Dicro-ish glass pendant making

I am my own worse critic and I hate it. By now you are probably getting the hint that I love to create things. I don't consider myself an artist since most of my idea's started out as idea's of other people. I've recently tried to make jewelry using epoxy resin and some other sparkly things. One project I am very pleased with I  wont be showing or talking about due to the fact it's a Christmas present, and the recipient may read this,  so I will show the one I'm not so pleased with. These ARE fun to make, and that's what matters.

I found these great pendant tray castings on Ebay, sold in lots of either 5 or 10. I liked them for their size and the design on the back. Any casting tray will work or you can use resin molds for a free standing piece. You will have to drill a hole through it to attach a necklace or ring though.

I used a two step epoxy resin on these. I used Easy Cast brand. I can't make a comparison to other brands because I have never used a different kind. I will tell you it was easy to work with and did not have a strong smell. It hardly had any smell really. I of course held it up to my nose and took a big wiff, at which time there was an odor, but it didn't knock me out (I would tell you if it did.).

Mixing takes a little bit. You have to stir for two minutes, transfer to a new mixing cup and stir for an additional 2 minutes. They are serious about it needing to be mixed well. I didn't use a timer or even look at a clock, I just stirred till I felt I had stirred enough. I probably over stirred, but that can only be a plus, right?  After all that stirring, I added some black dye and stirred some more. I then filled my casting with a thin layer of the dyed resin, just enough to cover the bottom of the casting. I wanted to leave enough room to fill it some more.  

I let that dry over night. It doesn't need to be completely dry, just dry enough that it wont mix with your next layer. 

For the pretty colors I used Little Windows Dichro-ish Glass kit. It comes with the dye I used for these pieces which is a black powder with some black glitter in it, and some shiny, colorful papery stuff, kinda reminded me of velum paper. 

I chopped up some of the sheets into little pieces and sprinkled them on top of my castings. I wish I had used more and maybe cut them into different shapes. Most of mine are like triangles, I have a lot of pointy corners. Live and learn. I then mixed up another batch of resin but did not dye it. Pour that over the pretty pieces and let dry again. Keep an eye on them for a minute or so to make sure the flakes don't float to the top and stick out of the resin. I used a toothpick to push them back down. I still have a few small corners sticking up, but well, it's my first try!!

The instructions on the epoxy say it takes about 24- 48 hours to fully dry. If you don't mix it correctly it may never fully harden and in extreme cases will always stay sticky, tacky or soft. In my short experience it takes a lot longer than they say for it to fully dry, but maybe I'm not mixing it correctly. After I let these sit over night they were dry enough to pick up and touch, but will still leave a mark if you press your fingernail into the resin. 

In the end you get something pretty and unique. I'm not completely happy with mine no matter how many people tell me it looks great. I'm my own worse critic. I can always find something wrong with what I do and can always think of a different way to do something. At least that way I never run out of things to create. 

Somewhere...across the sea...

Every other year or so someone in Jonathan's family rents a house on Edisto Island and we all go vacation together. This year my brother in law was the house renter. We stayed in a cute little house called "The Flamingo".

I used to know the story on this..but no longer. It's always there, just a bit different each time. 

We have always gone to Edisto Island. I really have no idea when that tradition started, but I do know why we stick to Edisto. If you have ever been there and been to the other islands around the area you know why, also. Edisto is simply quiet. There is not much there. There is a beach, a lot of rental houses, one hotel at the end of the island and one grocery store, The Piggly Wiggly of course, at the other end. There are a few restaurants and gift shops, but you are not going to find the mass tourist shops you might at other beaches. This is how we like it. While you will see plenty of people walking, fishing, biking, and on the beach you don't feel like you are in crowds.

Edisto is off the coast of South Carolina. I really feel like I belong there. I think I was always meant to live somewhere near the ocean in South Carolina. I can't explain, it's just something I know as soon as we get close to the coast. I'm sure in another life I was a southern belle here, living on a rich sea island cotton plantation. If I could live anywhere, I would seriously pick here to live. The plantation would be nice, too, as long as it was modern with central air and a pool.

This would be my driveway. 

