Faux Sea Glass Mobile

Hi all!

I'm here today for etchall® to show you another way to use their amazing products.  Today I'm using etchall® dip 'n etch.  It's one of my favorites because it's so easy to use.

I'm etching some interesting glass beads that I found at JoAnn's.

Such interesting shapes and sizes, aren't they?

I put them in a plastic cup and covered them with etchall® dip 'n etch.

I swirled the cup a couple of times to make sure the beads were exposed to the solution evenly and waited for 15 minutes.  Then, I poured the excess back into the bottle to use next time.  I rinsed the beads, then washed them is dish soap, rinsed again and dried them on a paper towel.

Now, these beads have the softened look of sea glass.

These would make some fun jewelry, but I love the look of a sea glass mobile, so that is what I decided to create.

I didn't have a piece of driftwood, but I did have some commercial driftwood pieces.  You can find them in the floral section of your favorite craft store.

I tied on lengths of C-lon cord to the wood piece with overhand knots and ladder-stitched the pieces of glass down the lengths of cord.  Ladder stitching is just putting the cords into the bead from opposite directions.  In between the glass beads, make overhand knots.  Then, on the ends, I tied on silver fish beads.

Here's my mobile hanging in my herb garden:

Faux Sea Glass Mobile

And, here against a fence:

So, if you have a yearning for a bit of the sea in your life, but can't make it to the beach to gather some sea glass, make your own with etchall® dip 'n etch.  It's so easy!

(As a member of the Etchall Design Team, I received product with which to work.  But, I wouldn't be a part of it, if I didn't love the product.  Hope you'll try it!)

Summertime design fun

Hi everyone!

This month, I'm taking some time to play around with some media and try a few new things that have been on my mind.

One of the things I've wanted to try is weaving.  I love the big wall hangings, but I wanted to try making some woven hangings small enough to wear.

Here's my first try.  I attached some hemp cord to a twig, taped it down to my work surface and wove some recycled sari yarn through it.

I like the unstructured look to it, but if I want to do more weaving, I think I'll have to make or buy a loom and learn a bit more about weaving.

I think I'll add something over the weaving, like this brass dragonfly that I colored with alcohol inks.

Then, I'll attach a cord or chain to wear it or just hang it up with some twine.  I'm definitely going to try some more of these.

Also on my long list of things to try this summer:  more copper jewelry with hammering and stamping, etching copper, enameling and mixed media jewelry.  We'll see what I am able to fit in between design work and grandkids!

What are trying this summer?  I hope you are taking some time to try new things and just play a little without thinking too much about the end result!  Enjoy!