{Art} Wooden Tile Jewelry DIY

Does it annoy you when you ask someone for a recipe, only to be told that it's "a secret," and if they told you, they'd "have to kill you"?

Yeah, me too. If you've got a good thing going, why not share it?

I feel the same about art and craft techniques. Because each person brings his or her own unique style to the table, it doesn't really matter if they're using the same technique as I am, because it's still going to be different. That's the beauty of art....

One of my lovely readers (Hi, Stella!) recently contacted me and asked if I would give her the scoop on how I make the necklaces, pins, and magnets featuring my artwork that I carry in my Etsy Shop. Since she's not the first to request this info, I thought I'd share a little tutorial here for all of my readers. Please just be sure to use images to which YOU own the copyright - don't use someone else's artwork or photography to make your pendant... It's illegal, and it's tacky. Be original (and legal)!

Okay, so let's get started!

Supplies You Will Need:

• Small wooden tiles - round, rectangular, square: choose the shape and size that will suit your image best.
• Sand paper - if you're buying pre-cut tiles, they are usually smooth enough to use without sanding. However, if you wind up cutting your tiles to size from small craft boards (available at craft stores - I've used basswood strips from Hobby Lobby before), you'll need to give them a good sanding.
• Fine grade steel wool - if any of the clear layers get "bubbles" in them, let them dry, and then use this to lightly sand the bubbles out. Add another clear coat on top to bring back the shine.
• 2 flat paint brushes (Designate one for the black paint and one for the clear coat. It's best to get a new brush for the clear coat, and only use it for clear coats. If there is any paint dried in the brush, it will flake out into your clear coat and cause you a lot of frustrations!)
• Black acrylic paint or whatever color you want the back and sides of the tiles to be. I use black for most of mine, but I've also used dark brown.
• Mod Podge - "Hard Coat" is my favorite, but any should work since you're covering it with...
• Some type of super thick, crystal clear varnish or epoxy for the top coat. I use "Triple Thick" by DecoArt. Some people use a product called "Liquid Glass." Whatever you use, make sure it's safe for jewelry/wearing on skin.
• High quality printed images featuring your original work sized to fit your tiles. (Please be aware that copyright laws DO apply here - don't use someone else's work for your project without permission - including mine. :o) Thanks!) I make my own prints with my Canon Pro9000 printer on Epsom Ultra Premium Presentation Paper (Matte). I do my editing and resizing in Photoshop. You can use artwork or photographs - Moms/Grandmas LOVE when you make these featuring photos of their kids/grand kids!
• Sharp scissors, a paper cutter, or punches to cut out images (punches are especially handy for round images - they give you a perfect circle, which is very difficult to hand cut with scissors).
• Jewelry glue
• Metal bails, chains or supplies to make your own cords, glue-on pin backs, magnets, etc., depending on what you're going to be making.

OK, the first order of business is to size your images to fit your tiles. Print them, let the ink dry, then cut them out carefully. Make sure that they fit on the tiles exactly, without overlapping the edges.

Paint your (smoothly sanded) tiles with black acrylic paint, and let them dry.

After the paint is thoroughly dry, use the Mod Podge to decoupage the images onto the tops of the tiles. Paint a layer directly onto the wood, then immediately place the paper on top and add a coat on top of the paper. Be sure to take some of the Mod Podge down the sides of the tile. Let this dry thoroughly, then coat the back and sides (again on the sides) with Mod Podge, so that the entire tile has been coated once, with the layers overlapping on the sides. Let this dry.

At this point, I usually add a little initial "signature" on the back of the tile with gold acrylic ink, but it's not necessary.

Now is a good time to give the image side a quick little rub down with the steel wool. This smooths out any brush marks and/or bubbles and creates a smooth surface for your top coat.

Next, you're going to coat the back and sides of the tile with the clear top coat (Triple Thick). Let this dry thoroughly. Flip the tile over, then add a coat of the Triple Thick to the top (image side) of the tile, and allow it to overlap the first coat a bit on the sides. Let it dry.

If any bubbles have formed over the image, use the steel wool again to smooth them out.

Repeat the clear top coat at least once more, making sure to let each side dry completely before flipping the tile. Be sure to cover the sides of the tile as well as the top and bottom. Add as many coats as you like, depending on how "thick" you want it to look. I usually do 2 coats.

