pendant setting with Mod Podge and place your picture in the pendant, allow to dry. Once dry, cover your picture and your pendant (inside) edges with Mod Podge and let dry.

This is how they will look.

I know this seem like a lot of Mod Podging but you will have great results every time. If you miss a tiny spot by skipping some of the Mod Podge steps, you run the risk of your picture being discolored in that spot. Your color may also run.

Now you are ready for the resin.

**Work in a well ventilated area**

**Wear gloves to protect your hands**

**Cover your work surface - lol!!**

I used Easy Cast which is mixed with equal parts resin and catalyst.

I measured the resin into a plastic cup and the catalyst in a separate plastic cup.

There are special resin measuring/mixing cups on the market but I just used what I had. I used an old Tbsp. to measure with (do not use for food after using the spoon for resin) because I needed such a small amount of resin - 3 Tbsp. was plenty. I used regular plastic cups - the red ones in the picture below and regular plastic spoons.

Pour the catalyst into the cup with the resin. Stir for 2 minutes. ( I use my cell phone as a timer. )

After 2 minutes, pour the entire mixture into the cup that the catalyst was in and stir 2 more minutes.

Most people use new cups and spoons for each step in the mixing process. I always use the catalyst cup and spoon for the second mixing. It comes out fine so why waste more cups and spoons?

Once your resin is mixed, use a plastic spoon to fill your pendant settings. Less is more!!! Pour half of the resin you think you need. These settings are very small and it is so easy to over fill. If you need more, add more, but be very careful.

Inspect your pendants. Make sure all areas of the pendant is coated with resin.

At this point you can use a blow dryer or heat gun to gently blow the air bubbles out of the resin. I usually do not have air bubble problems and if I do, I simply blow on the resin. I know not everyone is full of hot air like I am, so use a blow dryer if needed.

Check for air bubbles several times over the next hour - blow when needed.

Cover the pendants with something once you have filled them. As you can see in the picture below, I use whatever I can find.

That's it!!! Allow the pendants to remain where they are, covered, for at least 24 hours. Read your resin package to get the best information on curing time.

Here are some of my finished products.

I used Cynthia's beautiful fireworks pictures for some of the pendants. I think they look great!

Another awesome fireworks picture.

And the last one. I embellished this one with a head pin and a Swarovski Crystal.

Sherlock Holmes - using the collage I purchased from Herculiz

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6470117

I embellished the pendant on the left with a simple bow using the same cording that I used for the necklace. I embellished the pendant on the right with a cute little key.

I love Agatha Christie!!! She is my all time favorite fiction writer. I have all of her books and re-read them all the time. I have taken some of these pictures with my matching books.

Evil Under The Sun - I embellished this pendant with one of my polymer clay roses.

A Murder Is Announced - one of my favorite Agatha Christie books. I didn't embellish this one at all. I made it into a pin by simply gluing a pin back on with E6000 glue.




Black Coffee - I embellished this pendant with a tiny key. For some reason, I feel a mystery novel and a skeleton key go well together.

A very, very cute Halloween image from Cachecache. You can purchase the collage here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5529873

I embellished this cute pendant by inserting a black bead on a head pin and attaching to the pendant loop.

Halloween will be here before we know it!!!

I want to share my OOPS with you.

I did not inspect some of my pendants as well as I should. Therefore, I had problems with areas on my pendants that were not covered with resin.

Cynthia's super sweet floral picture.

The entire top of this pendant had a tiny space of missing resin. I inserted 3 Swarovski Crystals on a head pin and curled both ends. I glued the crystals to the pendant with E6000 glue.

Another one of Cynthia's stunning floral pictures.

This pendant was missing a tiny bit of resin on the bottom corner. I used E6000 glue to attach a flat backed Swarovski Crystal to cover my mistake.

Sherlock Holmes - I made this one into a pin. It had a tiny speck of lint trapped in the resin. I used a key to embellish the pendant so that it would hide my lint problem. I used jump rings to attach the key to the pendant.

Brilliant Dame Agatha Christie - I over-poured Ms. Christie.

The resin flowed over the side of the pendant well. I attached a charm to cover the spilled resin.

I used a charm that says "JOURNEY" because Agatha takes me on a journey every time I read one of her books. I used head pins to attach the charm - curling up the ends to hold it in place.

I then glued a pin back on the pendant.

Agatha Christie - I used the tiny pendant setting I just received from ChristianHaylie.

You can purchase this tiny treasure here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6047415

I used a key pendant and attached the Agatha Christie charm with a jump ring.

How cute is that!!!!

For the satin cord necklaces, I used E6000 glue to attach the cord ends into cord caps and squeezed the caps closed. I attached a jump ring and toggle end to each end of the cord.

Resin may seem like a difficult product to use. But...you can see how easy it actually is. Just make sure you follow all the instructions that comes with the resin.

All little mistakes can be covered with embellishments so you don't have to worry about imperfections.