JEWELRY DIY: Geometric Resist Necklace with irRESISTible Pico Embellishers
Jenny from Craft Test Dummies send me some irRESISTible Pico Embellishers to play with and do a product review. I like to come up with projects that really use the products I'm reviewing, vs just a basic test and review. You all know that I love jewelry, but what you might not know, is that I've been secretly teaching myself/coming up with some new paper craft methods. I like adding my own artwork to things I wear, vs just using store bought items as is. Jewelry was one place I was having trouble effectively doing that. I experimented with some paper layering to make paper jewelry that I can add my artwork to, is durable and hard like wood. You'll be surprised how easy and effective this is. You can use this layering concept to serve as a base for many jewelry projects, so get creative! Ok, onto the tutorial for this geometric necklace, using irRESISTible Pico Embellishers to create the resist design.
SUPPLIES:
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Cut your white cardstock in half. This can be vertical or horizontal. That is up to you and the size of your triangles.
2) With the watercolor paints, brush, and water, paint the two pages different color schemes. I choose cool colors and warm colors, but you can do any bright colors you want. I overlapped the colors, so they blended together. I splattered the papers with watercolor paint, by rubbing the paint saturated brush against a finger, adding more paint to the brush as needed. This works well if the paint is over wet. Let the paper fully dry before moving on.
3) On the back of one paper half, draw your triangles using a pencil and a ruler or something with a straight edge. I chose to do a 1 large and 2 small triangles to show you the steps. For the big necklace, my triangles decrease in size from the middle triangle to the side ones. Your design is up to you.
4) Using the scissors, cut out the triangles, following your drawn lines.
5) Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge Hard Coat the back of one triangle, using the foam brush. Press the triangle onto the chipboard. Hold flat with your hand. Do this for each remaining triangle, leaving a space between them. DO NOT COAT THE TOP WITH MOD PODGE!
6) Using the scissors, cut the triangles out from the chipboard. I cut around them, leaving a space, to easily separate them from the larger piece of chipboard. Then, I trim the excess chipboard from the edge of the painted triangles. Take your time doing this, as you do not want to cut into the painted triangles.
7) To make the triangles more sturdy, you must add a 2nd layer of chipboard. Add a thicker layer of Mod Modge Hard Coat to the back of one triangle. Press it onto the chipboard and hold in place with your hand. You might need to press these down with a heavy book, as it takes more pressure to adhere these flat than the 1st time. Do this for each remaining triangle. Let them dry fully before moving on.
8) Using the scissors, cut the triangles out from the chipboard, as you did in step 6. Trim them again, making sure all edges match up evenly.
9) Look over you other sheet of painted paper. Find a section you like the best. Apply Mod Podge to the chipboard back of one triangle. Smoosh the triangle onto the back of the other painted paper where you want the design to be. Press hard to adhere the triangle completely. Use a heavy book if needed. Repeat for your other triangles. Let dry completely.
10) Using the scissors, Cut the triangles from the painted paper. Trim as needed, to make all sides evenly stacked. The triangles should be stiff like wood...because well that's what paper is made from. Genius, I know...
11) Now this is where the clear irRESISTible Pico Embellisher comes in. Pick a side that you want your textured design to be on. I chose the warm colors side. Remove the cap from the bottle. Tap the bottle tip lightly onto the paper towel. Squeeze gently to remove any bubbles from the nozzle. Once the paint is flowing evenly, you can start drawing your design. I chose a simple geometric pattern. Be careful while creating your design. If lines touch, the paint will pool. You can try to carefully remove the excess with a cotton swab. Take your time with each triangle. Let the clear resist dry completely before moving on. This will take about 30-45 minutes. When it's dry, it will look a bit flatter and wrinkled.
12) Using black watercolor paint and a wet paint brush, paint black on the textured side of the triangles. You can make this translucent to opaque. That is up to you.
13) You will notice that the texture has been muted too. To brighten this back up, take a clean damp paint brush and gently remove the paint from the textured design. You'll need to clean your brush a few times, to wash out the removed paint. Be careful, so you aren't removing paint from the painted paper.
14) With the Mod Podge and foam brush, seal the front and back of the triangles. Let each side fully dry before flipping the triangles over to seal the other side. Give the triangles 2-3 coats of Mod Podge to seal the paper. Don't seal the edges yet.
15) Using the black watercolor paint and small wet paintbrush, paint the edges of the triangles. If you get any paint on the sealed paper, wash it off with a damp clean paint brush and paper towel. Make sure the sides are an opaque black.
16) Using the foam brush, carefully seal the edges of the triangles. Give them 2-3 coats, letting the sides dry in between coats.
