Completed Large Resin Heart Ornaments with Butterflies and Glitter

I had finished these a couple of weeks ago, but have not had time to share them here. I had them listed in my store as a jewelry supply until I could decide what to do with them. Time plays a lot into that factor. These are large resin hearts, about two inches across, so you really wouldn't want them as a focal bead on a necklace. So, after drilling the hole with my trusty bead reamer, I used lovely blue and red craft wire to make a wire wrapped loop for hanging. Now technically yes you could use this as a focal bead, but I think it would look beautiful on a Christmas tree. I love the Monarch with blue wire, because it has 3D effects. These are not high gloss finish, and I love them just fine. I can add a high gloss but that will be extra. I do gloss the ones I make into jewelry for protection of the piece. I ordered some new resin, and can't wait to start playing around with it again. Unfortunately I have to wait until April. That is OK though, because I have lots of ones to make into something special, and I am collecting fancy stickers, drying and pressing flowers from my garden, and will be going fossil hunting again in March. We have had a ton of rain this winter here in Florida, which is not normal this is our dry season, so hopefully we will find some larger shark teeth this time around. If you would like to purchase these pieces, or check out my other beauties, visit my Etsy store. I offer layaway too!

2 New Hand Painted Gift Bags Easter and Pink Robin

I finally got to paint some new gift bags. I had run out of bags, and with me working every other weekend, I just couldn't get anymore. I will be doing two more next week as well. The first one is a cute Bunny hugging his carrot with a purple ribbon. It is perfect for an Easter gift, baby shower or birthday party. All my bags can be re-used or framed and hung as art work. I love how this one came out, and I can do it in other colors, so just contact me if you want it in other colors, by clicking the highlighted link. The second is a Pink Robin sitting in some leaves. For some reason my birds look better when I paint them looking to the left, rather than the right. I have no idea why this is, but his head is a little longer than I like, and he should technically be slightly more round. I may try this one again. Both of these bags are available in my Etsy store, and remember I take custom orders, so contact me through the message system or at melissaruede@yahoo.com Please do not spam my personal email account with other stupid things, I will flag them as spam. Those of you who do this you know exactly who you are.

How to Make Bezels for Resin Jewelry

I love this tutorial, though I don't care for how she finished the pieces off. I hope to be able to experiment with this procedure.

Hand Made Beaded Bubble Wands for Birthdays, Weddings, or Graduation

Need a cool party favor that is safe for the environment? Then check out my hand beaded bubble wands. These are great for birthday parties, baby or wedding showers, graduations, or wedding ceremonies. I will be selling these in lots of five through my Etsy store. If you want a large order I can work out a deal for you on pricing. These are time consuming to make, especially the tiny seed bead ones. I can do color combos and schemes, so please ask if you are interested.  As you can see from the image they work awesome, and my daughter had a blast testing them for me.  Visit my Etsy store for details.

Painted Pink Zebra Stripes with White Background Plates

A while ago, at a consignment shop, I found a whole bunch of nice glass plates for an awesome price. So, I bought them, having no idea really what project I would use them for. Then, my 9 yr old decided for her 10th birthday that she wanted pink striped zebra print as her theme. So, I had some wooden pieces, that I painted black and added pink zebra stripes to, they are not shown yet. Then I did one of the plates with pink and black, but she didn't care for it so much. So, I did pink stripes with white background. This she liked. She said it is ok if the background is black on some, but white on her plates. When you paint on glass you have to put the paint on backwards. What I mean by that is, just glass plates by the way, not other glass items, you have to paint the background on last not first. So, I had to paint on the zebra stripes then the white after the stripes dried. The next plate, I think I am just going to do the center to see if I like that more than the stripes all around the sides. Then I can finish them in the way I like the most. This is acrylic paints.

Lilac Amethyst and A New Venture

I am considering a new venture that has to do with sales, and jewelry, but not jewelry that I make. I have not decided for sure yet, but it is looking promising. I will of course continue to make my own, as well. Also, every time I share something on this blog, I will offer advertising space. I will be working on my blogs, and all free ads that did not reciprocate the agreement to share my blog will be removed. I will be doing no more free ads. I will do guest posts, if you have something to offer that is on topic with this blog, paid banners, and paid text ads. If you are interested in any of those things, contact me in the comments with your contact info and I will get back to you. Please do not spam this blog, or my email address, because I will ignore you and spam comments will be removed. Everyone knows what spam is. Were you born in February? Then your birthstone is the lovely purple Amethyst. The ring shown below, can be purchased in my Etsy store, and is a lovely Lilac Amethyst with red rubies along the shoulders.

A Video About Amethyst

Amethyst is the birthstone for February. It is a beautiful stone, that comes in a variety of hues from light purple to the deepest of purples. It can also be found as a green variety, called Prasiolite, which is very light Amethyst that has been heated to a beautiful mint green color. Most Amethyst is very light colored Citrine that has been heat treated.

Baby Sea Turtle Abstract Art

If you look at this painting you will notice it has two dates on it. That is because I painted the circles, when I had a desire to learn more about Abstract Art. Then I just set it aside, thinking, yuck I don't even like it. Well I was going through some of my older pieces of art, deciding what to do with them, and I decided to paint some baby sea turtles onto the circles. Now this abstract I love. It is done in acrylics, and would make cute nursery art. I will be doing some more abstracts similar to this type of theme. I actually have a ton of finished resin pieces to share and list in my stores, just have not had the time to catch up. Soon, so watch for them. Some of them are really unique and cool. This painting is available to purchase in my Etsy store,

Mother's Pendant/Family Pendant Gemstones in Resin Custom Order

I have used up all my resin, except for a tiny bit to finish off pieces. I saved my favorite projects for last. I was a little skeptical about whether I should put real gemstones inside resin. I have been collecting gemstones for almost ten years. When you buy in large parcels, as I frequently do, you get a lot of stones that are not good enough to put in regular jewelry castings, but in other projects they are fine. This piece will remain mine, as it is the birthstones for my family members. There are two rubies, a peridot and an emerald. Now why would I put an emerald in resin? Emeralds are very fragile, and when I tried to use this particular emerald in a traditional casting it cracked. So, it was unusable, basically. But, I kept it because the color is amazing and it is my daughter's birthstone. I only have that one emerald. The rubies are small, the smaller the stone the harder it is to set in traditional settings, and I own so many peridot it isn't even funny. Anyway, this will be listed in my Etsy store as a custom order only. I think this style is lovely, but the donut shape mold would be nice too. I do not yet own that mold. If you are interested in having one of these made, please contact me through my Etsy store for details. Prices will vary, as some gemstones are not as easy to get, and are way more expensive than say a Garnet or Amethyst.