Once the final clear coat has dried, you can turn your tile into something! I make a lot of necklaces, so I use jewelry glue (kind of like super glue) to adhere metal bails onto the backs of the tiles, then I make satin cords with clasps to serve as the necklace part. I also have turned tiles into pretty magnets or brooches by gluing round magnets or pin backs onto the backs of the tiles.

You can get creative here and try all sorts of things: pins, magnets, necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, ornaments, push pins, etc.

After I glue the findings onto the wooden tile, I usually do a "touch up coat" of the Triple Thick to finish it off. Sometimes the jewelry glue creates a cloudy haze around the metal finding, and adding another layer of the Triple Thick in that area will get rid of that and make it look shiny and polished all over.

The clear coat needs to cure for a few days before you do much with it - I usually suspend the necklaces by the cords to let the air circulate around the pendants. You just don't want to let them be touching anything until the top coat cures and hardens, or it can leave dents in the clear coat or get stuck to something. 

 

My studio always looks pretty crazy when it's "jewelry-making time"! I use dowel rods, yard sticks, and curtain rods wedged under heavy items on my shelves to create hanging space for curing large batches of jewelry. Be sure to leave a little space between each tile. I usually let them hang up for at least 3-4 days before packaging or wearing them.

 

Well, that's it! I hope I've covered everything clearly here and that you've found this helpful. If you decide to try making one of these yourself, I'd love to see photos of your finished project! Feel free to ask if you have any questions - you can use the comment form below, or e-mail me.

 

Happy Crafting!

 

Linking up on Friday at:

 

Amazing Grace in Progress

Hey there.
I've often been asked how I create the hymn collages. Yesterday, I showed you the final version of my latest piece, "Amazing Grace." Today, I'd like to show you a step-by-step slide show of how one of these comes together....

The first thing I do is come up with an idea, which then becomes a sketch. Once I'm happy with it, I outline the main lines with a sharpie. As you can see, I draw a grid over top of my sketch. This is to carry on the "quilt" theme that I've been using on all of my other hymn collages.

The Sharpie lines make it easier for me to transfer the sketch onto my watercolor paper. I use Arches 140lb CP paper... I usually just hold mine against a window to transfer it (lightly, with a pencil), but you could use a light box if you have one.

Then I pull out my box of ephemera and my collection of scrapbook and handmade papers... I find bits that go along with the color scheme I have in mind, and narrow down the collection until I find the combination I like. My little studio usually looks like a bomb just exploded in a paper factory during this part of the process...

At some point during all of this, I hop onto my computer to work up a background in Photoshop. I either scan an old hymnal page or download an image from the web, then I manipulate it and create a bunch of layers of the sheet music for the background. I suppose if you had access to a bunch of old hymnals or sheet music, you could cut them up and and collage them individually.... but the thought of cutting up books makes my eye start to twitch....

So, back to the watercolor paper.... Once I've cut out my ephemera, I glue it into place with this fantastic product called "Yes! Paste." Good stuff.... it doesn't cause the paper to bubble up like some adhesives do.

Next, I pull out my watercolor palette and mix up some colors. Then I start to fill in the squares of the grid. I try to make each one distinct so as to keep the quilt pattern clearly defined, but I also try to make is so that the whole picture is cohesive-looking, if that makes sense...

Sometimes I'll paint a bit on top of the ephemera if I need to... For instance, I painted shadows over the "tomb" section above in order to create the illusion of the door opening. I also added some mottled shading and mossy looking splotches in order to make it look like mossy stone.

Above is a little glimpse of my palette and my crowded desk...

 Once I get the squares filled in, I start working on the details.

I add shading here and there, and beef up some of the colors/vibrancy with more washes...

If you're wondering how to achieve that speckled look that you see in the green grass and the golden colored patches in the road and on and outside the wall, you sprinkle table salt onto the paint just before the shiny-wetness disappears. As it finishes drying, the salt crystals soak up some of the pigment and leave the mottled starry pattern behind. Once the paper has completely dried, you can gently scrape the dried salt crystals off with a stiff piece of plastic - an old credit card works perfectly.

I continued filling in the details - painting in the clothing, the ropes on the burden, etc. 