17) Place the pieces on top of the thick magazine. For the large necklace, carefully drill holes at the top corners of each triangle. For a pendant and earrings, you can drill one hole along the center top, instead of each corner, depending on the look you are going for.
18) For my large necklace, I linked the holes with large jump rings. If you are doing a pendant or earrings, you could use smaller jump rings. Mine had to be large enough to easily fit through two thick paper holes.
With your pliers, open a jump ring. If you are making the large necklace, you will slip one jump ring end through one triangle hole. Slip that same end through the hole in the next triangle. Use the pliers to close the jump ring to where the ends tightly touch. Do this for each jump ring and triangle. At the ends, I attached smaller jump rings.
19) Lay the necklace on your neck, arranging the triangles, so they lay correctly. Use the measuring tape to measure the distance around the back of your neck from one triangle top end to the other...where the chain will be later. Take note of this measurement.
20) Use that measurement to measure out how much chain you need. Add a couple inches, if you want the necklace to be adjustable. Use the wire cutters to cut through a link at your measurement end.
21) If you didn't make the chain longer for adjustment, fold the chain in half, and cut it in half.
If you did measure for an adjustment length, divide your original measurement in half, and cut the chain at that half measurement. You'll have one piece longer than the other.
22) Open one jump ring at the end of a triangle, with the pliers. Slip on one end of the chain. Close the jump ring with the pliers. Do this with the other jump ring and chain piece too.
23) If you have a length adjustment, you need to add a jump ring and lobster clasp to the short chain's end. If you don't, you will add a jump ring and lobster clasp to either chain end, and a jump ring to the other chain's end. Use the pliers to help you add these.
DISCLOSURE: I received the irRESISTIble Pico Embellishers to review for Craft Test Dummies. All projects, photos, and opinions are my own. I am an Amazon affiliate. If you purchase something using the links in the supplies list, I will receive a small compensation. This money always goes back into supplies for my projects.
SUPPLIES:
- 1 irRESISTible Pico Embellisher in Clear
- 1 Sheet black cardstock
- 1 Sheet chipboard
- Mod Podge Hard Coat
- 1 Small foam brush
- Water color paints - I use a $5 Artist Loft Watercolor Pan Set from Michael's. This watercolor palette from Amazon is probably comparable
- Small soft bristle brushes
- Water in a cup
- Scissors
- A large heavy book - I used a dictionary...which mainly just gets used for pressing things flat
- Enough wire jump rings to connect your pieces, chain, and clasp - I made several large ones to connect two triangles. I made a few small ones to add the chain and clasp. The amount you need is based on your design. I make mine with thickish wire, 2 different small dowel rods, and wire snippers
- Thin chain
- Lobster claps - One per pendant necklace
- A tape measure
- Jewelry pliers
- Hand drill and a thick surface to drill into - I use a Dremel cordless drill and a thick magazine. I have the 7 piece drill bit set and collet nut kit. I have a few extra things too, but they are unrelated to this project. Maybe I'll go over them in a future post...because power tools deserve a special post
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Cut your white cardstock in half. This can be vertical or horizontal. That is up to you and the size of your triangles.
2) With the watercolor paints, brush, and water, paint the two pages different color schemes. I choose cool colors and warm colors, but you can do any bright colors you want. I overlapped the colors, so they blended together. I splattered the papers with watercolor paint, by rubbing the paint saturated brush against a finger, adding more paint to the brush as needed. This works well if the paint is over wet. Let the paper fully dry before moving on.
3) On the back of one paper half, draw your triangles using a pencil and a ruler or something with a straight edge. I chose to do a 1 large and 2 small triangles to show you the steps. For the big necklace, my triangles decrease in size from the middle triangle to the side ones. Your design is up to you.
4) Using the scissors, cut out the triangles, following your drawn lines.
5) Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge Hard Coat the back of one triangle, using the foam brush. Press the triangle onto the chipboard. Hold flat with your hand. Do this for each remaining triangle, leaving a space between them. DO NOT COAT THE TOP WITH MOD PODGE!
6) Using the scissors, cut the triangles out from the chipboard. I cut around them, leaving a space, to easily separate them from the larger piece of chipboard. Then, I trim the excess chipboard from the edge of the painted triangles. Take your time doing this, as you do not want to cut into the painted triangles.
7) To make the triangles more sturdy, you must add a 2nd layer of chipboard. Add a thicker layer of Mod Modge Hard Coat to the back of one triangle. Press it onto the chipboard and hold in place with your hand. You might need to press these down with a heavy book, as it takes more pressure to adhere these flat than the 1st time. Do this for each remaining triangle. Let them dry fully before moving on.
