Pearl's Designs

Showing posts with label Pearl's Designs. Show all posts

Show and Tell : Custom Book Club Decoupage Earrings!

I enjoy making decoupage laser cut wood jewelry using origami paper so much so I shared the tutorials on how to make them. One tutorial is for using laser cut wood blanks. The other makes use of a laser cutter to speed up this process.

I had put some of those designs for sale on my CraftaGems shop and sold some. Then came along, Kari who asked if I could do a custom order for her book club members. What a fantastic memento! So I naturally said yes.

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How to Make Nail Polish, Wire and Resin Flower Earrings | Video Tutorial

I first wrote this tutorial way back when I started to see nail polish enamel based jewelry designs. While they were so pretty, they were not really durable. The nail polish coat is very thin and fragile. So I made mine but added resin for a strong and durable result, not to mention lightweight as well!
I have since updated the tutorial to video format as shown in my recent Youtube post. This continues the blast from the past series as I add popular tutorials from my blog as well as introducing brand new ones.

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Review : Wire Crochet Triangle Earrings Tutorial Uses a Yoola Design Frame

Remember the wire crochet leaf frame or loom I received from Yoola Design and made these lovely leaf earrings? I loved those so much, I was thrilled when I received Yael's polygon loom or frame set. They are designed to make wire crochet triangles for either jewelry or other home decor projects. Yael calls this method of crochet invisible spool knitting (ISK) - you use a crochet hook but the stitches look like they are knitting.
I tried out the smallest triangle for some funky earrings. I also made a video tutorial (see below) but I will cover some of the key points here if you would rather a quick overview to get started.

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Easy Decoupage Wood Earrings Tutorial | My First Voiced Tutorial

It's been a while since I last wrote about decoupage wood jewelry - see this past post, Easy Decoupage Pendant Tutorial Using Rectangular and Other Wood Shapes. This time around, I wanted to demonstrate how to use furniture repair markers together with Mod Podge and origami paper for earrings. Easy peasy but note, there is one other way to make it even easier - and that is with a laser cutter. I will leave that for another time.

I find that tear-drop wood blanks tend to be rather large so this mini-tutorial also shows how the same technique can be used for small teardrop earrings. The small blanks are available here.

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs tips and tricks tutorial

How to Make Printed Wood Jewelry Using Nail Foil

Susan of TurtleSoupBeads is an excellent polymer clay instructor on her youtube channel. Sometime ago, I shared her awesome tutorial on how to transfer nail foil prints onto polymer clay.

That got me thinking about doing the same but for my laser cut wood pieces - I make them in all different shapes. Her idea does definitely work for wood as you will see from my experimentation below.

beading gem designs Pearl's Designs recycled jewelry resin tips and tricks tutorial

Resin Jewelry Designs Using Alcohol Inks and Upcycled Aluminum Cans | Tips and Tricks

Anyone who creates tutorials to share knows it takes a long, long time. This one though, is the longest I have ever spent in the creation and preparation. Off and on for two months! Not everything worked out as you will soon see.

The first idea I had was to embed cut out motifs from aluminum cans. I covered how to safely do the cutting in my past tutorial - How to Make Upcycled Flower Earrings from Aluminum Soda Cans. It's best to flatten the can as much as possible.

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs supplies and displays tips and tricks tutorial

How to Make Your Own Beeswax Thread Conditioner

You need to tame threads if you hand sew, quilt, embroider, tailor, bead weave and so on. Beeswax has been used as a thread conditioner for a long time to make sewing easier.

Ready made thread conditioner can be bought but you can easily make your own at home! Perhaps make extra as gifts for your crafty friends and relatives.

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Wishing You All Love Peace and Joy for the Holidays!

This is the time of year when I pause and reflect and also to wish you all Happy Holidays - no matter what you celebrate. Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Krampusnacht, and a whole host of festivities which make December and the coming new year celebrations special.

beadinggem designs Etsy Pearl's Designs supplies and displays tips and tricks tutorial

Shadow Box Style Wood Diffuser Pendants for Essential Oils

People do use unsealed and thus porous polymer clay, lava beads and wood as a diffuser material for essential oils. Some of you may remember my little test on a simple elasticated lava and gemstone bracelet I made. The scent lasted several days if you added more than one drop onto each lava bead.

I wondered if there was a way of making the scent last longer on wood?

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs recycled jewelry tips and tricks tools tutorial

How to Make Upcycled Flower Earrings from Aluminum Soda Cans | Paper Punches and Templates

Long time blog readers might remember my tutorial on how to make flower earrings from recycled soda cans. That was ten years ago! Time to update it. I previously used an aluminum disc as the base. So in the spirit of upcycling as much as possible from cans, I am revisiting the tutorial.

This tutorial uses ordinary paper punches. I will also include the alternative cutting tools and techniques you can use.

