Mail Art Friends reap #Cre8time Halloween Goodness

Hello everyone! I have a Halloween make to share today-- one that I was inspired to create. I haven't made any jewelry lately so I was excited and inspired by the theme and jumped at the chance to make some new Witch-worthy jewels for a "Witch's Cupboard" charm swap with some art friends hosted by Michelle Frae Cummings. 

I knew immediately that I wanted to create some glowing apple charms. I have an old apple pin that I found at a thrift store in my "TO MOLD" box that is a nice size and would be a nice pendant or charm made in resin... and with Halloween just around the corner, perhaps a POISON apple??!

I would normally break out the Amazing Mold Putty, but with the high gloss enameled surface and the fact that I wanted to make multiples -- I decided on using Amazing Remelt to create molds for my Cre8time Witchcraft!

Amazing Remelt is a Non Toxic, one-part reusable mold making material for room temperature or low exotherm materials. Amazing Remelt softens at 120˚F and becomes liquid at 135˚-140˚F. It can be remelted and reused to make new molds time and time again. This is ideal for making molds for smaller items such as jewelry, embellishments, and chocolate molds. YES, this stuff is FOOD-SAFE and it works great with chocolate and fondant!!

Before making a mold I need to add some tape to the backside so that the molding material won't flow through the hole where the stem touches the apple. I burnish the tape down really good with a bone folder to ensure good adhesion.

A couple criss-crossed recycled stir-sticks through the pin back will help suspend the original over a small silicone bowl that I will be using as a mold box.

Amazing Remelt is easy-to-use but you need to be patient. Amazing Remelt requires melting... the best way is in the microwave LOW and SLOW {CLICK HERE to view preparation}. It can be melted in the container it comes in, but for molding small items, I prefer using this cup fashioned with Amazing Mold Putty which I formed around the outside of a shot glass. I like this cup because it can be baked up to 375º F, is easier to pour from, and it helps keep the melted material from cooling off too fast.

I place the mounted apple over the top of a small silicone bowl then pour the melted Amazing Remelt over the top, completely covering surface of item. I stop for a brief moment after first coating, then repeat with a second layer. The overpour is collected in silicone bowl below which will be the mold box in the following steps.

After cooling off for a couple minutes, the Amazing Remelt hardens, and I have a skin layer which helps prevent air bubbles from getting trapped on surface of original.

I fill the bowl and flip the mounted pin with remelt skin layer over, then place face down into the liquid Amazing Remelt. After leveling it on the bowl, add more remelt to fill up to edge of suspended apple pin. Mold making doesn't always look pretty... it just needs to WORK! I set this in the refrigerator for about a 1/2 hour to cool and harden.

My little apple mold is hardened and ready to pop out of the bowl and demold.

I love how Amazing Remelt gives you the detail quality of Amazing Mold Rubber – and it's reuseable {you know how I love GREENcrafting}!!

I can make my charms, then melt the molds down and mold something else later. I don't have to store umpteen apple molds for eternity. I plan to make a few extra molds for FOOD USE ONLY to make some poison apple Halloween treats with chocolate melts. YES, this molding product is foodsafe and is perfect for chocolate and fondant.

With molds ready, it's time to fill with Amazing Clear Cast Resin colored with Alumilite Fluorescent Green Dye and Alumilite Phosphorescent Powder {an additive that glows in the dark}. CLICK HERE to view mixing and preparation.

I mix up the resin and set aside to rest for about 15-20 minutes so the resin can COOL and DEGAS {letting the air bubbles escape}.

 

 The addition of phosphorescent powder makes magic in the dark.

Most of my time making these charms was spent on mold preparation. I made 16 molds which took me a a couple hours one morning plus a whole entire day. Making one mold takes about a 1/2 an hour... the time consuming part is melting the Amazing Remelt slowly and then waiting for it to harden to demold the original. 

