Pink Heart and Soul

More Sculpey, more hearts, more glass etching.  I did this little jar as a gift for my Great Niece.  I thought it would be perfect for holding jewelry or other small trinkets, but I put a few Sculpey beads in there for her when I mailed it because she does make things.

This was a little face cream jar.  I simply removed the label and cleaned it. Then I used my Cricut to make the letters of her name and put them where I wanted it.  I am not the best at getting things all lined up, but I managed to get it pretty straight this time.  🙂

Then I used my etching cream.  If you haven’t done that before you can find more info and tutorial here.  As always, be careful with the etching cream, remember, it’s strong enough to etch glass.

I made a heart out of Sculpey and painted it pink with acrylic paint. I am not much of a Sculpey expert, I’m just following the directions on the box.  It says to bake in the oven at 275 F for 15 minutes for each 1/4 inch of thickness. I am finding that it seems to need longer, but I also know from experience that you can burn it, so keep an eye on it.  I set the timer and check it every 10 minutes or so.

I used a lighter pink on the lid and sprayed both that and the heart with a couple of coats of Folk Art Lacquer to help seal and give them a little nicer finish.  I used hot glue to attach the heart.

Lastly, I finished the edge of the lid with organza ribbon wrapped around twice (glued with plain white glue) and then a thin white sparkly ribbon over that also affixed with white glue.  Threading the little beads on the small ribbon was difficult!  But I like the way it gave it a more finished look.  I always have a problem figuring out what to do with jar lid edges.

Oh, and I etched a little unicorn on the other side of the jar.  Just because.  

 

 

Cookie Jar for a Doggie Friend


I promised a friend of mine a cookie jar for her Black Labrador, Yogi ages ago. I had thought I could find a nice large recyclable jar to use, but I never was able to find one.  I finally bought the same type I used for cocoa last year, hoping it was made of the sort of glass that would etch. Of course with all of the crazy things that went on in my life in the fall, the roof leak, the kitchen redo, Christmas and being sick it sat there and didn’t get done. Until now.

Originally I had simply intended to put his name on one side and maybe “cookies” or a picture of a dog, or a bone or something on the other. However I wasn’t thrilled with any of the picture options I had in any of my Cricut cartridges, and I didn’t think I could freehand something suitable so I decided to put his name on it and do something else.

I thought at first I might be able to buy a little figurine I didn’t find anything I liked, so I gave up on that idea fairly quickly.

My sister-in-law does the most wonderful things with Sculpey clay, and I have a large stash  so I decided to see if I could make a Black Lab for the lid of the jar. I had to call my sister-in-law for advice, but I’m pleased with how this turned out.

I didn’t take photos as I went along, so no tutorial. For an etching tutorial you can look here. I will do some more Sculpey and do some tutorials on that, it was really fun. My SIL does AWESOME stuff, and I wish she would do some tutorials for me!

BTW it IS time again for Handmade Monday!  Pop on over and check out all of the wonderful things everyone is doing.  I know we are all right back into the swing of things.  I’m going to go myself and get a few good ideas!  🙂  Thanks for stopping by.

As for Yogi’s jar, it’s going into the mail hopefully tomorrow so my friend can fill it up with cookies!  I hope he likes it.  He’s a good dog!  🙂

 

When You Etch Upon a Star

Don’t you hate when you have a really cool thing planned and you get all of your materials, and you do everything, and it’s working out so nicely.  You go through all of the steps, and you even get awesome photos, and spend a lot of time doing exacting work.  Then, you get to the end, and you say to your husband, “Well, etching never looks like it’s etched while it’s wet, but when it’s dry, the pattern always emerges!”  ?

But…no….not this time!

I did discover something.  I had actually read it at some point, but never thought I had to check what my cute little star ornaments were made of.  Let me go to the beginning, as you are probably a little confused.  I had these glass star ornaments I bought before Christmas last year, thinking I would put my Granddaughter and Grandson’s names or initials on them.  But I never got them done and so I put them away.

Last week I had an inspiration.  I would etch their initials in the middle and decorate them using my Cricut.  It would be a great project for Handmade Monday and a nice little gift they could hang on their doors with a ribbon.  Great!

So, I cut out the pieces of sticky vinyl on my Cricut, arranged them ever so artistically, and took amazing photos!  I slathered on the etching medium and waited the requisite time and a little longer.  Then I rinsed and dried them.  Disappointment! Nothing. Oh, you could see just a very slight and vague shadow in a few spots, but no, really nothing!  I was crushed.  What had gone wrong?

Materials

Materials

Ready to etch

Ready to etch!

Disaster!

Disaster!

I googled, and it appears that my beautiful little stars must be made of pyrex or something similar, which does not etch. Oh sorrow and despair! Well, I do have lovely images to share, and I’m salvaging the little stars with another project, which I will share maybe next week. The lesson, I suppose is, know your materials. Or, always be ready to do something else. 🙂