Happy Halloween Everyone!

 

 

Have a safe evening with all the little ghouls and goblins on this Halloween Night! Keep your kiddo's safe ... and keep your doggies and kitties indoors!!

 

 

Trick or Treat!!

SPOOKacular

 

I had this beautiful sari ribbon, just waiting to be used. AND, I need another necklace for Halloween.

 

 

 I think it turned out great and the sari ribbon colors were perfect.

 

 

 Happy Halloween Week Everyone!

Meeeeowww!

Halloween Necklace and Earrings

 

 

 

Stickers, resin, black chain and some green, black and orange beads. Simple.

 

 

I've had these stickers for a while. So I thought i might experiment just a little. I mixed up a batch of resin and carefully covered each sticker that i was interested in using. It was a bit time consuming, but like I said, it was a experiment. After they set for 24 hrs, I came back, roughed up the backs of the stickers and mixed another batch of resin ... this time I added some black pigment to the resin. I carefully covered the backs of my stickers and again let them dry for 24 hrs.

 

 

And wha la .... add some chain and beads and I now have a cute little necklace to wear on Friday!

 

Adorable Teddy!!

 

This is SO adorable!! Little Teddy is so happy eating his pumpkin treat!

 

 

 

 

 

Now I want a pet porcupine!!

 

 



A Little "Boo Boo!"

I wanted to share a "boo boo" that happened while I was making my little Halloween magnets.

 

 

After I pour my resin in my piece, I let it rest for about 45 minutes to an hour. Then I return and check for air bubbles. As you can see in the picture above, especially around the top left edge .... I got a bit too zealous with my heat gun, and what actually happened, I created MORE bubbles!!

 

 

SO .... don't heat up your piece too much. Hold your heat gun approximately 6 inches away and move it back and forth over your piece.

 

 

But see ... I turned a lemon into lemonade so to speak. I hate to throw mistakes away, they are good teaching tools. I had these flat rhinestones, so I glued them in place around the edge, and now I have another magnet. Not perfect, but not bad for a uh oh moment.

 

Love Always .... Carla



 

Halloween "BOO" Magnets

 

 

These were fun to make ... and easy!

 

 

I had these buttons I had bought some time ago. I knew I would find something to make with them. So first, I cut out the cute little cob web circles from scrapbook paper. I only had a 1" punch, but I improvised. Then I used some Modge Podge to glue them in the center. I protected my paper with three coats for Modge Podge, letting it dry completely between coats.

 

 

I picked these up at Michaels last year, now was the perfect time to use them. They were sticky on the back, so easy to arrange on top of my buttons.

 

 

Once I had my puffy little ghouls arranged the way I wanted, I used a small paint brush and some Modge Podge to go around the edges of my design and then I sprinkled them with my glitter and let them dry completely. Once they were dry I dusted the excess off and prepared my resin. And carefully filled each little button scene.

 

 

 

After I had my resin poured, I let them rest for about an hour. Then used a heat gun to pop any bubbles which might have surfaced. And let them dry for 24 hrs. Lastly, glue your magnets on the back with some E-6000 and wha la ... cute little fridge magnets.

 

Love Always ...... Carla

 

 



I Miss You Wolf

I Miss You Wolf



I HAVEN’T LEFT AT ALL

 

I saw you gently weeping as you looked through photographs
You paused for just a moment at one that made you laugh.

But as you turned more pages the tears began to flow
You whispered that you missed me but I want you to know;

I softly licked those stinging tears that down your cheeks did fall
I want to help you understand I haven’t left at all.

On those days that you are overcome with sorrow, pain and grief
I rest my head upon your leg to offer some relief.

When you take our walking path I’ve seen you turn around
Because I know you surely heard my paws upon the ground.

At night while you are sleeping I snuggle at your side
You stroke my fur as you touch that place where I used to lie.

You said it’s just your heart playing tricks upon your mind
But rest assured I’m really there, my spirit’s left behind.

I know your heart is hurting; it’s like an open sore
You think my life has ended and you won’t see me anymore.