Before pouring resin, I gently cut a slice in each mold where I suspend a headpin with two glass beads {these will be embedded in the resin}. I will use this to form a loop at the top to affix beads and a jump ring for hanging on a chain. With a tiny brush, I added a bit of color to the leaf and stem using Alumidust.

I gently pour resin, guiding it with a stir stick to fill each mold. I cover the tray and set aside to cure overnight.

VOILA... my apples are cured and are ready to embellish! I decided to use a glass leaf bead, so I bent and broke off the leaf of each resin apple. I gave each a light and quick sanding around edges with an emory board, then I finished each charm with 2 wire-wrapped beaded danglies placed onto the embedded headpin. I close headpin off and form a loop for a jumpring... these gorgeous glowing apples are complete.

How charming is the glowing green apple?!

After making the green apples... I couldn't stop there! I took this idea further by altering the original, then remolding/casting to make a glowing resin POISON apple! This right is a one-of-a-kind, but if anyone would love a custom pendant, I will entertain custom orders for with drips in your favorite color.

Here is mine with an accompanying ATC {artist trading card} as part of swap rules.

"Dip the apple in the brew,

let the Sleeping Death seep through..."

Here are the ghoulishly glam charms made by all the players. I'm going to have fun dressing these up into finished pieces and having SpOoKy jewels to wear for the coming weeks up to Halloween. CLICK on NAME to pop over to a tutorial {if available}.

Michelle Frae Cummings {hostess}

Kathleen Sites

Lyn Gill

Ashani

Erin Reed

P.J. Waldrop

Carol Hoffman

Thank you ladies for participating in this swap and for your beautiful work and craftsmanship. I look forward to joining in another for the holidays {ideas for themes are being tossed about}. 

I may have one or two Halloween makes up my sleeve before month's end. Thanks for dropping by and Happy Creating! :)  Sb

Add a little BLING to your #Cre8time... with Rinea® Foils and Designer Crafts Connection

If you have arrived for the StencilGirl Products and Amazing Casting Products Bloghop... please CLICK HERE for my stop on the hop.

 

Hello everyone! Today I am excited to be a part of a bloghop featuring Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil from Global Crafting with the Designer Crafts Connection. This paper has made my paper folding dreams take on a whole shiny new dimension!!! 

Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil is a wonderful option for creating dimensional ornaments and whimsies from folded paper. This SPARK-ling paper has become a new favorite to create folded paper designs I have been wanting to try... and my project I'm sharing has added BLING to Spring!!! 

Back before the holidays GlobalCrafting provided each of the Designer Craft Connection designers with Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil to use in our creations - we had so much fun with these papers that we have been challenged again to "Rock Your Sparkle with Rinea®". To pop over to the beginning of the hop CLICK HERE to see all the stops on the hop!

Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil is a specialty craft paper imported from Germany. It is made up of a thin sheet of paper sandwiched between two layers of thin aluminum foil - the paper gives it sturdiness and stiffness while the foil gives it the shininess and the malleability to maintain the shape however you bend or fold it. It is more than just origami paper due to the specific thickness and the quality of the foil used, making it ideal for many interesting crafting ideas. The paper does not wrinkle like foil and does not cause painful cuts like thick sharp foil can. 

The paper comes in many interesting colors with shiny, matte, and embossed surfaces giving you lots of options to play with and combine. I have selected a magenta star pattern and pale pink matte finish for today's creation.

To my delight, when cutting my papers to size, I discovered that the backside of the pink matte Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil is a lovely gold color... a bonus for my planned paper folding, saving me a step of gluing two sheets together to get this effect.

For my project I cut one square to 6" square and the other about 5" square. I made a test using scrapbooking paper first that was 4 1/2" square and it was hard to make the folds in the finishing stages due to the thickness of the paper.