8) Using the scissors, cut the triangles out from the chipboard, as you did in step 6. Trim them again, making sure all edges match up evenly.
9) Look over you other sheet of painted paper. Find a section you like the best. Apply Mod Podge to the chipboard back of one triangle. Smoosh the triangle onto the back of the other painted paper where you want the design to be. Press hard to adhere the triangle completely. Use a heavy book if needed. Repeat for your other triangles. Let dry completely.
10) Using the scissors, Cut the triangles from the painted paper. Trim as needed, to make all sides evenly stacked. The triangles should be stiff like wood...because well that's what paper is made from. Genius, I know...
11) Now this is where the clear irRESISTible Pico Embellisher comes in. Pick a side that you want your textured design to be on. I chose the warm colors side. Remove the cap from the bottle. Tap the bottle tip lightly onto the paper towel. Squeeze gently to remove any bubbles from the nozzle. Once the paint is flowing evenly, you can start drawing your design. I chose a simple geometric pattern. Be careful while creating your design. If lines touch, the paint will pool. You can try to carefully remove the excess with a cotton swab. Take your time with each triangle. Let the clear resist dry completely before moving on. This will take about 30-45 minutes. When it's dry, it will look a bit flatter and wrinkled.
(I lightened these photos, so you could easily see the clear resist paint on the paper.
12) Using black watercolor paint and a wet paint brush, paint black on the textured side of the triangles. You can make this translucent to opaque. That is up to you.
13) You will notice that the texture has been muted too. To brighten this back up, take a clean damp paint brush and gently remove the paint from the textured design. You'll need to clean your brush a few times, to wash out the removed paint. Be careful, so you aren't removing paint from the painted paper.
14) With the Mod Podge and foam brush, seal the front and back of the triangles. Let each side fully dry before flipping the triangles over to seal the other side. Give the triangles 2-3 coats of Mod Podge to seal the paper. Don't seal the edges yet.
15) Using the black watercolor paint and small wet paintbrush, paint the edges of the triangles. If you get any paint on the sealed paper, wash it off with a damp clean paint brush and paper towel. Make sure the sides are an opaque black.
16) Using the foam brush, carefully seal the edges of the triangles. Give them 2-3 coats, letting the sides dry in between coats.
17) Place the pieces on top of the thick magazine. For the large necklace, carefully drill holes at the top corners of each triangle. For a pendant and earrings, you can drill one hole along the center top, instead of each corner, depending on the look you are going for.
18) For my large necklace, I linked the holes with large jump rings. If you are doing a pendant or earrings, you could use smaller jump rings. Mine had to be large enough to easily fit through two thick paper holes.
With your pliers, open a jump ring. If you are making the large necklace, you will slip one jump ring end through one triangle hole. Slip that same end through the hole in the next triangle. Use the pliers to close the jump ring to where the ends tightly touch. Do this for each jump ring and triangle. At the ends, I attached smaller jump rings.
19) Lay the necklace on your neck, arranging the triangles, so they lay correctly. Use the measuring tape to measure the distance around the back of your neck from one triangle top end to the other...where the chain will be later. Take note of this measurement.
20) Use that measurement to measure out how much chain you need. Add a couple inches, if you want the necklace to be adjustable. Use the wire cutters to cut through a link at your measurement end.
21) If you didn't make the chain longer for adjustment, fold the chain in half, and cut it in half.
If you did measure for an adjustment length, divide your original measurement in half, and cut the chain at that half measurement. You'll have one piece longer than the other.
22) Open one jump ring at the end of a triangle, with the pliers. Slip on one end of the chain. Close the jump ring with the pliers. Do this with the other jump ring and chain piece too.
23) If you have a length adjustment, you need to add a jump ring and lobster clasp to the short chain's end. If you don't, you will add a jump ring and lobster clasp to either chain end, and a jump ring to the other chain's end. Use the pliers to help you add these.
That's it for this tutorial. You can use other shapes, but for ease, make sure they are straight lines. Curves and jagged shapes are hard to cut through the chipboard...this is a failed project experience...yeah a xacto blade didn't help there. They don't have to be symmetrical. You can jazz this project up with glitter, beads, and/or multiple colors of irRESISTIble Pico Embellishers. You can make other style of jewelry. Use this tutorial as a jumping off point for your own creative vision. What ever you choose, I hope you enjoy what you've created. Happy Makery!
DISCLOSURE: I received the irRESISTIble Pico Embellishers to review for Craft Test Dummies. All projects, photos, and opinions are my own. I am an Amazon affiliate. If you purchase something using the links in the supplies list, I will receive a small compensation. This money always goes back into supplies for my projects.
Oh my goodness! How cool is this?! Love. :)
ReplyDelete