We always have fun on the beach. This year Marley even got into it more and raced around after the kids in the waves. He usually runs from the surf as it comes in, but this year he got his whole body wet. It's fun to watch the kids play in the sand and water, trying not to think of sharks eating them or getting stuck in a rip tide, or jelly fish stinging them, or a wave knocking them down and dragging them under. Sounds fun doesn't it? O.k. so maybe it's just fun watching them bury each other in the sand. 

Karin practices her body burying skills. 

"Hey! Where did everyone go?"

The history of the area is amazing. There are still some standing ruins of houses, churches and other buildings as well as beautifully restored southern mansions and plantations. I love the grand mansions along the Battery in Charleston and the ornate churches with their old graveyards. As beautiful as they are I love the ruins even more. There is just something about the forgotten, crumbling buildings and graveyards that draws me in. 

Sheldon Church. Originally Prince Williams Parish in 1745, before America was America. 

St. Helena Parish Chapel of Ease 1740

Sea Cloud Plantation ruins. Circa 1825 (On Edisto Island)

Even if we never return to Edisto Island again, I will always remember the great times our family has spent there from sitting on the beach in the middle of the night watching the lightning across the ocean, deep sea fishing, picking up sharks teeth along the beach, hoping our tent doesn't blow away when tropical storm Alex hit while we were camping on the beach, eating blue crab that we caught or fishing off the dock and catching a Skate (kind of Stingray). I could fill this page with hundreds of pictures I have taken in the years we have gone. I hope to get hundreds more. 

The one time I didn't go, this happens! 

Ocean puppy

ARRR! Dread Pirate Marley! 

Till next time... .

So many crafts...

It's been awhile again since I have been here. I haven't forgotten you, loyal reader, I've just been lazy, I mean busy. And by loyal reader I mean my husband, who already knows everything I'm writing about before he reads it.

I have been rather crafty lately. The last thing I made I was really pleased with the way it came out. I'd love to post about it, but my latest crafts are also Christmas presents and I really never know who might be reading this. "But Teri! What if we want to make what you made for someone for someone else?". Sorry, y'all will just have to wait and I will have to be patient about showing every thing. Hmmmph. I should have something new to show soon, if it turns out right.

I did have some drama a few days ago. I sold my patriotic wreath that I made. DUN DUN DUN! No, sillies, that is not the drama. I sold the wreath but wanted to improve the stars instead of leaving the cut out mess I made I wanted something that looked nicer if I was going to give it to someone else. So I made a snap decision to go to Hobby Lobby and see what they had in the way of glittery stars. Off I went on my happy way, not even making it 1/4 of a mile when BAM! apartment dweller dude runs the stop sign coming out of his complex and hits me. I knew he wasn't stopping, I swerved and for a split second thought I dodged another one (A lot of the apartment dwellers run that stop sign). The loud BAM! mentioned above let me know I wasn't so lucky this time. To make this story short "I can't pull up my pants" apartment dweller  tried to say there was no way his giant Ford Escape made such a large dent and scratches on my little Eclipse. Once he called over his thug life friends to argue I got in the car, locked the doors and called 911 then Jonathan. My loverly husband dropped everything and came to my rescue before the popo could even show up. Before that Apartment Dweller tried to drive off till he noticed me taking a picture of his license plate. GO ME! By the time the cop came Apartment Dwellers girlfriend was on the scene. I guess she was the owner of the Escape. Once the cop told her since her boyfriend left the scene he was having her battering ram towed she morphed into "Irate Female" (the cop called her that..teehee). Looooonger story short, I got to leave with an incident number from the cop to give to my insurance and 3 other cops showed up to search the inside of the Escape battering ram. "I can't pull up my pants" showed back up so there was no towing of Irate Female's car. BUMMER! I don't know what kind of tickets he got or what's worse, if he had insurance. I'm just waiting for my insurance to review the police report and get back to me. WHY couldn't I be hit by some southern gentlemen who hypnotized me with his crystal blue eyes and deep southern drawl, offering me all his insurance information while he apologized on his knees and assuring me he will take care of everything at the same time making sure I was o.k., maybe offering me a Mint Julep (YUCK) or at least some Evian.. no, not me. I get "I dident do's that to yo car! Yo trippin'! Now looks at my boxers while I's drive off 'cause I can't pull up my pants!". O.k... so that might have been a little.. accurate.

