Tuesday, August 14, 2012

DIY Marbled Pendants

Okay, so earlier this week we established that I am basically obsessed with shrinky dinks right?  Well I just really can't help myself, I've been using them again!  

 Does anyone else see a dragon in this one or is it just me??
 
First, check out this video tutorial on how to marble glass with nail polish.  I saw something similar a while back on Pinterest but I couldn't get a good handle on how it actually worked.  The video makes it seem really easy but it shows the general process.  
I didn't actually take any photos during because you have to move really fast to get them to turn out...I mean really fast...no dilly dallying allowed here.



 There is a lot of trial and error involved in this, or at least for me.  The video makes it look really simple but it took me about a million tries to actually get one to turn out well.

I used an old jar lid with water to make mine.  You really don't need much water maybe 1/2", just enough to keep the nail polish suspended and keep it from touching the container bottom.

The video says to use a few drops of clear nail polish first which honestly did not work well for me.  I think the problem was that my clear polish is supposed to dry in 60 seconds, so it formed this kind of dry film almost instantly when it hit the water.  And when the polish is dry it causes problems...I ended up just using a drop of the blue polish first, which spread out completely and then did alternating drops from there.

You will have to play around with your polish a bit because each polish has a different consistency and will spread differently.  For example, the blue polish spread really quickly but the silver was thicker and slower moving.

But you want to do it as fast as you can because once it starts to dry you won't be able to run your toothpick through it to get the marbling effect.  It basically becomes this dry nail polish film on top of the water which is basically useless.  Which happened to me a LOT.  But don't give up!  I could only make 2 the first night I tried and when I tried again the next day I cranked out the next 4 pretty quickly.

Oh, and to dip the pendants, I just used a little bit of clay, stuck it to the back and dipped.  You do want to dip at an angle to avoid air bubbles then I just gently dabbed the water droplets with a paper towel so it could dry.  

I think I will have to play around with this technique more...once you get the hang of it it's really fun to keep making them.  They could make really unique little charms for favors or gifts too. 

Linking up here

4 comments:

  1. That is soooo cool! I'm just not really getting how you are making the pendent, it looks like just a layer of nail polish or something?? What surface are you making it stick to? Would be a great way to use those few nail polishes that I do have but never use!

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    1. Hi Gen

      The actual pendant is just shrinky dink cut into circles.

      Once you get the polish marbled (watching the video clip will probably be more helpful than me trying to explain it), just gently press the back side of the pendant on top.

      To keep my fingers from messing up the pattern, I used a bit of clay and stuck it to the front to act as a 'handle'.

      Hope this helps!

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    2. Hi I love this idea, may I pin you to pinterest. Bonnie

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  2. I love these! Forget the plain gold and silver necklaces and jewelry. Unique jewelry is my favorite type of jewelry. Thanks so much for sharing on Marvelous Mondays. Please note, I changed my blog name from Jam's Corner to This Gal Cooks. Same blog, different name. www.thisgalcooks.com I hope to see you at next week's party!

    Also, I will be featuring this on my blog today. Be sure to stop by to check out the features post later today. :)

    Julie

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