Spring Forward and Fly!

My post today is for the NEW challenge at Anything But a Card Challenge #34 - "SPRING Forward"!! We know Spring is dragging it's feet in arriving as ol' man winter keeps his heels dug in the snow and ice... so we are celebrating the new season with an OPEN THEME!!! Feel free to break out the bright colors and create along with Spring and Easter, or create whatever your muse desires... as long as it's anything but a card!

I love "anything goes" challenges, especially when they are for Anything But a Card - this challenge inspired me and my muse to make use of some extra parts that were just laying around. With gears being all the rage I was lucky enough to find a watch repair place that gave me tons of watch parts that he could no longer use.  After stripping all the parts down I ended up with a bunch of watch cases (I think that is what you call them), some of which were brand new.  As I was thinking about what to do with all these cases I got a fabulous idea – and that is how this pendant was born. How appropriate to use a watch case for "springing forward"!

 

Surprisingly this pendant isn't heavy. . .

Items I used in my creation:

• Empty Watch Case
• Globecraft & Piccolo (G&P) Vintage Silver and MermaidTears Embossing Enamel
• G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• G&P Butterfly Accents
• 2 Jump Rings
• Charms of your choice
• Crafters Pick Glue
• Necklace for the Pendant (I used Silk Cord that I got from G&P) 

Not the real one, but close

I cleaned one of the watchcases and unscrewed the back and the top. First thing I did was emboss the top case (where the watch face would be seen) with Vintage Silver and Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel.  I coated and embossed the frame many times (if you chose to emboss any metal part PLEASE be careful, as the metal gets VERY hot, as

Embossed and coated - ready to go!

does the embossing product! Don’t touch anything until it has cooled!) When I was finally happy with the frame I added a coat of Glasstique Gloss to protect the enamel and, hopefully, make the pendant less prone to chipping.

Taking the bottom of the case (where the watch guts are), I found some decorative

paper that showcased the colors in the Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel and punched out a 1” circle.  I centered the circle and glued it into the bottom.  I decided on a using a small butterfly for the pendant focal point from A148 Butterfly Accents.  I embossed the butterfly with a mix of Mermaid Tears, a pinch of Micro White and a pinch of Vintage Silver.  Once it had cooled I glued it to the center of the bottom case.  I searched through a bunch of old book pages to find the word “fly”, cut it out and attached that above the butterfly. 

Now my watchcase had 2 “handles” on it to hold the watchstrap.  On the top handle I glued a jump ring for the necklace to go though.  I honestly don’t think that is going to hold for very long and I will eventually solder it – once I learn how (hehehe). On the bottom handle I dangled a few charms.  Oh, and since I got Embossing Enamel in the groves of where the two pieces meet, I used glue again to hold the back & front together.

 

You can see the charms better with in the first pic, but I LOVE the colors in this one

Now, go fly and play (and don't forget to enter ANYTHING GOES at Anything But a Card!) Keep an eye out on my blog for my BLOGAVERSARY giveaways - coming soon! In fact, why not start following now so you won't miss it??

Thanks for stopping by ~ Blessings! Christi

I want to enter my pendant in the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Things with Wings
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge Blog - #30, Anything Goes 
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Fairy Tale Challenge Blog - Butterflies