All in all, the damage isn't THAT bad. It could have been easily taken care of with a little cooperation on Apartment Dwellers part. I'm a little freaked out by the fact he lives just a short distance from me, but hopefully he never learns I live so close.

Crafting is so much more fun than all this.

Patriotic Wreath

Awhile ago I was searching Google Images for some 4th of July craft ideas and I came across this wreath. It jumped out at me and I knew I had to create it. Fortunately for me someone blogged the step by step instructions, with pictures. She admitted she got the idea from someone else who had done the wreath, but she did invent the springy star idea. I liked it, so I didn't change it. So while this wasn't my original idea I'm still going to show you how I did it. Besides, I need something to blog about.

As usual, I am not a professional photographer nor do I drag out the good camera. (Her pictures were so good).

I wish I would have closed my dishwasher before taking this pic. 

First thing you need is some felt. I bought mine at Michaels at .29 cents a sheet. 6 red, 6 white and 4 blue. You may not need this much, you may need more. It all depends on how close you squish them together on the wreath. You want to cut them into 2x2 squares (Don't worry about being exact). It makes it a lot easier if you stack a few sheets together and cut them all at once. Once cut you will fold the squares into triangles. 

Fold once corner to corner.

Then fold again.

You are going to pin these pieces to your wreath on the folded bottom corner. I got the wreath at Michaels craft store. Just to clarify I found everything I used at Michaels. 

The wreath.

The pinning. 

The Shining. 

You're going to keep pining your folded squares all along the wreath. As you pin spread apart the folded squares so they look fuller. You're going to do a lot of pinning, pulling and fluffing. 

Try not to pin your pieces too close together. This will make it look really squished and you will probably run out of felt squares before you are done. I had to pull out quite a few pieces till I got it to look how I wanted. 

Space, the final frontier. 

While I alternated between red and white area's you can do whatever you want. Mix the red and white all around the wreath, mix all the red, white and blue together, whatever way you want to do it works. I did not measure how large of a space for each color, I just tried to eyeball it and hope they turned out about the same size. Make sure to leave a larger area for the blue. 

Once you have all the felt on you can add the stars. I used some very sparkly scrapbook paper. The paper wasn't very thick so I glued some card stock paper onto the back. I don't have one of those new fangled fancy machines that punch out whatever shape you want so they are all perfect and the same size. I'm stuck in the olden days, I used a pencil to draw out the stars and scissors to cut them out. I know, I know, it's like how grandpa had to walk uphill to school, in the snow, with no shoes when he was a kid. 

You can glue the stars right to the wreath, or you can skip the stars and place a few pieces of the white felt throughout the blue. To make the springy stars I used some silver floral wire and wrapped it around a sharpie marker to make it spiral. I attached the stars back to back using a glue dot (scrapbooker thing) with the wire in the middle of the dot, gluing the stars together. Did that make sense? I don't think so either. Let me see if I have a picture of what I did. 

Yeah, like this. Just put another star on top of that one. 

Take your springy star and push one end of the wire into your wreath between some of the blue felt. The wire should poke through easily. I straightened out the end a bit first so it goes into the wreath easier and so it sticks out a bit better. 

I found some cool patriotic looking ribbon, that you can't really see since it's backwards in this pic, and used it to make a loop so I can hang the wreath up. I just pinned it to the back using a few pins for a good hold and so they wouldn't just rip through the ribbon from the weight. 

Notice I did not decorate the back of the wreath, no one will see it and it makes the wreath too puffy so it wont lay flat. Trust me, by the time you've felted up the front (HA! felt up..felted up, get it?) you wont want to do the back. 

AND WE ARE DONE! Sheesh. The blog I read for this explained everything so quickly, easily and clear, plus  her pictures were set up so cool, like side by side and junk and stuff.  I really need to learn the art of blog tutorials. I didn't bookmark her blog, but I know it was called Capitol B, and I'm sure y'all can find her.  I made sure to mention this at the end, so y'all had to read my stuff before knowing who you really need to look for. I need to look again so I can find other completely awesome craft projects to try and do, and learn how to blog. 

