I was approached about a week ago to do a commission piece and decided to finally go for it. Up until now, I didn't have the confidence to sell my work until I realized how many times people were asking me about where they could buy my things. I'm still researching the best way to set up a "shop", so please stay tuned. I'm in no hurry on this and want to do the most prep I can before I jump into this exciting next step so please bear with me. :D
The buyer's request was a bracelet for a friend that reflected her faith, interests and tastes. Our wearer loves nature, being outdoors and the water. I decided to do a beach-inspired charm bracelet with resin shell pendants in a subtle and beautiful sea green, sand, white and silver.
My first step was selecting the items for the bracelet. I had most things in my workshop to get started, (I needed crosses and water symbol (the swirly coil design) to complete the charms):
Gathering materials for the bracelet. Pearl disks, green stones, glass and metal charms, shell images for the pendants and silver book chain for the base.
Next step was to wire wrap the individual charms and work with placement.
Work table fun!
Laying out charm placement.
The charms/construction are one component of this project. The other key piece of this design are the shell resin pendants. I used a new product called Iced Enamels to do a cold enamel treatment on the back of the oval bezels. This is a new product from the creators of Ice Resin and my head is reeling with the design possibilities.
There are helpful videos starting here on how you use Iced Enamels and I took a few pics to show my progress. I decided to go simple for this first try for two reasons: first - new technique - didn't want to get in over my head; second - the Relique Ivory color and sandy texture was a perfect compliment to this design.
Didn't get a pic before this stage, but pendants have been sanded, Iced Enamels Medium brushed on, Relique Ivory powder applied and pendants are slowly heated with a heat gun to adhere the pigment to the metal. COOL, huh??
Here's a close up of the texture while heating.
After the color has been applied, a coat of resin is applied to protect the color and gives the surface a glassy finish. Gorgeous!
Notice the paper? I ditched it after realizing that the resin, being self-leveling, was pooling in certain areas of the bezel. Those paper crinkles made a difference!
After the resin had thoroughly dried, I was now able to decoupage the shell images into the bezels. After that was thoroughly dried, I did my final resin pour.
Mod Podged Shells
So now with all the pieces and parts completed, we now have a completed convertible charm bracelet/necklace! Check it out!
I hope the recipient has lots of fun with this piece. I had a blast making it and will definitely be using Iced Enamels for future projects! Thanks for reading, y'all! xoxo