When the Crystal Lacquer started to set up, I shook off the extra glitter, then added some “jewels” with the other Pen Style Applicators. Finally, I added some crystal clear glitter while the “jewels” were still wet.
Won’t this be fun for a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean to wear? Or for Barbie on a hunt for buried treasure?
I hope this will inspire you to transform plain objects into something special!
For the month of August, you can get 20% off your Sakura order with the coupon code aug08!
There are lots of silicone molds in the craft stores lately. Sakura Crystal Lacquer Pens are perfect for filling in tiny spaces in these intricate molds!
These molds are flexible, so make sure your mold is sitting on a flat surface when you pour. I set mine on an empty plastic package so I could move it after I filled it. The Sakura pens come in lots of colors, and there’s even an empty pen so you can mix your own colors with Terri Sproul Mixers! The tiny tip is perfect for filling in all the details in these little molds!
Here are my ornaments setting up:
I added some patina to a vintage brass locket with Vintaj Quartz and Onyx Patinas using a small paint brush. I added some of the Vintaj Onyx Patina to the fleur de lis. To give it a bit of an aged look, I rubbed it off of the high areas of the ornament, leaving it in the low areas.
I used clear Crystal Lacquer to adhere the fleur de lis to the locket. Then I sealed the entire outside of the piece with clear Crystal Lacquer, applying it with the small paintbrush. Then all I had to do was put it on a chain!
Now is a great time to try this project or one like it, because you can get 20% off your entire purchase at Sakura Hobby Craft for the month of August. Just enter aug08 at checkout!
The glass tiles are available in rectangular, square and circular shapes.
There are bezel cups to match. There are also bails you can glue right onto the glass tiles.
I made two pendants. They both use scrapbook paper. One is heavy cardstock paper from Graphic 45. The other is thin paper from Sandylion. They both worked well!
You could use almost any paper, and I think fabric would work fine, too. I think this would be great with a map featuring your hometown or some of your favorite text.
I sealed the images with Mod Podge.
You could trace the shape of the glass tile onto your paper and cut the paper to fit, but it’s really easy to just adhere the glass tile to the paper with Crystal Lacquer and then trim it when it starts to set up. Crystal Lacquer comes in a bottle with a small dispenser tip that is perfect for squeezing out small amounts. I lightly coated the back of my glass tiles with Crystal Lacquer. I didn’t spread the Crystal Lacquer all the way to the edges of the tiles, because it sort of gets squished out when you put it down on the paper. After coating the tiles, I placed them where I wanted them on the paper. The tile wants to slide around on the Crystal Lacquer, so you’ll want to hold it in place for a moment while it settles.
Once the Crystal Lacquer started to set up, I trimmed the paper with scissors.
Then I coated the back of the paper lightly with Crystal Lacquer and set the tiles down into the bezel cups. I used a wet paper towel to wipe away a little Crystal Lacquer that got squished out.
And that was it! All I had to do then was put the pendants on chains. Sakura offers ball chain in several finishes. I added a brass chain for the
brass finish bezel cup.
I live in a really dry place, and I could make these in the morning to wear the same evening, but in other places, you’ll want to let the Crystal Lacquer dry for at least a day or so.
Just think! You can make this pendant with absolutely any image you want! I hope you will try it. Now is the perfect time, because for the month of July, you can get 20% off your total purchase from Sakura by entering coupon code Summer07 at checkout!
The glass tiles are available in rectangle, square and circular shapes.
There are bezel cups to match. There are also bails you can glue right onto the glass tiles
I made two pendants.
One features a piece of paper I printed with my Gelli plate.
The other uses a Mad Hatter image from Graphic 45’s Hallowe’en in Wonderland Collection.
You could use almost any paper, and I think fabric would work fine, too. I think this would be great with a map featuring your hometown or some of your favorite text. You may want to seal the image with Mod Podge if you think it will run.
You could trace the shape of the glass tile onto your paper and cut the paper to fit, but it’s really easy to adhere the glass tile to the paper with Crystal Lacquer and then trim it when it starts to set up. Crystal Lacquer comes in a bottle with a small dispenser tip that is perfect for squeezing out small amounts. I lightly coated the back of my glass tiles with Crystal Lacquer. I didn’t spread the Crystal Lacquer all the way to the edges of the tiles, because it sort of gets squished out when you put it down on the paper. After coating the tiles, I placed them where I wanted them on the paper. The tile wants to slide around on the Crystal Lacquer, so you’ll want to hold it in place for a moment while it settles.
Once the Crystal Lacquer started to set up, I trimmed the paper with scissors.
Then I coated the back of the paper lightly with Crystal Lacquer and set the tiles down into the bezel cups. I used a wet paper towel to wipe away a little Crystal Lacquer that got squished out.