I love Origami, Kusadama and other styles of paperfolding... and have loads of books with fabulous patterns. For my project I selected a practical pattern from "The Origami Handbook" by Rick Beech... the Easter Basket. For the last bloghop, I created a folded pattern from the same book that I combined several modular sections to form a beautiful bracelet. I encourage you to look this book up at your local library!

This pattern has many steps, though I find making multiples are easier when doing sections of the folding in stages. You can see how much folding this shape has to be done, putting the Rinea foil to an extreme test of durability.

The common problem with Origami and Kusadama folding is that with more intricate shapes, the paper becomes very hard to manipulate due to it's thickness {or lack thereof}. Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil solves this issue while providing a metallic {solid or textured} finish in a variety of colors that lends itself to folding and holds it's shape.

No scraps of Rinea® Double-Sided Paper Foil goes to waste as I even quickly fashioned some coordinating blingy Easter grass for these mini baskets. I cut thin slivers {approx. 1/16"} with my paper trimmer, but you can certainly use scissors. I tried using my fringe scissors that cut five strips at once - though they were a bit thick for this purpose. I ended up cutting them all in half to make them thinner. The green shreds are how the strips look straight from the trimmer... LOVE the curls!! I think Quillers would love this paper. A quick, gentle crumble and circular swirl between my hands and perfect grass is done!

This basket is the result using the two-tone pale pink with gold. The basket is only one 6" square paper and the handle a folded 6" long by 3/4" wide strip. I've filled with the green Rinea® shred and a couple wooden vintage mini decor. The best part... NO GLUING!!

This basket is the result using magenta star paper. The basket is only one 5" square paper and the handle a folded 6" long by 3/4" wide strip {which is how it ended up a bit taller of a handle}. I've filled with the pink Rinea® shred and teeny Darice mini eggs and one vintage painted wooden egg. I finished off with two tiny satin bows added with a mini glue dot.

A perfect way to show off 
mini vintage Springtime decor!

Oh the possibilities!!! These little baskets would be great for party favors or place holders. I'm totally making Grinchy gifts with these at Christmas and filling with those funny coal shaped chocolates - LOL! 

CLICK HERE to jump over to the beginning of the "Rock Your Sparkle with Rinea®" Bloghop at the Designer Crafts Connection blog and find more SPARK-ling inspiration and projects using this gorgeous and versatile foil paper!

You can find more information

and ideas at the Rinea® website

www.globalcrafting.com

Find loads of folding ideas using Rinea Foil on Pinterest

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you are inspired to try out this unique paper and fold up something beautiful! Sb :)

** This is a sponsored post. GlobalCrafting has provided products for use in this project in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions. My ideas and opinions are my own.

All that #Cre8time Sparkles and Shines... with Rinea® Foils and Designer Crafts Connection

Hello everyone! Today the Designer Crafts Connection takes on a new challenge featuring something full of glittery goodness and is a paper... Rinea® Foils by GlobalCrafting. This paper has made my paper folding dreams take on a whole new shiny dimension!!!

One of my favorite things is to make dimensional ornaments and whimsies from folded paper. With all the gorgeous variety of papers available these days it is an obsession to use up every leftover strip and scrap. Well there is a new SPARK-ling paper that is what I have been dreaming of... Rinea® Foils!!! 

The common problem with Origami and Kusadama folding is that with more intricate shapes, the paper becomes very hard to manipulate due to it's thickness {or lack thereof}. Rinea® Foil solves this issue while providing a metallic {solid or textured} finish in a variety of colors that lends itself to folding and holds it's shape {which is important when working with complex folds}.

For this challenge, Rinea® Foils by GlobalCrafting provided each of the Designer Craft Connection designers with product to use in our creations. You want to pop over to the beginning of the hop HERE because of course, there is a chance for you via Rafflecopter to win some of this gorgeous Rinea® Foil paper!!! 