My final step in the painting part was simply going back into certain areas and defining them more - creating "stones" within the wall, shadows here and there, beefing up the color and vibrancy in some areas, etc.

Once the painting was completed, I carefully cut out around the top part of the image. After doing a wash to create "mountains" and a sun on the music paper, I glued the watercolor paper down with more of the Yes! Paste. Once the glue was dry, I took my pen and ink and sketched in some outlines to define the main elements...

After that dried, I decided that I didn't like the sun just sitting up there like an orange in the sky, so I decided to go back in with my watercolors and add some sun rays.... I then took some acrylic gold paint and dry brushed lightly over the sun rays, the sun, the cross, and some "highlight" areas on the road and his hair to give it a little sparkle. I also gave him some gold belt buckles with the acrylic ink.

So, there you have it.... I hope you enjoyed the little journey. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them!

As I said yesterday, I will be introducing prints and jewelry featuring this piece at the art show I'm doing next weekend (E-mail me for more info on the show). After that, I will have them available in my Etsy shop! So be sure to either come by the show or check back the following week for the shop update. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up with Jennifer at:

New Uses for Old Things: Jello

Alternate Title: Undoubtedly the longest post about not eating jello in the history of blogging....

I am not a jello fan. There is just something not right about it.... I don't like eating anything that bounces back in my mouth.

However, thanks to a friend of mine, I discovered a new use for jello last week - no eating required! I went way out in the woods to my friend's lovely home, and we made gelatin monotype prints.

"What are gelatin monotype prints," you may ask.

Well, I'll tell you.

Or show you, rather.... (These instructions are by no means complete - if you'd like to try this, just google "gelatin monotype prints" to find instructional videos, books, websites, etc.)

You will need:

• Plain, unflavored gelatin (google for a recipe for gelatin monotype prints)
• Small rectangles of plexiglass
• Large piece of glass, an enamel tray, countertop, or anything that you can work on and don't mind getting a little paint on.
• Masking tape
• Brayer/Roller
• Printer's inks, fabric paint, or acrylic inks
• Paintbrushes, Stamps, Sponges - whatever you want to apply paint with
• Jar of water
• Print Making Paper
• A sharp knife
• Ruler

Basically, you take plain, unflavored gelatin, mix it up according to the directions, and pour it into cookie sheets - ours was about 1/2" thick. When it has set, you slice it into plates. Ours were about 4"x6".

Next, carefully place your gelatin plate on top of a small piece of plexiglass, which you have taped down to a non-moving, protected surface (like a large sheet of glass). You should tape it only along one edge, so that you can "lift" the plate to add/remove your reference sketch underneath. You'll also want to create a "frame" around the jello plate by adding a few layers of tape - this will help keep it from moving, and keep your image lined up correctly. (See image above.)

Prepare your sketch, then slip it underneath the plexiglass, so that it is centered under your gelatin plate. You should be able to see the image clearly through the gelatin and plexiglass. Now you're almost ready to roll!

Prepare your paper by dampening it slightly, then taping it along one side so that it can "flip" over onto the plate. If you'd like to do a "ghost print," add another piece of paper to be flipped from another side. Make sure you have the "right" side of the paper facing down onto the gelatin when it is flipped in place. Once they are securely taped, flip them out of the way for now....

First you'll want to do your background. You can use a brayer to mix a tiny amount of your background colors, then roll them gently onto the gelatin.

The inks we used were a combination of printer's acrylic inks, fabric paint, and acrylic "calligraphy" ink.

We used brayers, our fingers, even rubber stamps to create backgrounds...

Once you get your background colors painted onto the gelatin, carefully fold your "good" paper over onto the gelatin (making sure you pull it evenly for each "lift"), and smooth it onto the face of the gelatin with your fingers, the back of a wooden spoon, a small rolling pin, or any other smooth object. Do not press too hard. Once you have lifted with your first sheet, you can try lifting any remaining paint off with your "ghost" paper that you have folded off to another side.

Use a dampened sponge to carefully remove any lingering ink from the gelatin. You'll want to do this between each layer you add. You may also need to spray your papers with a light misting of water to keep the paper from sticking to the gelatin. Just be sure to blot the paper to remove any droplets, or it will cause your inks to run on your next lift.

Once you've done your background, you can begin working on your image. You have to work quickly or do different layers, because you have to pick up the inks before they dry.