And that was it! All I had to do then was put the pendants on chains. Sakura offers ball chain in several finishes. I used some chain I had on hand.
Wouldn't this be a great favor at an Alice in Wonderland party? You could use a different character for each guest!
I live in a really dry place, and I could make these in the morning to wear the same evening, but in other places, you’ll want to let the Crystal Lacquer dry for at least a day or so.
Just think! You can make this pendant with absolutely any image you want! I hope you will try it. Now is the perfect time, because for the month of July, you can get 20% off your total purchase from Sakura by entering coupon code Summer07 at checkout!
The heart on this fabric cuff was made from Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers in Green Pearl. You can get 20% off your total purchase at Sakura Hobby Craft for the entire month of June by entering coupon code Crystal06 when you check out!
Here’s how I make the Crystal Lacquer “film.” I save the packages from wafer thin dies. They are perfect for this because they have a little bit of a lip that holds in the Crystal Lacquer. I pour a little Crystal Lacquer into the plastic container, add Terri Sproul Mixers and stir. When this hardens, you can cut any shape you want. Once you trim the edges off, you can put the film through a diecut machine.
I chose my die and then used it to cut a template of white paper. Then I used the template to cut a piece of my Crystal Lacquer film.
This allows me to use the smallest possible piece of whatever I am diecutting.
When I am cutting a small piece on a large black plate, it’s hard for me to see where to put the material I’m cutting. So I placed the template on top of the die in the exact place it was cut from, and that told me where to place my Crystal Lacquer film.
I used an awl to make holes in the heart, so I could sew it onto my cuff like a button.
I tore a strip of canvas to use as the base for my cuff. I cut two pieces, each 8 ½ inches long. I wanted to turn under ½ inch on each end and I wanted a 7 ½ inch finished cuff.
I chose some materials to work with. I recently took a class in Gelli Plate printing, and I had some canvas pieces I wanted to use. They coordinated well with some gauze and seam binding I had dyed, and with some vintage buttons I just got.
The printed canvas wasn’t long enough to cover the entire cuff, so I cut a strip, centered it on the canvas and stitched it down.
I cut a piece of seam binding, put Fray Check on the ends and pinned it in place to make a loop closure. Then I cut a piece of the gauze. The gauze had crinkled itself up while it was drying, so I didn’t have to do anything to it to give it that gathered look. I decided to stitch down the seam binding before sewing all the layers together, so I turned the edges of the canvas under on the side with the loop and used a straight stitch to secure the seam binding. It turns out that fabric cuffs are sort of like other bulky bracelets in that you have to allow extra wearing ease. The cuff was going to be too tight for me this way, so I ended up not turning the other ends of the canvas under.
I assembled all the layers with a zigzag stitch, and I stitched all the way to the end of the unturned edge.
Then I sewed on my heart and my button:
And my cuff was finished!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
I had just made some “Crystal Lacquer film” for a project I had in mind when I saw Tammy Tutterow’s tutorial on making faux fused glass pendants with shrink plastic and Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE). It looked like fun, but I wanted to try it with my Crystal Lacquer film instead of shrink plastic, so I postponed the project-in-progress and used my “film” to make my own faux fused glass pendant.
Here’s how I make the Crystal Lacquer film. The base is the package from a set of metal dies. I pour in some Crystal Lacquer, add Terri Sproul Mixers and stir. The package has a little rim that holds in the Crystal Lacquer. These were made with Copper Penny and Green Pearl. When the Crystal Lacquer sets up, it is adhered to the plastic. You can cut it with scissors or in a diecutter.
I diecut some hearts.
Then I heated UTEE in a Melting Pot. A word of caution: The Embossing Enamel and parts of the Melting Pot get very hot!
I punched holes in my hearts and put a piece of thin wire through each hole. Using the wire as a handle, I dipped each heart into the melted UTEE. The Crystal Lacquer film became very flexible when heated, so it is better to have a nice deep reservoir of melted UTEE and make a quick dip. If you have to move the piece around in the UTEE for too long, it can become distorted (which might be a cool effect for some projects).
I set the hearts to cool on a heat-resistant nonstick sheet.
While you are dipping your pieces, you can scrape them against the edge of the Melting Pot to remove excess UTEE. I was trying to get a thick coating of UTEE and ended up with the UTEE dripping off my pieces. I trimmed it off with scissors while it was
still warm and smoothed out the edges by heating them with a heat gun. I removed the wires and cleaned out the holes with a small round file.
Then I made some jewelry! Here is one of the hearts with a brass charm on a chain:
And here is one with a brass charm on a memory wire choker with glass beads:
This process is easy and has so many possibilities! You can include embellishments or combine multiple pieces for more complex pendants!
Welcome to Sakura’s Fantasy Blog Hop! Our Design Team has been dreaming up new projects for you! When you get to the end of this post, just click on the Linky icon to visit all the participating blogs. You can enter to win two bottles of Crystal Lacquer by commenting on each designer’s project and then voting on your favorite in a comment on the Sakura Hobby Craft blog.