Rinea® paper-foil is a specialty craft paper imported from Germany. It is made up of a thin sheet of paper sandwiched between two layers of thin aluminum foil - the paper gives it sturdiness and stiffness while the foil gives it the shininess and the malleability to maintain the shape however you bend or fold it. It is more than just origami paper due to the specific thickness and the quality of the foil used, making it ideal for many interesting crafting ideas. The paper does not wrinkle like foil and does not cause painful cuts like thick sharp foil can. 

The paper is as popular in Germany and parts of Europe as construction paper is in the US. In Germany it is known as Alu-Bastlefolie which means Aluminum Handicraft Foil Paper. It is very difficult to find this paper in the US and those that want it have to import it from Germany. Our goal is to introduce you to unique and interesting crafting ideas popular in other parts of the world made possible only using this paper and, at the same time, make it easily available in the U.S. The paper comes in many interesting colors with shiny, matte, and embossed surfaces giving you lots of options to play with and combine.

I love Origami, Kusadama and other styles of paperfolding... and have loads of books with fabulous patterns. For my project I have modified a pattern that is called "the Ellington" from the book, The Origami Handbook by Rick Beech... which ends with three diamonds and wraps around to make a lovely napkin ring. Which with Thanksgiving coming up next week... this pattern paired with the Rinea® Foils will make each tablesetting simply stunning!

To make a full bangle, I will need three completed folded sections to fit my wrist. Easy-Peasy!!

I find it easier to cut all of my papers first, then work on one stage of fold on all pieces, then moving on to the next series of steps {just my preference}. Paper folding is very relaxing and methodical... and a lot of repeating of the same steps. In this case repeated along until the strips are completely filled with folded diamonds.

For those of you who fancied gumwrapper and teabag folding patterns, you would love using the Rinea® Foils. Look how gorgeous the pattern even is on the back side!!! This would make a wonderful border for a card or accenting a home decor project. Not to mention folded boxes, punches or die-cut shapes! The crafty-stash has a whole new universe of possibility... and this paper is kid-friendly, too!

This is the resulting top edge of one section. The instructions were to stop at three diamonds, though I continued to the edge of the strips, giving me five - with a small bit of overlap.

One 3/16" glue dot is all it needs to hold together. Perfectly paired with Rinea® Foil - I used three glue dots in total. These amazing dots make papercrafting quick and hands-free!

After having three sections completed, I fold back one end to accept the other end to naturally continue the folded pattern in one long strip. 

With one glue dot, I tuck one end over the other as the folded pattern naturally repeats uniting three folded sections into a completed bangle.

I have some pink resin bangles with matching necklace that my new folded bangle will fit right in to the ensemble. Even though this is held together with just three {3} glue dots... my mind is racing with ideas that I had put on hold because papers were limiting or challenging for the folding patterns I want to create. 

The star embossed pattern into the Rinea® foil is so lovely. The resulting diamonds when complete are approximately 1" in size. This unique foil paper gives you a FINISHED product that is STUNNING. My bangle is ready-to-wear as is!!! But I will go back with a craft glue and a toothpick to secure all the loose edges underneath so that is a bit more durable when wearing. I may even go back later line the inside with a strip of satin ribbon.

A perfect matching

Cre8time Bangle!

This is only the beginning! I love wearing a variety sizes and textured bangles... and my new pink Rinea® foil creation makes a statement! Oh the possibilities and I look forward to trying my patience at trying some of my favorite folds working smaller to create earrings and other fun paper jewels.

CLICK HERE to jump over to the beginning of the Rinea® Foils by GlobalCrafting Bloghop at the Designer Crafts Connection blog and find more SPARK-ling inspiration and projects using this gorgeous foil paper!

You can find more information

and ideas using Rinea® Foils

at their website

www.globalcrafting.com

Find loads of folding ideas using Rinea Foil on Pinterest

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you are inspired to run out to the library, get some books and try out this amazing paper to fold up something beautiful! Sb :)

** This is a sponsored post. GlobalCrafting has provided products for use in this project in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions. My ideas and opinions are my own.