Hey Jodi!!!

Jodi, Jodi, Jodi - never leave something at my house! LOLOL!

Jodi made a bracelet out of Friendly Plastic and it was gorgeous. Except something major went wrong when we went to shape it and it got a major air bubble on the back side....



which made a major boo boo on the front side!



So....she left it here. Hrumph!!! Now, do you think that was a hint for me to fix it for her? OK, Ok.....I did it!!! First, I softened the bracelet in water and then put it on the griddle upside down and let it melt totally.



Then I took a flat mat (I actually used a cut mat from the Sidekick Diecutting machine), greased it up and flattened the back out until it was near perfect.




Next I pulled it off the Silpat sheet, flipped it over....and flattened out the top



Then I trimmed up the edges 


By now, it's cool enough to handle and cut with scissors


Put it back on the griddle and let it soften one more time

Drape it over the mandrel and shape it.   It came out perfect!!!

No bubbles, no dents, no impression, no boo boos.....

A perfect fit - a perfect bracelet.  Aren't her chevrons just wonderful?

I am now completely convinced that you cannot ruin a piece of Friendly Plastic.  To be quite honest, I thought this was going to be trash....but by using these techniques....I've now totally saved it and even turned it back into a wearable piece of art.

So Jodi.  Since you left it here...is it mine?  

LOLOL!!!

Friendly Plastic Scrap Fusion

The other day I shared my bracelet blank that I made out of Ranger's Mold-n-pour. And this is one of the ideas that I had for it. I cut up bits and pieces from our scrap pile. and laid them all face up in the blank.
Set the blank on the griddle just under 200 degrees and let the pieces all melt together.
Drug Amaco's "comb" through the melted plastic in opposite directions:

Then trimmed the edges off.  Now, I sort of like it just like this and think it would make a great bracelet.

But I could also cut it into strips and use these in the inlaid technique. 

Guess we are all going to have to make up bracelet blanks to use.  Just think of all the possibilities we oculd have - placing charms, found objects....all kinds of things in here and you can build it up as it's not going to run over.  I have to thank Linda once again for inspiring me to think outside the box....it's just been a blast!

Bracelet Madness

I am seriously hitting the panic button. It's Linda's last full day here and there is just so much left that I want to do....and yes, we are still going to make videos this afternoon! Yikes!!!

I think I am getting the hang of bracelet making. Wow!!! It's not a 3 minute process, that's for sure! This is my second one...and I'm quite happy with it!

While I know I need to perfect my technique....I just can't complain.  A few errors....but hey!  it absolutely fits my wrist which was my goal - custom sizing, custom shaping!

Fortunately, I have an oval bracelet mandrel for use with my metal clay work.  It turned out to be just perfect for making oval Friendly Plastic bracelets  The secret?  Slather it up with vasoline or badger balm.

Oops! Did I just give away a trade secret?  Who needs silpat when you have vasoline?  OK...really, you need them both!

And you really don't need to invest in a mandrel.  Just find an oval shaped bottle about the size of your wrist.  I'm thinking a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby where they have tons of decorative bottles is in order soon.

Here is my first attempt at making a bracelet.  While far from perfect....it was made from nothing but scraps that we had left over.  So I think the possibilities are endless and pretty cool.  Now, how did Linda do that paisley piece?  You are going to have to check her blog and just be patient until she posts that one!!!  If I'm just using the scraps....you can only imagine how gorgeous her piece is!

And my first shape wasn't all that great...but it was the start of getting it to go oval, not round.

I have learned this week that the more I do, the better I get.  I think that with each piece, I have learned a little something new, a different way of doing what I was doing, a little something interesting. So my best advice is to just keep at it.  And I'm still going to say that my absolute favorite thing is that if you don't like what you've made, you can toss it back into the hot water, melt it, recolor or refoil it, and make something completely different!

In the meantime, my head is just swimming with bracelet ideas.  I'm thinking thin narrow bangles, rolled rope bangles with beads and charms dangling from them.....I can hardly wait to play some more but Linda tells me we just have to do some videos today.  After all, we did promise someone that we would do that!  One of these days I'm going to learn to keep my mouth shut!  LOL!!!

Wood bangle braclets

After Midnight Stamps has new blank wood bracelets in stock. Oh my....just look at what you can do with them!




paint and stamp:



stamp and seal:



Add shells made from molds:



add elements made with opals:



more embellishing:



or even use the swirls from my Lucy McGoo stamps (the Angel sheet) to stamp on the bracelet.



Hmmm....I think that last one might just go missing from the booth! LOLOL!!!

I'm buying 4 blanks....but you know, I think I need more than that! I can see a zillion uses for these! Oh dear...there's goes my budget again!

OK, I know.....WHAT budget? LOL!

Bangle Bracelet Class

Oh! Doesn't this make you just want to hop a plane to San Deigo???



Jammed with fun techniques




And you'll definitely learn how to wire wrap anything!



And how did I find bottle caps with sails on them? Just perfect for San Diego! We'll be flatening them in the Wizard and then embellishing them, both front and back.





Only enough stuff to make up 20 kits, so best call the store and sign up fast! Sat, Sep 13, 11 - 2. Now why did I only give 3 hours for this class? Oh my, I think we just upped the fun factor! LOL!!! And finally, I will have a bracelet to go with my What-a-trip necklace!

OK, who's hopping a flight out? You know you want to! Come on! Isn't it time to play?

Expressions

Mom asked me the other day if I had a blog for aging. I said, "no" thinking to myself, "I'm NOT old!"

And then this morning, I was thinking that thought, "I'm so excited I could pee my pants!!!" and realized that as I age....that might just not be the best expression to use! LOLOL!

But it just fits. It's the expression I have used all my life to proclaim my ultimate excitement over an impending event!

My bags are packed! I've checked my lists not once, not twice, but THREE times! I think I have everything! I know I have way too much, I even shipped a box of goodies to play with! In just a few minutes....I'm off to catch a plane to fly to the Ozarks to spend the next few days with my dear friend, LINDA PETERSON!!!!!

I am so excited....ok, I HAVE to say it....I could just pee my pants!!!! LOLOL!

Linda is my creative muse. She is my guru. From the moment I first met her on board a cruise ship where we were teaching...she has just made me laugh. And to top it all off, she is probably my biggest cheerleader! She is always encouraging me to do the things that I do and to keep on playing!

So, a whole week to play???? I may just not survive it. My only warning has been that there will be NO sleep! LOLOL!!!

BUT....there is more! I'm sitting here on pins and needles waiting for my kiln to cool. I've made my first attempt to fashion a dichroic glass bracelet! What a completely scary thing. From the gal who said she would never have a kiln in her home...I've now fired it to 1250F, taken the lid off, stuck my gloved hands in there with tongs and fashioned a bracelet of glass on a mandrel!

Talk about heart attack city!!!

Maybe I should go back to living on a farm and cleaning horse stalls! Probably a whole lot safer!

NOT!

OK....15 more minutes and I can run to the studio and check to see if the kiln is cool enough to take the bracelet out. Of course, I plan to add silver to it...the silver is already done!!! And yes, I will finish the diecut tutorial....but it might not get posted until tomorrow as I'm driving from Kansas City to Ozark MO tonight!!!

Hey Linda....Hey Lindy Lou!!! Are you ready for me???? And no...I don't need depends yet....but I really am just so excited I could........


:o)