Thursday, January 04, 2007

Chris Young




Chris Young

"Face" Charm Instructions
What You Need: White shrink plastic, 2 inch round punch, dye inks
(colors - mustard, sepia, olive, and coffee), Diamond Glaze, face
rubber stamp, copper wire, miscellaneous beads, heat gun, small
paintbrush, and jewelry pliers.

What To Do: First punch 2 round circles from the white shrink
plastics, and shrink both pieces of plastic with the heat gun. On a
heat resistant surface, heat one piece of shrink plastic until it is
very soft and then immediately push the rubber stamp image into it
(pressing firmly). In a few seconds the plastic will cool and retain
the debossed image of the rubber stamp. Flip the debossed piece of
plastic face down on work surface and lay a 4 inch cut piece of copper
wire across plastic. Lay the second piece of plastic over the top of
the wire sandwiching it between the two pieces of plastic. Heat the
top piece of plastic (holding the heat gun right above the plastic)
until it becomes soft. Immediately push the rubber stamp image into
the plastic and press down firmly. The second piece of plastic will
retain the rubberstamp image and will bond to the first piece of
plastic with the wire in between. (The image on the first piece of
plastic that is face down will be protected enough to keep the
original face image.)
Put miscellaneous beads of your choice onto the wire and bend the wire
with the jewelry pliers. Make a loop at one end to connect to a
bracelet or necklace, and make a decorative swirl at the other end to
keep the bead from falling off.
Mix a small amount of Diamond Glaze with a drop of ink (making several
different colored puddles). Using a small paintbrush, paint the
ink-stained Diamond Glaze onto the surface of the shrink plastic. (It
is okay to let one color run into another color, but do not let the
colors become too muddy.) Let the piece dry and then flip it over and
paint the opposite side. When completely dry (usually several hours),
attach the charm to your bracelet or necklace with the loop you made
in the copper wire at the top of the piece.