How to: Faux Cabochons

Introduction:

This tutorial is just an easier way to create faux cabochons for your future jewelry projects. Purchasing glass cabochons in my opinion, is not only expensive at times, but a little nauseating when purchasing the wrong size online. 

 Using Casting Epoxy Resin You Can: seal your images for eternity, use this for any size setting, and create jewelry pieces in bulk inexpensively!

What you will need:

• Jewelry setting (I use a variety, but for this tutorial I used plastic cameo settings found on Etsy here.)
• Casting Resin (I used Easy Cast Clear Casting Epoxy.)
• Mod Podge
• Exacto Knife
• Small Paint Brush
• Scissors
• An Image

Step One.

The first step is to find an image, size it down, and print it. (On most printers you can easily do this in the Printer Settings >Page Setup.) Or you could paint directly onto the cameo!!! :) So many possibilities...

I used an image of one of my artworks.

Step Two.

Print your image. Cut it out with your scissors. But do not size down entirely just yet...

Step Three.

Instead of guessing what size you need to cut your image, start off by painting the middle of the cameo with a thin THIN layer of Mod Podge.

Step Four.

Now place your image over the cameo and FIRMLY push down on your image...

I enjoy odd compositions so I decided to focus on this part the piece.

As your press down the Mod Podge keeps the image in place and creates a visible outline where the center of the cameo will be. This outline will act as an easy guide to show you where you need to cut with your exacto knife.

Now proceed to cutting around your image. Carefully tearing the excess paper away from the cameo.

Step Five.

This is the most important part of the project. 

If you skip it, the printer ink will bleed and ruin the whole brooch.

After you have carefully extracted the excess paper from the cameo, your next step will be to seal it start sealing your image.

• With your CLEAR ACRYLIC SPRAY PAINT, spray your cameo LIGHTLY from at least one foot away from the cameo. Do not use it at close range or continuously spray it. This will cause the ink to bleed. Let it dry. Then Spray again.

• After the clear acrylic spray paint has completely dried. Use a small paint brush and paint a THIN layer of Mod Podge over your image. Wait for the Mod Podge to completely dry, then repeat the process again.

Step Six.

Wait for the cameo to completely dry before moving onto the next step.

Step Seven.

Now it is time to seal the cameo forever with EASY CAST CLEAR CASTING EPOXY.

Measure out both equal parts of the resin and hardener. I used less than a teaspoon for both.

MIX WELL.

If you mix this stuff really good, it will help eliminate bubbles that arise during the chemical process.

Step Eight.

Pour the resin onto your image.

WATCH YOUR RESIN.

It should spread out by itself slowly, so make sure you do not use a lot or it could seep out of the middle and onto the framed areas. 

Step Nine.

If the resin is set correctly it should look like it is slightly bulging outward, convex.

During this time bubbles will rise to the top and pop, nothing to fret over in the beginning.

It usually takes 24 hours to cure so now it is time for the waiting game.

Fin.

After the resin has cured YOU ARE FINALLY FINISHED!!!

Now you can wear any piece of art!!!

Misc. Examples:

You Can Never Have Too Many Brooches

Handmade Brooch

I love collecting brooches...but making my own is a whole other story. This brooch is made from wood with one of my drawings transferred to it surrounded by lace. I have grown very fond of this and decided to put one up on Etsy for someone else to adore.

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer! The heat here is exhausting me!

A Creator Needs Only One Enthusiast to Justify Him

Pretend Photographer

"Pretend Photographer," I like that title. I have always had a hidden interest for portrait photography but never got around to pursuing it. The photos above are self-taken, which is kind hard to do but the outcome tends to have such  interesting composition, just the way I like it. In high school my art teacher literally hated when we put our subject in the center of the paper she said "it is boring composition," and she is right. You see, the second photo is off-centered and cut off a bit but ended up very eye-catching. I like to think of myself as a pretend photographer because I have never jumped on this interest before, therefore it is fairly new.  I add many textures to my photos to make them the way I like them, usually with an antique, grungy, worn out, water stained look. I have a film SLR camera but never use it. I take all of my photos with an ordinary digital camera and distort them to fool others. When it comes down to it, these photos were only taken to showcase what I can do and hopefully send local models my way...decided to post these on my blog to share with you some of my hidden passion.

Hopefully...you like?

When you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls!

This has to be my favorite photograph from a session with Ben Rains. I was really awkward at this shoot...not even going to lie about that. Sometimes...nervousness gets ahold of me and I act weird. Shucks. <3

Visit:

Ben's Blog

Ben's Flickr

Doll.

Dolls.

 Though I never got into them when I was younger I have always loved the way they looked, innocent and absolutely lovely. Dolls have been present in the earliest civilizations, in fact they are the oldest of toys to be found. First discovered inside Egyptian tombs around 2000 BCE. They have also been found in Greece and Rome and it was common to find them in the children's graves. Most were made of wood. Dolls with movable limbs and removable clothing date back to 200 BCE...

So speaking of dolls, a sort of peculiar interest to me sparked up in my life. I like paper dolls. Old and New. Though I don't put really them together, I do however admire the artwork and the diversity presented in each one. I even framed the ones I received from Mab Graves.

Sadly, I could not find many sources for these images but the few labeled ones actually have Etsy stores.

1. Mab Graves

2&3. Wool and Water

Paper Doll Links:

Fuck Yeah Paper Dolls

Vintage Paper Doll

Paper Doll Central

:)

Yeah, So...

 RIP Corkbutt

Handmade Belt

For a long time I have been really obsessed with belts, especially those with pyramid studs. I have fed this obsession by buying belt after belt after belt after belt, even though they all looked the same I still bought them. Now that I have so many I can't find any interesting ones that would be worth getting because I basically already have them all. I wanted a floral one and I kept googling and I could never find one. So I though about just making one in hopes I would figure it out.

First off I drew up what I wanted because I work well when I have a visual of something first.

Then I shopped around at Hobby Lobby for the most desirable fabric to use and I was excited when I found what I wanted. I ordered a few belts off the internet because even with shipping, it is still a hell of a lot cheaper than a store bought belt. I even bought the pyramid studs off the internet, because just as I had imagined, the studs in the belt that I bought were of shitty plastic.

Getting rid of the crappy plastic studs

I spray painted the metal studs I had bought, I used two different colors to achieve the vintage, old-feel I was going for. I was really thrilled when they came out exactly how I wanted them too.

Putting fabric on and sewing it to the belt was the easy part, re-assembling all the parts I took out of it was the first hard part I had went though. I had to figure out how to actually get things to stay and be permanent so they wouldn't fall out later on.

Putting the metal studs in the old holes of the belt was the hardest part and actually took a long time, it is too hard to get the studs to stay straight and fit exactly right.

I am satisfied that my first belt turned out the way it did, I hope to make a lot of improvements on my next one.

The next one I am making is a rabbit belt. It is kind of wonderland inspired I suppose, I will post it as soon as I am done. I'm currently figuring out how to make a lot of different things that I can not find on the internet or anywhere else.

I have entered an art show literally called Recycled Art Show. I plan on entering a 2-d project. My idea is just making a collage using paper bags, but I will be using paint over them...just so I can have something actually recycled being used in my work.

Plastic bags are ruining our environment, I literally fucking hate them. If you want you can search anything about plastic bags and find all sorts of negative results.

I have drawn up what I want my collage to be of, and I have taken an approach toward Ocean Wildlife as a result from watching The Cove in my English class. I hope to have a very controversial piece in the show because I plan on making it a bit on the gore side.