But for those of us bound tight by love, death is not the curtain call;
It’s really the eternal beginning that waits for us all

~~~

XOXO

 

 



Oh how you loved to talk .. and sash .. and argue .. my dearest Wolf, it is so quiet now. I miss our conversations, and we had many! I will miss your greeting after a long hard day at work. Always so excited to see me, so full of love and enthusiasum. How I miss your determination, your spunk. I miss those beautiful eyes .. I saw in them how very much you loved me and always wanted to be near me. It didn't matter which room I was in, you were never far away. You followed me and always kept me company. You were by boy .... a Momma's boy.

 

Such a silly boy ... you always made me laugh.

 

 

And the look on your face when you were naughty ... I can still see that face. But how could I ever be mad for long, I loved you so! You brought me such joy! You were a character my dearest Wolf.

 

 

You had your special spot to rest .... even at my Momma and Daddy's house.

 

 

 

Christmas will not be the same this year ... one less toy to buy makes me so sad.

 

 

When you were just a young boy, I wondered if you would ever grow into those ears!! You were so darn cute ... with your big bat ears!

 

 

Look at that beautiful face .. and those gorgeous eyes!

I MISS YOU SO DEAR WOLF! XOXO

 

 

Handsome boy!

 

 

I will never forget the day i picked you up! So tiny and so adorable! I was so excited my dearest Wolf, you were my fur baby and I loved you at first sight!

 

Rest now boy! And though you are no longer here with me, the jingle of your collar now silent ... I hold your memories within my heart!! You will never be forgotten Wolf!! XO

 

"Wolf" 03/11/10 to 10/08/14

 



EnviroTex Jewelry Clay

Hello everyone!!

 

Let's play with some jewelry clay by EnviroTex.

 

 

 

So here is what I used for this project: EnviroTex jewelry clay, a heart bezel, black pigment ink, a butterfly stamp, some inclusions, Pearl Ex powder in pearl and pink and a brush.

 

 Take equal parts of the jewelry clay and condition them, work them until you get a nice consistency. It's best to wear a pair of vinyl or latex gloves. I buy them at the hardware store in a box of 100.

 

 Combine your two part jewelry clay until it's one consistent color. This activates the clay, which causes it to harden. You'll have about two hours of work time.

 

 Fill your bezel. I wanted a nice dome effect to my heart as you can see.

 Next I stamped my butterfly with the black pigment ink. I had one uh oh on the bottom right wing, as I didn't press down quite hard enough. But I just added my inclusions to cover my mistake and as you see ..... wah la .... you can't see it.

 Then I dusted my entire heart with the pearl color Pearl Ex powder. Next I used my brush to carefully dust my little butterfly with the pretty pink powder. At this point I set it aside overnight, to let my clay harden. The nice thing about this clay is that while it's wet the powder and the embellishments stick very well. Once the clay hardens you just brush away the excess powder. AND, the decorations stay put as well with no need for glue. Love that.

 I finished my project with some cute chain with tiny hearts, a closure and a little pearl, just for a finishing touch.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and it was really easy. Try the EnviroTex clay, I think you'll really like it. Let me know what you think.

 

Love Always ... Carla



A Resin Bracelet With Bling

I absolutely love my bracelet ...resin glitter pieces, silver charms, some pearls, crystals and lots of love.

This was fun and it turned out really pretty. The color combinations are endless .... and with all the wonderful glitter colors .... have fun!

Here is what you need for this project:





EnviroTex Lite resin
resin spray

2 measuring cups

a stir stick

A mold ... I used a fondant mold, it's rubber so it's easy to remove the pieces.

glitter .... mine is Martha Stewart brand.

assorted jump rings

chain

clasp

assorted pearls and rhinestones

charms

timer

 



 

So let's get started. Resin loves warmth, cold is not it's friend. When I first started using this resin I ran hot water into a bowl and placed the two resin bottles in the water and waited. Emptied the bowl added more water, return the bottles .... and on and on. It worked but it was time consuming. But one day I ran across this little Rival crock pot *light bulb* .... this would be perfect for heating my resin. And wow, did it ever make my life easier. It gave me the freedom to do other things while my resin was getting all warm and toastie!

 

 

 