And for the month of May, you can save 20% off your total purchase by entering the code "Sakura05" at checkout!
My fantasy project is a set of Steampunk Fairy Wings. In the picture above, I fastened them to one of my handcrafted mannequins with a piece of my hand dyed seam binding (that’s my newest color). Here they are on their own:
Sakura's Crystal Lacquer made this project so simple! You don’t have to measure or mix it. You just apply it where you want it!
I started with a pair of fairy wings from a local flea market:
I cut away the fabric and chose only the top portions of the wings. I thought I would have to sand away the white finish, but once I started to sand, I saw that I could pretty easily peel the coating off.
I chose some metal gear embellishments and then colored the wings and some of the gears with Vintaj patinas. The gears came in two sizes, and I wanted some a little larger, so I cut a few out of metallic paper with the Spellbinders Sprightly Sprockets dies.
I chose the paper I wanted to use as a base, traced the wing frame onto the pages, and cut the wing shapes out. I decided to put gears on only on side, but I wanted something pretty for the other side.
I glued the paper wings together with Crystal Lacquer. I added a little distress ink to the edges of the "reverse" side and then coated both sides with more Crystal Lacquer. I adhered the clock side of the paper to the frame with a little more Crystal Lacquer.
I put the gears in place using more Crystal Lacquer as glue.
When that had set a little, I poured Crystal Lacquer into my frame, making sure it filled all the holes in the gears:
You can see the Crystal Lacquer ran outside the frame. That happened because the frame wasn’t perfectly flat; the lacquer followed the curve and ran out. But it was easy to fix! When the crystal Lacquer was set but not hard, I just cut the excess off with a pair of scissors.
The Crystal Lacquer is somewhat opaque while it is wet, but it dries perfectly clear:
To hold the wings together and allow them to move, I glued the wings to a metal hinge with Crystal Lacquer. Here’s the side that you see from the front of the mannequin:
And one more shot of the gear side:
The wings are about 8.5 inches tall. I wish they were big enough for me to wear!
I hope you will try making your own fairy wings! As always, I welcome any questions you may have!
Starshine Wishes,
Karen
P.S. Don’t forget to visit all the blogs in today’s hop. Just click on the Linky:
My second milk can project is a companion piece to my first ("Time Flies") and a tribute to one of my favorite movies, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Even if you’ve never watched this cult classic, you’ve probably heard parts of the soundtrack, including “Time Warp.”
Here’s the milk can without embellishment:
I love how Crystal Lacquer sticks to metal! I prepared my paper to cover my can. This is a vintage clock face on cardstock, stamped with my phrase in ColorBox Chalk Ink in Dark Brown and painted with 7 Gypsies Color Wash in Walnut Forest.
I coated the cylindrical portion of the can with Crystal Lacquer using a foam paint brush, put the paper in place, and coated the paper with more Crystal Lacquer. When the Crystal Lacquer was dry to the touch, I added another layer on top of the first.
I had these lovely doll parts that remind me of the friend who first took me to see Rocky Horror:
I sewed the arms to the handles on the sides with button thread. I punched holes in the can, matching the holes in the doll bust, then tied the doll head to the can with embroidery floss. I used Crystal Lacquer to glue the bottom of the can to the top of a vintage tin turned upside down:
Finally, I made my Time Warp Doll a watch face necklace:
I hope you will try making your own creations with Crystal Lacquer. During the month of May, you can get 20% off your total order at Sakura Hobby Craft. Now is the perfect time to try Crystal Lacquer and Sakura’s other great products! Just enter the code “Sakura05” at checkout.
Also, Sakura is hosting a blog hop on May 18th! The theme is “Fantasy” and Sakura’s Design Team is dreaming up amazing art to share with you on that day! There will be prizes, too! So be sure to check back here on May 18th!
I altered Sakura’s little milk can into a personalized
treasure tin using Sakura Crystal Lacquer, paper, burlap and ink.
Here’s the milk can:
I measured the can and cut my paper to fit.I have a stack of clock faces printed on
heavy paper.You could also use a stamp,
a printed graphic or patterned paper.
My paper did not fit all the way around the can, so I cut a
little extra piece.
I stamped my phrase on the paper with Colorbox Chalk Ink in
dark brown (“Tempus fugit,” or “Time flies”).
I colored the paper with 7 Gypsies Color Wash (pastel green)
and let it dry.
Crystal Lacquer is a great adhesive and it works on metal! I
coated the back of the paper with Crystal Lacquer.You could coat the can instead, but I felt
like I had better control this way.I
poured a little Crystal Lacquer onto a plastic container lid and used a foam
brush to apply it to the paper.Then I
placed the paper on the can.
