Craft Fantastic Blog: December 2015

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christmas Greetings!

Christmas greetings from our

Craft Fantastic family to yours.

We hope your holidays are filled

with love and merriment!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

2015 is quickly coming to a close, but there is time for one more blog project before we usher in the New Year. I wanted something fun and festive to wear for the holidays and immediately visions of candy canes and peppermint popped into my head. Go figure that I would immediately turn to candy as my inspiration. Good thing I wasn't inspired by a glazed ham! LOL!

I dug deep into my bag of crafty tricks and pulled out one of my favorite tools. Yes, you guessed it. Some day I hope someone will ask me what medium I prefer to work in just so I can reply with "Nail Polish"!

Let's get started...

What You'll Need

Craft Fantastic Retro Square Bracelet Kit in Black

Fantastic Jeweler's Dots

Assorted Nail Polish - I used bright red, white, and a couple of silvery metallics polishes, plus a top coat.

Pencils with Erasers

Flat Topped Tac Pins

Water Cup

Heavy Coffee Mug

Pin

Gather your supplies. Oops! I forgot the bracelet in this photo.

Press the flat topped tack pins into the eraser tops on the pencils, then stack 2 Jeweler's Dots on top. Press the flat side of a small glass square on top of the Jeweler's Dot. The 2 dots will be strong enough to keep the glass piece in place and act as a "dipper". Need more info regarding this "dipper" technique? Check out my blog post here. Next, paint the top of the glass with 3 coats of the white polish. Set the dipper in the mug and let it dry.

Fill the designated water cup with water, then drip several drops of the red polish into it followed by the metallic polishes. Drag the pin lightly through the polish to create a bit of a swirl pattern. Don't mix it too much. The polish forms a skin on top of the water and you don't want to risk dragging the skin completely off the top of the water with the pin.

Drag one of the dippers with a painted glass square on it through the nail polish. When you lift it out of the water, you'll see a beautiful marbled design on it. The best part about this process is that each time you dip one of the glass pieces in the polish you will get different results.

Set your completed masterpieces in the mug and let them dry.

Finish the glass pieces with a shiny top coat. I like to use a quick dry formula.

I placed a Jeweler's Dot in each tray of my bracelet and then topped each tray with one of my candy inspired glass pieces.

I LOVE how this turned out! Each square is different and gives the bracelet a unique appearance from each angle.

Here it is from a different view.

This was certainly fun and very quick! The longest part of this process was the drying times between the coats of polish. I would say that all in all, this bracelet took me 3 hours to complete, drying time included. Give this one a try and whip up something festive for yourself or a friend! They will love it!

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See you next time!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

6 Last Minute Christmas Projects!

It's 5:00pm on December 23rd and you hear an unexpected knock on your door. Who could it be? A quick peak through the peephole reveals it's Aunt Beatrice with her rosy cheeks, dimpled grin and one of her famous fruitcakes in tow. Oh, no! Aunt Beatrice wasn't on your shopping list! You don't even have a Christmas card for her! What to do???!!! The panic starts to build, but then you remember. You have handmade Craft Fantastic jewelry pieces already made and packaged for giving. Phew! You regain your composure, open the door and give Aunt Beatrice a big hug and a warm smile. Crisis averted.

Don't you love a story that turns out well in the end? Me, too! Here are six quick and easy last minute Craft Fantastic projects you can whip up in no time. Keep them on hand to share with unexpected guests, forgotten Christmas List recipients, and that fabulous party hostess who throws the swankiest soirées. You never dreamed you'd score an invite to her Holiday Extravaganza, but you did. Congratulations.

These are so easy and only one of these projects requires a jump ring. The rest are as basic as applying an image to a glass cab, affixing it to a tray and then adding a finding of your choice to transform it into a ring, key chain, bracelet, pendant or earrings. These are sure to please and put a grateful smile on the lucky recipient's face.

Go forth and be a crafty hero. Happy Holidays!