Summer Brights

After all the hot weather at last a cooler afternoon so that I have been able to get the melt pot out for a spot of jewel enamel UTEE creating
I wanted to make a really bright bracelet to go with a summer maxi dress that has so many colours but with a strong purple and lovely green.
UTEE is great for summer jewellery because it is so lightweight. It is great to take on holiday especially in a hot climate.
So here it is....

I used Crafty Notions Jewel Enamel (UTEE) in amethyst and peridot

The mould is from a Martha Stewart woodlands set.

I have also used a turquoise mica powder to highlight the texture features on the flowers and a light gold mica powder for the leaves

in this close up you can see the delicate detail of the flower mould

am now wondering if a simple charm cluster necklace might look good with it

Summer Fun

I have been playing with alternatives to gemstones for a while now and have discovered another fun medium to try. Air dry paper clay!
This moulding clay can be used in push moulds or to make beads and embellishments for cards etc. It is unbelievably lightweight and although not as easy to work with as polymer clay because it dries out quickly, if you keep it in a sealed bag with a damp paper towel it will be fine.
There are only a few colours - white, brown, yellow, red and blue but from these you can make a whole range of colours - in fact that is where the fun starts - mixing your own colours. There is no mess, your hands don't get stained, it's like play dough for grown ups!
I chose to make beads which probably was not the simple  task I had assumed but was very satisfiying.
I created a range of pastel colours which I then rolled into beads and made holes though them. I left them overnight to dry and by morning they were quite firm but not hard - they had a gentle squish to them. I wasn't sure whether this was what I should have so left them another day but indeed the gentle very slightly soft finish was  right. I decided to give them a satin glaze which has sealed the surface. Then I strung them onto beading thread with silver toned spacers. The result is an ultra light fun necklace for summer.

close up of the paper clay beads

the finished necklace

TRUE BLUE

I have been struggling to produce a really true Santorini blue with my UTEE jewel enamel and the melt pot. I have created some lovely teals and greens and turquoise but that wonderful deep blue has been quite illusive.

However I have discovered alcohol inks which give a wonderful clear colour and so I set up some experiments to find that blue.
As I was starting with clear base which can go amber after a while when heating I decided to use small amounts which can be quite tricky so rather than use the whole melt pot I used small foil pie trays with different amounts of ink in each

It didn't take too long for the UTEE to begin to melt

and it was easy to top up and dilute the deep blue

I used a range of silver bezels to create some great shapes

Once cooled the UTEE will easily pop out of the bezel which can be used again

this one is made in the large hearts bezel with a portion of texture added while still warm

I also poured onto texture mats and cut some discs for pendants

I then created a bright fuchsia pink

and a deep ruby red

Using the pie trays meant I could make very small amounts of colour and indulge in some colour mixing

Once everything was set I used gilding wax to highlight the textures

I am very happy with  these results.

The discs will be made into pendants on seed bead threading and the other shapes will have bails glued on.

watch this space for the results

More subtle shades of Jewel Enamel UTEE

I have had the melt pot out quite a bit recently experimenting with paler colours with a transparent or translucent finish.
I created some simple shapes and wanted to make them into something. I have created some buttons using a soldering iron to melt the holes although as yet all my experiments have not really done justice to the UTEE so I have done lots of taking part in the last week. You can't drill UTEE it is far too brittle so either melt a hole or glue on a bail unless you are a wireworker and you could wrap a piece.
I have also unearthed my seedbead spinner which I really enjoy using. I adore the range of colours seed beads come in and have been using them to thread onto rather than using a chain.
Today I had to be up very early and the light was great so I finished off the seedbead work and took some photos.

Copper feather pendant
this was created using clear in the melt pot and then a small amount of copper added
the mix was poured onto a texture tread and cut out
a mix of amber toned seedbeads completes the look

subtle shimmer purple puffy heart
this is a dusky mauve with a very subtle shimmer which gives an inner shiller type effect

Lilac feather texture pendant
again this is a texture pour finished with  double row of white, clear and lilac seed beads

the original faux sea glass pendant
this is the one that started my experiments.

