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

Imagine Peace Pendant

For my Globecraft & Piccolo post today I made this pretty pendant. I think visualization can be a powerful tool in your arsenal and I wanted to create something that would make people stop and look. Hopefully, the bright colors  will catch some attention!

The pendant was simple to make and all you need to make one is:

• Rectangle Pendant Bezel from Charm Assortment ASB12
• Key from 1” Mini Key Charms C118
• Small Butterfly from Butterfly Accents A148
• Pattern Rubber Stamp, I used Hampton Art, #4404, Circus Diamonds
• Mermaid Tears, Royal Sterling, Vintage Silver, Deep Blue Sky and Girls Night Out Embossing Enamel
• Embossing Fluid
• Small heart punch, mine is from Marvy
• Sturdy silver paper for heart
• Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs, Words
• Crafters Pick Ultimate Adhesive

All ready to go!

First you want to emboss your pendant with the Vintage Silver Embossing Enamel 2 or 3 times – take care to roll your bottle of embossing enamel before using as this mixes up the little pieces of powder – and use Embossing Fluid between each emboss.  Before you emboss the pendant the final time, select your rubber stamp (I honestly don’t know if polymer stamps are ok doing this technique) and cover it liberally with the embossing fluid so your stamp won’t stick to the pendant.  You have to be quick doing this step - emboss your pendant the final time, them push your stamp into the still warm Embossing Enamel. Leave the stamp there for a bit; it will pop off when the Embossing Enamel gets cool. 

Texture!!

This creates such a cool effect and texture! 

Then pick out your embellishments for the pendant.  I chose a small butterfly from Butterfly Accents, and embossed that with Royal Sterling.  I wanted to put a heart somewhere but I didn’t have one that I felt was the right size, so I used my small heart punch on some sturdy silver paper.  I then edged the heart with Girls Night Out Embossing Enamel.  I also chose a key from 1” Mini Key Charms and embossed that with Mermaid Tears.  Mermaid Tears is such an unusual color – it reminds me of abalone shells as it is almost holographic.  You really need to see it in person to appreciate the beautiful, subtle purples & pinks that it creates.  When I put the key next to the Vintage Silver, the key took on the color of silver and I wanted it to stand out a bit more so I sprinkled just a bit of the Deep Blue Sky Embossing Enamel onto the key.  It really looks stunning in person but Mermaid Tears is a very difficult powder to catch on film (or whatever you call digital film).

I chose the words Imagine Peace from the Remnant Rubs and applied that directly onto the pendant first. 

Once it was applied, I used a tiny bit of Glastique Gloss to cover the sentiment; I just brushed on with a paintbrush.  I fiddled with the embellishments until I pleased with the placement and glued all of them to the pendant.  I dipped my paintbrush into the Glastique Gloss again and brushed a quick coat over the entire pendant.  Let it dry, added a jump ring and I was done.

If you look closely at the key, you can see the Mermaids Tears color on the tip of it.

Please take a look at the Globecraft & Piccolo Blog - there is a brand new project posted every day and my teammates are so very creative!

I love this pendant and what it stands for! I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog and since Blogger’s Friend Connect isn’t working for anyone, please consider following me using email or Bloglovin’ - they are on the sidebar.   Thanks & have a peaceful day! ~ Christi

I am entering my pendant in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts - Texturize It!

DL.ART - March Linky Party

Artistic Inspirations - #84, Anything Goes

Craft Hoarders Anonymous - #4, Show some Sparkle, Glitz or Glam

All Crafts Challenge - Feb/March Anything Goes

I appreciate the comments people leave and I will comment you back!