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs tips and tricks tutorial

Flame Cut Paper Napkin Decoupage on Wood Tutorial

Reader and friend, Aims of Big Blue Barn Designs, sent me this idea for flame cutting decoupage napkin paper on wood. She thought it was suitable for many of my laser cut wood blanks. But little did she know, the little pyromaniac in me would have a fun time with it.

The video she sent shows Debbie of Studio MD demonstrating how she burns very thin paper to speed up the decoupage process of her intricate craft wood project. Trying to cut out so many curves in a larger item is a pain, hence the lighter! I chuckled at her delightful and astonished expression when she saw how well it works.

beadinggem designs Etsy Pearl's Designs resin tutorial

How to Make Complex Real Flower Resin Cabochons and Pendants | Plant Suggestions

I knew early on I would never enjoy field work so I never did any in my entire scientific career - samples always came to the laboratory for analysis! That's because the mandatory one week ecological field trip I endured in the UK during my first year at university was definitely not my cup of tea.

Imagine this tropical island- bred, international student, crouched miserably on a wet British spring day trying to count the tiny barnacles within a grid on a seaside rock. Or the terrible case of hay fever after a day on the marram grass covered sand dunes. Or the hours spent in a damp woodland looking for the elusive and very small British bee orchid.

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs resin tutorial video tutorial

How to Make Real Flower Resin Cabochons | Comparison of Cat Silica Crystal Litter vs Commercial Silica Gel for Drying Flowers and Leaves

It's dandelion season! Only die hard real flower resin jewelry makers rejoice at this time. My northern garden is also blooming away. So it is time to make some real flower resin cabochons.

I've covered the basics before - see this past post on How to Make Real Flower Resin Jewelry. But there is always more to learn and I was up to do a few more experiments which I will share with you. The goal for this tutorial is to show how to encase the kind of flowers which suit round and deeper cabochon molds.

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How to Make Resin Jewelry Dishes with Faux Gold Leaf Flakes

I've long admired the polymer clay jewelry dish tutorials (see links below). But you can also make lovely resin jewelry dishes too! With resin, there is no need for multiple coats of varnish.

These dishes or small bowls are handy in the bathroom as they keep rings safe while washing hands. Or they could be used as temporary storage on the dressing table.

beadinggem designs metal work Pearl's Designs tutorial

Easy Riveted Stampings Jewelry Tutorial

I confess I am not really much of a metal worker. My bench pin is almost as pristine as the day it arrived in my studio. However, riveting which is a cold connection technique, is my favorite in the metalsmith's canon. No torch, just some fun hammering away!

This tutorial uses stamping blanks as the foundation. I used a couple of vintage approximately 24 G aluminium stamping blank shapes which I have in my store. They are vintage because I bought them over 10 years ago from a UK supplier which was closed and clearing out supplies from the 1980's - 1990's, perhaps even before then.

beadinggem designs laser cut Pearl's Designs

Advantages of Wood Jewelry and Its Growing Popularity

Wooden beads have been used for centuries. But this natural material is not strongly associated with jewelry. However, there is now a growing popularity for wood jewelry especially laser cut wood designs.

There are distinct advantages to wood jewelry. They are very light to wear. So statement wood jewelry is possible especially big and bold earrings. They can easily be stained or colored. Either alone or coupled with other organic material like leather and real flowers, they reduce the use of materials which can be destructive to the environment and exploitative (see National Geographic's The Real Price of Gold).

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How to Make Macrame Wood Earrings Using Palomar Knots

Hah. You thought you saw the last of palomar knots after I wrote about using them for gemstone donuts and for making real flower resin bookmarks? Well, I laser cut some macrame wood blanks and lo and behold, I wanted a secure knot that was quick to do and didn't need glue! So naturally I used the palomar knot.

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs recycled jewelry resin tutorial

How to Make Recycled Computer Key Resin Jewelry Tutorial

A laptop computer died in my household. So I retrieved the keys and turned them into jewelry! This recycled computer key resin jewelry tutorial is not hard to do. I will share some tips and ideas with you along the way so you can do the same!

This recycling idea is not new as you can see from the various designs on Etsy!

beadinggem designs Pearl's Designs resin tutorial

Real Flower Resin Bangle Tutorial | Tips and Tricks

June is the perfect time of year to start collecting and preparing flowers, leaves and grasses for resin jewelry making! Everything is blooming. So I went about making my first real flower resin bangles. I learned quite a bit along the way. Here is how I did it.

Almost all of what I used come from my own garden. Some gatherings were common weeds like dandelions! Even if you don't have a garden, planters on apartment balconies are a great source of material. You just need to plant the right flowers.

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Circular Brick Stitch Wood Ring Tutorials and Inspirations | For Beaded Mandalas, Tassels and as Connectors

I have long admired circular brick stitched designs. These are typically created with metal rings as the foundation. But since I am able to cut wood rings, I thought they would make lightweight versions.

The added advantage of wood is the natural color. You can also change the color to suit color palettes by simply staining or painting the wood. See my tutorial on How to Sand, Stain, Paint and Seal Laser Cut Wood Jewelry Designs.