Make sure you don't make your ink/paint too thick, or it will smoosh around and smear, making your image look muddy.

Here's my completed background for my first print.

Then I added some branches and leaves in the next layer...

And finally, I painted my birdie and transferred it to my paper!

Unfortunately, things went downhill after my first print...

As your gelatin and your inks begin to dry, it gets more and more challenging. I kept having trouble getting my inks to lift after the first print, and I had trouble keeping them from smearing too - too much ink.

As you can see, it makes quite a mess.... I was lucky enough to have a kind friend who prepared the gelatin and set all of this up for us, but I'm not sure I would go to all the trouble myself... especially when it is very difficult to get good results.... But it was a fun experience, and I learned something new. I think I will try some watercolor monotypes - no jello required- you use sanded & soaped plexiglass, and you can reactivate watercolors when they begin to dry out.... But that's another project for another day...

Until then, I'll leave you with a few of my favorites:

My first (and best) attempt.... It was all downhill from here...

My nod to the season. You can see that I used rubber stamps on the background on this one. He got smeared quite a bit, so I did a little salvaging and touching-up afterwards directly on the paper. I guess the print-making police will come and get me now...

My first attempt at doing one freehand - I didn't go by any sketch on this one, which makes it very difficult to line things up and add anything to your original painting. I like it (and didn't cheat on it, but I think the skep is too large and is competing with the "B" for space.... So I re-did it.

I like the layout of this better, but it got a little muddy looking, so I cheated and touched up this one too.

Oh, and by the way, if you do anything with letters - make sure you paint them backwards on your gelatin, or you will wind up with this:

Right before I packed up to leave, I decided to do a quick "J" for Josh to go with my "B" for Beth. And of course, he had to have cowboy boots on his....

Unfortunately, I got in such a hurry that I forgot you have to reverse the letter when you paint it. Whoops! Didn't have time to do another to correct the problem, but thank goodness for Photoshop!

Overall, it was a fun experience, and I had a good time learning this new medium with my friend. If you choose to give it a try, make sure you've got plenty of time, plenty of space, and plenty of patience!

Hope you're having a lovely week....

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The Secret's Out!

Well, I can finally show you one of my two latest "top secret" projects! I delivered the original this morning, and it has been given to the recipient for whom it was commissioned, so I can now share it with you! Here's the final piece....

This is a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy - isn't he a cutie? You can read more about the breed HERE. The friend who commissioned this piece asked if I would add the "in progress" pictures of this piece to my blog for the recipient to see, so below you can see the painting progress to its final finished state...

This was my reference photo from my client... from which I made my sketch...

 Once I got my sketch down from my reference photo, I transferred it to my watercolor paper...

I started work with laying in some of the background - leaves, texture on the ground, some pebbles...

Salt sprinkled over damp watercolors creates a nice "rock" texture...

Continuing with the background, deepening shadows, creating texture in the leaves, and starting to add in some of the soft browns on the face...

Deepening shadows, adding more "background" leaves, scumbling on the foreground,

 and starting to lay in some color on the paws...

Every doggy needs a nose!

On the reference photo, the background is so dark that parts of the puppy's dark fur blends in and gets lost in the shadows... So I lightened the foliage up a bit and added some highlights on the puppy's fur to make its shape stand out. (Incidentally, I saw one of these puppies at Petsmart the day after I finished this painting, and you wouldn't believe how soft their fur is! Wow! So cute and cuddly...)

I found the black part of his fur to be the most challenging - in the photo, it is so black and dark that you really can't see much detail and he gets a little lost in the foliage... So I tried to lighten it up a bit and add some "highlights" in order to suggest form and highlights, while keeping it dark enough to show the inky color of the real fur.

And finally, just touching up little details, deepening shadows, and finishing things off...

(Fueled by Cherry Herbal Dr. Enuf, the beverage of champions...)

Scratch in some little whiskers and highlights on the fur and leaves with an exacto knife, sign it,

 and - voilà- it's done!

I will have prints and cards of this little guy available soon on my website and on Etsy.

 Meanwhile, if you're interested in commissioning a portrait of your own furry friend, please contact me!

Thanks for being patient before the secret was out! I've got one more trick up my sleeve, but you will have to wait a while to see it! Meanwhile, I hope you have a lovely week...