fp tutorial

First & foremost, I want to welcome a couple new "followers" to my blog. Thank you for your interest! Please let me know if you have questions, comments or suggestions. I love hearing from people.

I'm trying something new today and posting a tutorial. I don't know that this is my forte, but I indicated in a November post I would share the process I used to make the purple Friendly Plastic pendant, and today's the day. Today we're making a blue FP pendant.

Start with a bargain piece of costume jewelry. I'm using a silver clip earring. Cut a piece of FP slightly bigger than the earring and choose a stamp (I'm using one from Fancy Pants). Unmounted stamps work best if your piece isn't totally flat. You can use a stamp that's smaller than your piece, but I'm not good at placing them in the center so I just use oversize stamps to eliminate that problem.

Lay the FP over the piece & melt it with a heat gun.

When it's nicely melted, prepare your stamp by pressing it into a watermark stamp pad (I use VersaMark) and then pressing it into the FP. Use your fingers to press everywhere to ensure full contact. Experiment with the pressure for different looks. Firm pressure will reveal the metal underneath, which may or may not be your intent. That's what I did for the purple piece, but for this blue piece I chose to use less pressure.

When you're confident the stamp isn't going to lift from the FP, place the piece in a cold water bath to solidify the FP.

After a few moments remove the piece and carefully lift the stamp from the FP. The edges might be a little jagged, as you can see here.

Place a nonstick craft sheet (I use Ranger's) on a griddle and heat the griddle to 275. Lightly touch/drag the edges to melt/smooth them. Once cool, add your preferred glaze/sealer (I like Triple Thick by DecoArt) and a bail. Thread on a cord or chain and you're set!

dusk

It's been well over two months since I created anything in the studio. Admittedly, it's a bit intimidating to get back into it... but I will. I cleaned the work area today in hopes inspiration or my muse would show up this evening. No luck yet, but I did come across a poem I wrote 06/20/09:


dusk is falling
and you've changed.
you're not the person you were
in the midday sunshine.
I don't know you anymore.
did I ever know you
or did I just see
what you wanted me to see?
maybe I never looked hard enough.
did I not care enough to know
or did I somewhere
deep inside
know I wouldn't like what I found
if I squinted & looked into the sun.
is this your dark side
come out to play in the twilight?
it's playing with you
as much as the rest of us.
you're just too close to see it.
caught up in the exciting rush
the evening breeze
is taking you away.
a storm is here.
we're trying to pull you to cover
while you insist on being swept away.
at some point
we must save ourselves.

reclamation

I apologize for my absence. It's poor blog etiquette to go offline for more than your usual amount of time without indicating when you'll return. My last post, from 11/26 was vague in this regard. At the time, I expected to post again in a couple weeks. Let me rephrase that ~ I hoped to post again in a couple weeks. Turns out, December was an extremely challenging month (closing out a challenging year in many ways), with many wonderful blessings and several unpleasant events. Tough times can wear on you and push you down. Thankfully, I remembered a couple of days ago I'm in control of my life ~ no one else is. I'm going to take a little time to put my life back in order (read, journal, meditate, etc.) but will be creating again & sharing very soon. I intend to be back posting at least once a week by the end of the month. I'll also be catching up on your blogs as soon as I can. I'm anxious to see what you've all been up to!

I want to sincerely thank those of you who have emailed to check in on me. Your caring friendship helps keep my candle burning. You are angels & I appreciate you very much.

Here's to a healthy, joyful, creative 2010 for all of us!

And... because I love quotes, love sharing quotes and couldn't choose just one today...

"There are no hopeless situations; there are only men who have grown hopeless about them." ~ Clare Boothe Luce

"One of the quickest ways to become exhausted is by suppressing your feelings." ~ Sue Patton Thoele

"Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. That's what I have to say. The second is only a part of the first." ~ Anna Quindlen

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." ~ Nora Ephron