charming...

Hello everyone!

Me again with a fun way to make customizable charms. 

Way back in March, I did a tutorial on alterable jewelry.  Well, as I was making those bracelets, I ended up taking one link off each to make them smaller. I kept those extra links in hopes of finding some fun way to use them. This week I needed a charm for a mini album, and I remembered these extra links....

Here's what you need:

Alterable Jewelry*

Clear Embossing Powder

Metal Pan (heat safe, not for food!)

Non-stick craft sheet

Tweezers

Metallic Accents

Flowers (or other flat things to embed)

Stove (or Ranger Melting Pot)

*I am using a "Keepsake Bracelet" made for putting photos in. I found it at a variety store for about $2.00, I have also seen this kind of thing in the clay isle of craft stores.

 Step 1: Cut a piece of non-stick craft sheet to fit in your metal pan. (I'm using a cheap metal tin meant for party favors, but it has a flat bottom and holds up to the heat.)

 Step 2: Figure out how you want to arrange your decorations. I'm using tiny paper flowers and Metallic Inspirations. 

 Step 3: Once you know how you are going to arrange things, place your charm in your pan and turn on your burner to LOW.  (each stove is different, so experiment, however if it is too hot, the powder will burn.)  The Ranger Melting Pot is specifically made for melting embossing powders, so if you have it, use it instead of the stove.

 Step 4: Once the charm is warm, sprinkle on a little clear embossing powder. Allow it to melt, then add more until you have a thin layer across the entire bottom of your charm.

 Step 5: Using your tweezers, carefully place in your embellishments.

(if layering embellishments, add a thin layer of embossing powder between elements to fuse them together.)

 Step 6: for extra bling, add  Metallic Accents. (you can use rhinestone, but they will stick out. The beauty of using Metallic Accents is they add the bling element without adding hight!!!)

 Step 7: Add a layer of embossing powder over the whole collage to seal it all in, and remove from heat.

*ALLOW TO COOL before handling!!! Don't get burnt!!!!!

This would look fabulous as part of a bracelet, but I'm going to cut one of the loops off and use it as a charm. 

So, there's a fun new way to use Metallic Accents in your crafting!

Enjoy!

~Kassi