Special order resin pendants

My aunt is a big fan of my jewelry. She is also a big Virginia Tech fan (as I am as well). She has written me a few times about how much she likes my new resin scrabble tile pendants and asked if I could use some of her scrapbooking paper to make a Virginia Tech pendant.  Unfortunately the size wasn't right, but I did have another option.

I cut out the Virginia Tech logo into one inch squares.  I sealed the papers like I have done in previous resin bracelet projects.

I had been playing around with using some of my papers in sterling silver plated bezel cups.  The Virginia Tech logo was a perfect fit.











She liked the idea so much that she asked me to make eight of them to give for friends and family as Christmas gifts.  (Hope I'm not spoiling a surprise by blogging about them.)  They look great and I hope everyone loves a new way to share their Hokie pride.

It's prom season!

Yes, I'm a little too old to go the prom, but I came across a neat article from the Denver post the other day Prom Fashion: The long and short of Spring Formals. Neat article, mostly because I love that when you're young, you can wear whatever you want without judgment! (Case in point, the prom dress example shown here which is mentioned in the article.)

When I'm talking to people about my jewelry, I hear ladies talk about how they find some of my contemporary jewelry a little "too much" for them to wear. My advice? Go with colors you are comfortable with. If you're used to wearing blue, why not go with blue in a different setting? I'm from the school that believes less is more, especially when it comes to fashion and jewelry. Most of the fashion experts will tell you not to load up on every trend for a season. Pick a few that you like and feel comfortable with. You will wear them better because you are comfortable with them.

Contemporary art jewelry can be worm the same way! Pick a piece your two that you like (size, shape, color, etc.) and start with one piece (earrings, a pendant, one bracelet). Wear it a few times, then go from there on what to add next to your collection.

Custom order: part 2

So onto the next pour of the custom order! The picture shows after I poured the orange. I let the resin cure for 36 hours in between pours. That assures me the pour before is solid so that way if I accidentally get resin where it shouldn't be, I can soak it up with a Q-tip, although sometimes accidents happen. See the pendant in the top row just to the right of center? It spilled after I let it cure so I will have some sanding to do later.





After all the resin has hardended, I can begin sanding. If you look closely at the pieces, you can see I have "overpoured". This is intentional, as I need to sand until the pieces are flush.










The center pieces of silver are also a little taller than the outer piece to make sure that any spills go to the outside, versus the inside (easier cleanup). The next step in the process is to completely sand it down with 8 different grits of sandpaper. I then use a buff to give it a soft, satin finish. The last step that I do is to coat it with a museum quality microcrystalline wax. That makes the pieces just a smidge on the satin side and makes them moderately tarnish resistant.




As I was writing this blog post, I realized that I didn't get a picture of the set before my customer picked it up. Whoops! The pendant at left is the same as the one from the first picture in this post (bottom row, middle pendant) and the center pendant in the second picture in this post. This pendant is available for $50 on a 16 inch rubber neoprene cord. Sterling silver chains are an option for an additional charge.





I hope my customer will send me a picture of his sweetie wearing the set. I will be sure to post. :)