After it felt dry, I applied a coat of Crystal Lacquer on
top of the paper.
I made the burlap wings from the Angel Wings die by
Sizzix.The wing was too big for my can,
so I cut one out of paper and trimmed it to use it as a template for trimming
the burlap ones.
I cut out the burlap wings and then trimmed then, using the
paper wing as a guide:
For tips on diecutting fabric, please visit my tutorial here.
Then I added a little distress ink to the edges of the wings
(vintage photo and rusty hinge):
I adhered the wings to the can with more Crystal
Lacquer.I put one on and let it dry
before I added the other.I put some
Crystal Lacquer on the can and some on the back of the top part of the wing,
then held the wing tightly to the can for a couple of minutes so the Crystal
Lacquer could set.Then I set the can on
its side with the wing up and let the Crystal Lacquer harden before adding the
second wing.
I added clock gears to the wings with more Crystal Lacquer
and stabilized the can so they wouldn’t fall off before the Crystal Lacquer hardened.I inserted a bottle into the can and then
used two full bottles to keep the bottle/can combination from rolling:
Once the gears were on securely, my treasure tin was ready!
Sakura is hosting a blog hop on May 18th!The theme is “Fantasy” and Sakura’s Design
Team is dreaming up amazing art to share with you on that day!There will be prizes, too!So be sure to check back here on May 18th!
During the month of May, you can get 20% off your total order at Sakura Hobby Craft! If you haven't tried Crystal Lacquer, now is the time to get some! Sakura also has beautiful powders for coloring the Crystal Lacquer, and lots of jewelry findings! Enter the code Sakura05 at checkout.
This necklace was inspired by some charms I saw online. The original charms were made with wire, paper and resin, but my version is made with brass blanks and Sakura Crystal Lacquer. Crystal Lacquer made these so easy!
I’ve seen lots of projects made with pattern tissue paper, but I don’t think I’ve seen any using the instruction pages that come with the patterns. I wanted some interesting text for my charms, and decided to use pattern sewing instruction sheets. You could use any kind of paper, but as a sewer, I have lots of memories involving these pages.
I had some brass blanks:
You could use any kind of metal. Just make sure it’s hard enough that it won’t bend when you wear the necklace. You could use precut blanks like these, or make your own. If your metal seems too soft, you might try adding additional layers of metal, paper or Crystal Lacquer. I think you could even make these charms with plastic as the base.
I chose my paper and then decided to add color to some of it. I used watercolor paint, but you could use almost any kind of paint or ink. I liked the way the text still showed through very clearly with the watercolors. I let the paint dry before proceeding.
Then I cut my paper to roughly fit my blanks. For the first one, I traced around the blank directly onto my paper and then cut it out. For the next few, I just held the paper on top of the blank and ripped the paper around the edges of the blank. Then I tried holding the blank in place under or over the paper and cutting around the edges with the paper. All three methods worked. Tracing around the blank will allow you to decide exactly what you want to appear on your charm. Tearing was much less exact, and I wasted some paper when it ripped in ways I didn’t want it to. Holding the blank to the paper and cutting was simple, but I did get a few crooked cuts that way.
After I cut the paper to roughly fit the blanks, I shaped the paper to the blank more accurately by holding each piece of paper on top of its blank and dragging sandpaper across the edges. It removed excess paper best when I pulled the sandpaper down in sort of a swiping motion.
Then, for each charm, I lifted the paper off the blank and applied a thin film of Sakura Crystal Lacquer with an inexpensive paint brush. Then I laid the paper in place and put some Crystal Lacquer on top of it. When it was dry to the touch, I added another thin layer of Crystal Lacquer.
The Crystal Lacquer acts as an adhesive to hold the paper in place. It also strengthens and protects the paper and gives it a pretty sheen. Crystal Lacquer is water soluble, so you can clean up messes as you go and you can clean and save your paint brush when you’re done!
Here are some charms I made from the instruction sheets without adding color:
And here are some I made with watercolor paint:
I made the necklace from the second set. I punched holes in each blank after the Crystal Lacquer was dry. You could also drill the holes.
I love mother of pearl, and I thought buttons would be fun on a sewing-themed necklace. Then I added my favorite jewelry components, freshwater pearls and Austrian crystals.
Here’s another view of the necklace:
During the month of April, you can use the code TERRI04 to save 20% on Crystal Lacquer at Sakura Hobby Craft. Now is a great time to try Crystal Lacquer if you are new to it, or stock up if you already love it!
I hope you will make some Crystal Lacquer charms for yourself! As always, I would love to hear about your projects!
All text and photos copyright Karen Lackey, 2011-2016, unless otherwise noted. You may link to text but please do not copy it. If you use my photos, please give credit and link back to the original post. Thanks!
Sin City Stamps provides free and discounted rubber stamps to its Design Team members.
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