It looks great on my door, but I wont keep it there. I don't want spiders making their homes in it. I live in the south, we have a lot of spiders... *shudder*

Proud to be an American

Wow, it's been awhile since I have been here. Not very surprising, I usually get bored with things quickly. That's not to say I haven't had things in my mind to blog about. I've even done some crafty things I could show you all. I just haven't because with one I'm waiting till it's closer to the 4th of July to post, another is going to be someone's Christmas present and I don't want them to see it and something else I'm kinda waiting till I have more to show you all. Do you like how I say 'you all'? As if there are other people reading my ramblings.

This is the Memorial Day weekend. Facebook is already full of people posting their plans for going out of town. Pay attention robbers, they are letting you know their houses will be unoccupied for the entire weekend! No need to rush those T.V.'s and computers out the door, stay awhile, make a sandwich, rifle through the jewelry to make sure you get the good stuff. Heck, stay the night in their Egyptian Cotton sheets.

Other people are posting about the cookouts they are having, the family reunions, and how excited they are to have an extra day or two off work. I've only seen a few posting about what Memorial Day actually means. It's like people forget, or maybe don't even know to begin with.  It's often referred to as the "Official Start of Summer". That will ring some truth here in the south since temps are going to be in the 90's.

I'm not sure what I will do this year, but here is what I did last year on Memorial Day. I went to 2 of our local Veteran's cemeteries. I don't know anyone buried in either cemetery, nor did I go with someone who did have a loved one there. I went to pay my respect to those strangers I didn't know, to those men and woman who wanted to serve their country, fight for me when called to do so, make sure I will live in my happy little world. I love my country. I love the beauty of this land. I cry when I see fireworks, I bawl like a baby when Lee Greenwood sings about how proud he is to be an American. I swell with pride when I hear our National Anthem and when my 5 year old nephew recites the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you to all our veterans, past and present. To those currently enlisted over seas who know that they may never see their beloved country or family ever again. I hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend, but that we do so with pride, with honor and that we never forget...

Avengers Unite!

Do they say that in the movie? If they don't, they should. Nick Fury could issue the battle cry, "AVENGERS UNITE!", and all the Avengers would come together to fight the bad dudes. Can you tell I haven't seen the movie yet?

While doing my daily internet surfing I ran across a picture on some eye contact website showing a cool eyeshadow design inspired by Captain America, or maybe the 4th of July. I figured it was Captain America since The Avengers was released last week and the 4th is still a few months away. You could wear this for either one.

This will be my first tutorial. I want to first stress that I don't have great lighting and I don't use the good camera. I hold up the camera in front of my eye and snap the picture. I do try to use bright or natural light, but usually it's the lamp next to my table or the light bar in the bathroom. I am not even making an effort to be a pro at this or a famous makeup guru. I'm doing this how I put on my makeup every day, in the living room.

Here is the majority of what I used.

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Sephora Nano eyeliner pencil in some blue color (can't find it at the moment)

Avon lip liner pencil in red (sorry, color name has worn off)

Sugarpill loose eyeshadow in Asylum

NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk

Generic red glitter from a Halloween makeup kit

Sally Girl blue cosmetic glitter

Sephora liquid liner in black

Sephora eyeshadow in Aspen Summit

Smoldering Baked Eyeshadow (blue color)(bought at Sally Beauty Supply

Nail art stars

Alright, I think I listed everything. Truth be told I put it all away and I have a ton of makeup. I really don't want to pull it all out to get the exact color name. I know, some tutorial, wont even tell us what colors to use. You get the idea though, you just want some red, white and blue stuff.

I used the Primer Potion first, but if you are going to use the NYX pencil you probably can skip this part. The pencil will act like a primer. Take the NYX pencil in milk and apply all over eye area, even under the bottom lashes. Blend in with your finger tips. 

Next take your blue eyeshadow and pat on with a flat brush. If you rub it on with the brush it's going to blend in too much with the white pencil. Just patting it on will give you bolder color. Start just above the crease and take it up close to the bottom of your brows. Leave some space under the brow and some space above your crease. Take a clean puffier brush and lightly blend with the white under your brow. Use the same blue shadow under your lower lashes all the way to the corner of your eye. 

