Pretty Palettes November

Hello!

The Pretty Palettes inspiration on the Halcraft blog this month is a wonderful palette with blues and greens (my faves) with a touch of gold.  The inspiration is a beautiful piece of marbled paper.

Here's the palette generated from the paper:

I headed to our local Michaels, where all the strung beads were 40% off!  Woohoo!  Plus, I had a coupon!

Here's what I came home with~

I was going with more of the beads that Molly chose, but then I saw the turquoise dyed imperial jasper and it looked to me just like the swirly designs on the paper.  Plus, it was turquoise, and it looked like the ocean.  Can't beat that!

After I got home, I noticed some of my selections at Michaels were Bead Landing beads and not Bead Gallery.   And, somehow I missed that white was one of the colors!  Entranced by pretty, shiny things, no doubt!

Here's the necklace and earrings that I created:

Imperial Jasper Necklace and Earrings

I love how this worked up with the slabs and rounds of imperial jasper with the gold bicones.  And, I have extra beads that are calling me!  I was really inspired by the marbled paper, too, and can't wait to try that.  So many ideas, so little time!  Thanks for the inspiration, Molly!

"Gather" Slate Sign

Hi folks!

I look forward to this time of year - the colors of the leaves, warm sweaters, family gathering together to share meals and memories.  It's the time of year when our family parties move inside to the kitchen and dining room from the patio and barbecue of summertime.  So, I take a little more time to decorate the house.

Signage is so popular now whether it is a phrase, a word or more.  One of the most popular words this year is "gather", so I thought it would be a great word to etch on slate.  I love the rustic look of slate and it's easy to etch.  Previously, I have cut stencils and etched inside the stencil.  This time, I'll show you how to etch the background, leaving the letters un-etched.  To do this, I'm using two of my favorite etchall® products:  etchall® dip 'n etch and etchall® resist gel.



Here's the slate sign I started with:

I traced the sign on a piece of scratch paper and wrote out the word to figure out the placement of the letters.  Then, I went over the letters with the resist gel.  I took a toothpick and went through the gel to spread it and added more where I wanted the letters thicker.  Then, I let it dry.

 Here's the sign with the dried resist gel.  Now, I'll put the sign in a bath of etchall® dip 'n etch.

To set up, I found a shallow plastic lid that fit my sign.

I poured the etchall® dip 'n etch over the sign to cover and waited for 15 minutes.

After etching, I pulled the sign from the etchall® dip 'n etch and rinsed under running water.  I let it dry and pulled the resist off the slate.  I poured the etching liquid back into the jar to use again later.

Here it is after etching:

I added a wire hanger.

"Gather" Etched Slate Sign

Quick and easy, right?  This rustic sign will be great in my kitchen or even hanging outside in the entryway.  Tie or wire on a few fall leaves or sprigs of evergreen for an added flair.

"Gather" Etched Slate Sign

Disclaimer:  I am on the Design Team for etchall and receive their products to use in my designs.  I have enjoyed using their products and highly recommend them.