Thursday, September 1, 2011

Etceteras: faux beads and martha stewart paint


This is another project that has been on my list to make for quite awhile. Faux stone beads.

These bracelets are the inspiration. I wore these a lot this summer. The blue bracelet is turquoise and I’m not sure what type of stone the white bracelet is.

 
I love these bracelets. They’re easy to throw on since they’re on stretchy jewelry cord and their chunky size and variegated tones make a nice statement.

Paint Collage
Enter the new Martha Stewart Decorative Paint line from Plaid. I was really excited to receive a sampling of this line and test them out. What’s unique about this line of paints is you can use them on any surface; wood, metal, glass, ceramic, terra cotta or fabric. The line is debuting this week exclusively at Michaels Stores.


I started by making some salt dough beads. I don’t have a picture of the beads before I painted them but here’s the recipe I used:

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1-1/2 cups cold water

Note: I cut the recipe in half and had more than enough dough to make a lot of beads.

Thoroughly mix the flour and salt together. Add the water and mix well. Knead the mixture for ten to fifteen minutes. Shape your beads and make a hole with a wooden skewer. Bake at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours or until they are completely dry and hardened.

Tip: The holes on most of my beads closed up during the baking process. I may try baking them on a piece of wire or the skewer next time I make these.


Once the beads were cooled, I started painting them with the Martha Stewart paints. I used two coats of High Gloss Wedding Cake for the white and while the white paint was still wet added Metallic Sterling for the accent. I didn’t have any varnish on hand to seal them so I used clear nail polish.

My favorite bracelets; turquoise, white stone and salt dough.

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11 comments :

  1. Those are really fun- so many possibilities! Thanks for sharing the details, I'll be linking.

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  2. Wow, if you hadn't have told us, I wouldn't have been able to tell the 'fake'! Great job!

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  3. These look amazing, I have never seen a tutorial on bead-making. I really want to try it now! I really like the looks of the beads being all just a little different. So glad to find your post!

    I would love to see you link this post up at Freestyle Friday over at Happy Hour Projects!

    Hope to see you there ~ Adrianne
    www.happyhourprojects.com

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  4. These turned out lovely, Carolyn!

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  5. I would never ever have guessed! As always, you did a fantastic job!

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  6. WOW! How cool are these??? Love how they both turned out. Great tutorial!

    Id LOVE for you to link this up to my new DIY fashion linky party called DIY Diva Thursdays! We party until Monday, so you have plenty of time to link up! I hope to see you there :)

    Kara
    www.mineforthemaking.com

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  7. Thanks for posting-we just loved this tutorial :) I was just looking for a tutorial that used home made clay for my budding crafters to work with and this is perfect!

    Have a great weekend-
    Sami

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  8. That is a really cool idea! I would never have thought of it myself. I am doing something with Plaster of Paris right now and that just might be something you could use too. Hmmm!

    www.keepitsimpleyay.blogspot.com

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  9. I've never made my own salt beads before... must give this a try!

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  10. These look great Carolyn...I never thought about painting beads! The next time definitely thread them on wire so they don't close up. I bake mine in the toaster oven and thread the beads on a piece of 26 gauge wire and balance it on the edges of the tray. Makes it easy to poke the holes too :)

    Awesome project! (Now I have paint envy)

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  11. What a great idea! I bet air dry clay would work too and it's less work than salt dough! Really cool, Carolyn!

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