Now we are going to go a little fast. Pat on the red eyeshadow (mine was the Sugarpill) on your eyelid only. Leave the strip between the red and blue. Don't worry if you get some shadow on that space, but try not to. After you have your red and blue on use the glitter over each color. Sally Beauty has great, cheap cosmetic glitter and a clear "glue" that helps it stick. Apply a thin layer of the glue with your finger tip and pat glitter over the shadow color with a flat brush. I let the glitter dry just a bit then took my NYX pencil again and went over the crease again to clean up any stray shadow and define that area a little better. I used the Sephora white shadow under my brow area and lightly blended it with the blue. 

Next I used the Sephora liquid liner and created a winged line on the top lid. I used black but you can always use a dark blue. I mainly used black because I applied false lashes and the black helps hide the false lash strip a bit better. I took a little more of the glitter glue and used it to place tiny nail art stars on the blue shadow. If you can't find little stars check the craft stores in their scrapbooking section. I have some tiny silver star stickers that would have worked great too. You could also use white face paint and just paint small dots in this area. If your really good you can draw tiny stars. Or take silver liquid eyeliner and do the same thing.. you get the idea, I hope. I also used the blue eyeliner pencil to line my waterline and applied black mascara before the false lashes went on. 

In the original picture I saw of this the eyebrows were done in red. I liked how that gave it even more of a red, white and blue look, but it might be a little too much if you are wearing this out. I mean, you already have a ton of glitter and stars for heaven's sake. Red eyebrows might be overkill. I liked it, so I used my red lip liner pencil. It's kinda cool, kinda strange. If I left the house this way I would have been thinking of my red lip liner eyebrows all night. I also used my favorite false lashes, why not be more dramatic. These are  Illamasqua 013. They have some awesome black ones with blue in them, they would have rocked this look. 

After all that I used my red eyebrow lip liner and lined my lips then filled them in with it. For extra pazazz you could use the red cosmetic glitter on your lips, or better yet, do them in blue, with glitter. 

AVENGERS UNITE! 

Hair chalking!

If you know me, or read my blog, you know my obsession with changing my hair color. Any time I do a funky color I get a lot of compliments, usually followed by "I wish I could do that!". Usually I'm not entirely sure why people can't do it but sometimes they give a reason, work wont allow it, parents will freak out, husband would divorce them. I understand the work excuse, kids are suppose to freak out their parents, and if hubby divorces you over your hair color you didn't need the SOB in the first place.

Well ladies, I am about to blow your MIND! O.K., not really. I am going to show you how you can have some funky highlights without committing to a permanent color that will make your mother cry.

I give you HAIR CHALKING! (Insert inspirational awwwwww music here). Alright, alright, it's not a new thing. It's been done a lot, I certainly didn't make it up.

First you will need a few things. A spray bottle, some colored chalk, and a flat iron (for hair, not the steak). I used cheap sidewalk chalk. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go out and draw on my driveway with it the next sunny, dry day we have. I want to do it now, but it's raining. :P

Start out with dry hair, styled as you usually would. Skip the hairspray for now. Take a section of hair you want to color and spray with water to saturate it. 

Now take the color of your choice and "color" your hair with it. You're literally going to rub the chalk back and forth over the wet piece of hair. The more you rub, the more color you get. I ended up wetting the piece of chalk also. 

You can use one color, or as many as you want. 

Dry your hair either with your hair dryer or wait till it dries naturally. I'm impatient, I used the hair dryer. Try to avoid brushing your hair. Once dry take a flat iron and use it on the colored parts to set the color better. 

VOILA! This would really look amazing on blonde hair. My hair is heavily layered and would probably look better on long pieces of hair. I brushed mine right after taking this last picture and the color really came out. It left a light chalky look. I wonder why, maybe it has something to do with it being chalk. My hair now feels kinda gross where I chalked it. I would imagine if you didn't wash it out you will wake up with a colorful pillowcase. 

True story time. 

I was planning on doing this today and blogging about it. I had been wanting to do it all week, but I have been too busy (lazy). Today was the perfect day. If not doing this I would be going through my clothes in my packed closet and I really didn't want to do that, this was way more fun. I still need to clean out my closet, it's bad. It would appear I have a clothes addiction too. Crap, another 12 step program needed. But I digress.. While surfing Facebook this morning I came across an add for COLORSMASH. I am now so excited to see this product! It must be fate that I see this when I had plans for coloring my hair with a piece of chalk. I can't wait!