These pieces are so lightweight they are perfect for summer jewellery

Faux Sea Glass Update

I have finished the large UTEE sea glass disc - finally deciding to make it into a pendant with sea beads and Tibetan style findings. I really like this subtle effect so will be looking for more ideas to use the technique

I have attached a large bail and used a mix of white, clear, silver and just a few

 deep green seed beads in three strands which I have gently twisted.

UTEE Jewel enamel tutorial - faux sea glass and more

I love the bright opaque colours that working with UTEE jewel enamel produces.
I like the swirls and mixes that you can get when you pour a mix of colours
BUT
I hadn't tried transparent colours and my one foray into pastels ended in disaster - the pink looked like body parts!!
So after being inspired by a picture in Pinterest of faux sea glass I thought I would do some experimenting.

I started with a melt pot of clear and added a tiny amount of Crafty Notions blue sapphire then gently stirred until it was all combined.
The colour was quite ethereal.
I have recently bought some Ranger texture treads so poured the melted UTEE onto a swirly part of the texture mat and then used a cutter to press down. I left it to set for about 3 or 4 minutes.
Once set but still warm I eased to excess off the cutter and gently prised the circle out of the mould.
The result was quite impressive

faux sea glass circe apporx 40mm diam.

The disc is very pale sea green and looks very much like sea glass. An extremely gentle heat polish brought out the gloss in the raised parts and emphasised the matte on the impressed parts. 

My next experiment was to re-melt the waste and make some more shapes.

faux sea glass shapes

as you can see the colour is darkening and becoming tinged with the amber that UTEE clear turns after quite a short time when heated.

I didn't want the yellow/amber tinge so thought about how could I melt just a small amount. The melt pot needs quite a bit so I improvised with disposable mini metal pie tins.

I added the clear powder to the pie tin and put it into the melt pot. It melted quite quickly and then I added a small amount of purple then poured onto a texture mat.

I had only made about 2 tablespoons of mix which was just enough for a disc.

I kept the waste for re-melting

I then did the same method for a red/coral colour and a copper colour. Once could I added  a little mica powder to accent the impressions

translucnet shapes approx 30mm diam

the result is subtle and very different from my usual pieces.

I had a small amount of the excess from each piece left and wondered how well it would re-melt.

I tried the lilac colour first and poured two of my tiny charm moulds which gave me an idea.

I used the remaining coral which had begun to go quite orange, then created a rich red followed by a deep blue-green and a bright yellow.

All colours were on a clear base so quite translucent and jewel like.

Once set I heat glossed them and added them to a charm bracelet

they look almost like sweeties

Pink Bead Soup

A couple of weeks ago I bought a mixed scoop of glass beads from a friend. The colour was lovely and after a play with them, sorting and mixing again....any jewellery maker will recognise that experience... eventually I began to think about how to use them.

I had made a mould for using with UTEE, small hearts which would be super as charms. So I mixed up a batch of glossy black and poured a set of black hearts which I then embellished with black glitter. There was enough left over to pour a heart pendant too.

I made a simple two by one chain for a charm bracelet and then went on a hunt for headpins with a fancy end for the extra large holes in some of the beads. A quick trip to Purple Butterfly Crafts in Hawarden fixed me up with some black vintage looking headpins. Then I began to create the bracelet...a real joy....the only problem was choosing from all the beads.

Once the bracelet was completed I turned my thoughts to a necklace.
I wanted to make a focal charm portion using three large twisted ovals but didn't want it to be too heavy so experimented with a partial charm section on wire...didn't like that effect at all...on beading thread...nope.....on chain......hmmmmm close but not quite what I was after. Eventually I settled on seed beads, a double row which would be good and strong to hold the charm portion.
A powerful magnetic clasp with a couple of pink mystic beads finished it off.

Finally a couple of pairs of earrings... black for a chic look and white glass hearts for a lighter daytime look.

Am pleased with this result...a bit of a departure for me.