First measure equal parts of resin and hardener in your cups. Add your resin to your hardener, start your timer and stir for two minutes. Be faithful .... stir stir stir, making sure to scrap the sides of your cup to blend thoroughly. You'll notice a few bubbles as you stir, it's normal. But oh my, lots of bubbles if your resin isn't warm. Next ..... let it rest for 5 minutes. 

 

 

Mold #1

Mold #2

 

Let the pouring begin. Let me say .... less is more when you fill your mold. You can always add more, but you can't remove it and it can get messy. I ALWAYS have paper towels handy. And, I always wear vinyl gloves. Use your popsicle stir as your scoop, it works great and helps with portion control. As you can see in the picture above, I barely had any bubbles ... one in the top middle, but very few. Warm resin is your friend :)

 

Then I proceeded to fill my next mold. Let me mention here, after I get my molds filled, I wait a few minutes and then check for bubbles. I use a heat gun to pop them. Just hold it about 6-8 inches above your piece, moving the gun slowly over your pieces, so they don't get too hot ... it's magic and the bubbles pop. Since we are using glitter, a few bubbles won't show, but if you were making a clear piece ... bubbles are your enemy.

Add your glitter, and be generous.

 

 

 

Once you have added your glitter, let you piece sit for 5 minutes or so, then check on them to make sure you see a nice layer of glitter. As the piece sits, you might see where the glitter sank a bit or moved from the edge of the piece. If so, just sprinkle a bit more over it. Now cover your pieces,  Iuse a large plastic lid, and let them harden for at least 24 hours. 

 

 

The next day is the big reveal. Tah dah! Don't they look great .... a little rough around the edges, which is no big deal. Just take a sharp exacto knife and trim your edges, then give them a light sand with a fine grit sand paper.

 

 

To finish these resin pieces all we need to do is spray them with resin spray. I took an old cookie sheet, lined it with wax paper, then laid my pieces on the paper. Go to a well ventilated area and spray your pieces. Several thin coats work much better than a heavy coat ... trust me.

 

 

Drill your pieces, add your chain, beads, rhinestones and charms and wah la ... a beautiful bracelet. As you can see, I made a few more colors of resin beads. The large rose pictured above, i'll show you the beautiful necklace I made with it in another post.

Have fun and let your creative juices flow.

Love Always ..... Carla

Klik Collaboration

I joined a collaboration sponsored by Metal Complex and hosted by Resin Crafts. Each artist who agreed to participate was sent two Klik bezel snaps, the only rule was ... we had to use EnviroTex Resin or Jewelry Clay to create our piece. We were asked to send our finished piece back and we were allowed to keep the second piece. Once all our pieces were received and showcased, we were to receive a necklace that we could use for the 2nd bezel snap. I'm anxiously waiting for this little gift to arrive in my mail box ... any day now.

This is the piece I created, along with the lovely description posted by the host of this collaboration.

Artist: Carla Collier

Carla thought long and hard about what to put into her Klik bezel snap. She reviewed her stickers, papers, baubles and beads and then finally found a focal bead to inspire her. This turquoise cross framed by red coral beads and then a final frame of seed beads is just gorgeous.  I have never seen anything similar and it is the only submission featuring beads in this way.  I laughed when she noted that one whole hank of beads ended up in her carpet when she was working on this piece. Cat companions always have issues with seed beads! Carla glued all her beads in place and then very slowly and cautiously added her resin. Since she did not completely cover everything, her turquoise and coral look natural and truly Indian inspired. Well done Carla!

 

 

Here is my Klik bezel snap used in one of the many accessories you can pick from to finish your piece, a leather bracelet.

 

 

 

Featured here with some of the other amazing artists. Doesn't it look great? I think so.

 

40 artists participated on this collaboration. And as you can see, the options are endless ... you can create whatever you can imagine. The possibilities ... oh the possibilities.

 

 

For more resin and jewelry clay creations, hop over to the  www.resincrafts.blogspot.com blog.

 

And please, stay tuned to see what I create with my bonus Klik necklace and Klik bezel snap.

 

Love Always ..... Carla