During one of the worst periods of depression in my life fifteen years ago, I began a jewelry making obsession. I beaded, I soldered, I twisted and painted. I made earrings, necklaces, bracelets, barrettes and lots and lots of boxes to hold all of these items.
Night after night I sat at a folding table in my living room and created. I had not yet discovered scrapbooking. There was a tedious mindlessness to the beading that I really found comforting. I also loved that each project had a clear beginning and ending. I mean how long can you really make a necklace?
Time passed, the pain dulled, and I became a part of the world again. I left behind my jewelry making and found the wonderful world of scrapbooking and digital art. Recently, though, while scrolling mindlessly (again with the mindlessly) through Etsy, and trying to fall asleep at night, I realized that I could combine my two creative pursuits!
Warning, I feel a new obsession coming on and I ask you all for your patience. This is how I deal with my demons, and it is certainly better than many of the alternatives!
So, today, May 22, 2011 (I waited to make sure the Rapture had passed) I got out some scrabble tiles, my printer, and a bunch of goodies I purchased at the Scrap Expo yesterday and began to create.
Choosing the images was easy. I have gigs of vintage, odd and random images on my hard drive. I grabbed a few and started trying to figure out the best way to print them out to create cool scrabble tile pendants. I haven't really mastered the printing yet, but I got them close to the right size for now so...
I am attempting two different methods for creating the pendants. The first is the "cheater" version where you use ready-made epoxy bubbles over the top of the image once it is glued to the tile. The second method is to use Diamond Glaze over the images to create a hard top coat to create true jewelry quality.
Yes, I have random images of James Tiberius Kirk on my hard drive. You got a problem with that?
I really should find an image of Edith Keeler. That would make a great project bracelet. A whole City on the Edge of Forever theme...hmmm....
These two are going to be the "cheater" versions. A sunflower of course and another lovely lady from the past.
Well, it's hard to see here, but the cheaters look really good, while the Diamond Glaze versions are having some issues. I think I overdid it on the good captain and he sprung a leak. They will need to cure overnight and then we will see how they look.
The tiles with the epoxy bubbles have very obvious edges to them, so I don't think they would be something you could sell, but they look really cool and I would definitely wear them. The Diamond Glaze versions should be more "jewelry quality" once I get the hang of it.
Next step is to attach bails and string these babies up! Stay tuned. I will be spending the rest of my night making tiny works of digital art that will make awesome original jewelry pieces!!
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