I know that most folks use rubber stamps to create gorgeous greeting cards, and preserve their memories in beautiful scrapbooks. Me, I like to use rubber stamps on all kinds of surfaces: fabric, polymer clay, lampshades, canvas, collages- anything that will sit still. (Which is why my two standard poodles are not yet covered in stamped images!) Another surface that is lots of fun to experiment with are Style Stones from Clearsnap. (Note: Clearsnap has a very interesting website- the only address that comes up is their main website landing page. Otherwise I would give you additional links in this article to go to specific products. You'll just have to click through their website on your own. Be sure to click the "Product Info" button on the upper right to get the lowdown on each product.)
The company describes Style Stones as "inkable, predrilled natural finished cultured stone." I get all of that except for the "cultured stone" part. Maybe they are like "cultured pearls" - which are indeed pearls, but are induced by man to grow in oysters under specific growing conditions. So maybe these are man-made "stones". What I do know is that they are a wonderful surface to play with, and since they are predrilled, they are easily strung to create jewelry.
This particular piece is made from their small squares (approximately 7/8" square). I inked each square with Clearsnap's MicaMagic red ink. This type of ink has a rich infusion of tiny mica particles, which make it shimmer without being garish. The back was inked with Tsukineko's Brilliance Pigment Ink in Lightning Black, which is an interesting black pigment ink with gold shimmer in it. Both sides were heat set with my embossing gun before proceeding further. One important note in working with the Style Stones: they conduct heat REALLY REALLY well!!! So be careful to let them cool off a bit after you've done a heat-setting step.
The images were from Acey Deucy- a series of interesting Asian ladies and small oriental writing from the "Imperial Cargo" line. These were stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black right on top of the heat-set red ink. I made sure that they were NOT centered, to add more interest to each stone. The edges of each Stone were finished with a Krylon Gold Leafing Pen. (This is absolutely one of my all time favorite tools- I may have to write a post just about using it. Such a great way to add a beautiful metallic gold edge to your art work! It really helps to give that final finishing touch that makes a project come together.)
Anyway- the tops of each Style Stone were flooded with Crystal Effects to create a hard glossy surface. Once dry, they were strung on "Stretch Magic" by Soft Flex. This is a super strong, solid elastic cord that comes in clear and black. Nothing fancy about it- you cut it to length, tie a square knot, and put a little dab of glue on the knot to hold it. To-date, I've stretched these bracelets numerous times through wearing the bracelets, putting them on and off, and the knot still holds. Super simple, hence I love it! In addition to the Style Stones, I used some black glass and gold beads as spacers.
These bracelets are tons of fun to make, and don't take any time at all. The bigggest hassle is waiting for the Crystal Effects to dry. But even that is not a required finish- they look equally lovely without the glossy finish, and the surface holds up well to everyday living if you are wearing them as a bracelet.
Let me know what you think! Ready to make one in a class? Gather three of your friends, and we can do a "Class on Call" just for you! Drop me a line!
Keep creating-
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