Easy Jewelry Making

Pendants and charms that showcase interesting papers and collages between glass are very popular.  They can be quite expensive to purchase in the gift shops.  With a few supplies from Ranger, you can make your own projects and personalize them to suit you or to give as a gift.

We had a nice time with some family members visiting from California.  Of course, we took them around to see some of the most famous places in Concord.  I've been to the Old North Bridge three times in the past week!  This is the famous statue of the Minuteman by Daniel Chester French.  He designed many monuments including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

You can see the statue at the far end of the bridge. 

After the sightseeing, we did a little shopping and found a display with many of the pendants and charms.  I remembered that I had purchased supplies from Blitsy last year and had never gotten around to making any jewelry - so when we got back to the house, it was time to do some crafting!

You can make these charms by sandwiching the paper collage between two pieces of thin glass and sealing them together with metal tape, adding a wire loop while you are finishing the metal edges.  It can be a little fiddly to do this so an even easier method is to use these pre-made frames that come in various shapes and sizes and three different finishes.

The glass is cut perfectly to fit the frames and the sizes are color coded  on the packaging so it's easy to grab the ones you need to make a set.

We used some papers from 7Gypsies and Webster's Pages.  Both companies have designs that are ideal for this sort of project.  The frames are designed to open at one corner and they are flexible enough to bend out while you insert the two pieces of glass with the papers between them.  Then you put the frame back with the thin "latch" piece holding it all together.  This metal bit should be burnished down against the side of the frame (I can see the pieces sticking out a bit on these photos - it wasn't really noticeable in person but I'll smooth it out a bit more).

On the opposite side (either side could be used as the front or back depending on your mood) we added a few words from the Tim Holtz ChitChat cardstock stickers.

These stickers have lots of common words that you can add to your projects in a typewriter font on white or kraft cardstock.  You could type your own words but the stickers make it so easy to add the words since they are adhesive backed and perfectly cut out for you already.

We also added a few tiny butterflies that were cut using a new die from Memory Box.  I am sure this die will be getting a lot of use - the tiny size is perfect for lots of projects and the negative space cut will be pretty on a card edge.

I haven't seen the frames and glass on Blitsy for a while so they may be coming up in a sale soon.  I have noticed that things seem to cycle around so you just have to be patient and watch what comes up.  There are new sales every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they go live around 11 a.m. Central Time.  If you aren't a member of Blitsy yet (it's free to sign up!), please use my link and click HERE to go to the page and register.  After you are a member, you can refer your friends and family and earn credits for future purchases.

You should be able to find the Memory Glass items at craft stores and some items are available on Amazon - just click the image on the left to go to the page where they are listed. 

This would be a fun project for a girl's night out.  You can make simple versions by using only printed paper or add lots of additional elements - as long as they will fit flat between the glass slides.

Have you made any of these little pieces of art?  Do you have any tips to share on how to make them?  I can't wait to do more!  I am thinking of designing some tiny die cuts to fit inside the frames.

I will be occupied with lots of family events until next week and so I won't be posting much - maybe a few photos or news items.  I hope you have a great week - I'll be back on the blog routine soon.

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