When I suggested to the ladies at the Art Emporium, (a local store in Needham, MA, where I frequently teach classes) that I do a class in Domino Jewelry, they very politely smiled and nodded and said, okay.
Today, when I dropped off the samples, we all got a good laugh when they confessed that they imagined unadorned dominoes, strung together to make a necklace. They were pleasantly surprised to see that the necklaces were anything but pieces of plastic with black dots!!
What I love about dominoes is that they provide a wonderful, smooth surface to work with. They are dense, so they don't feel "cheap", and they are incredibly sturdy. The other nice thing is that if you are unhappy with your design as it is evolving, you can pretty much wipe it off or rinse it off before it sets, and you can start all over again. They are a wonderful "canvas" to work on.
The first step to this necklace was to stamp the image (this one from Invoke Arts) on plain white tissue paper. Yes, tissue paper. I stamped the image using black StazOn ink, and then watercolored the image using Twinkling H2Os. These are fabulous, glittering watercolors that come in their own little pots.
In another live and learn moment (although this one I should have been able to anticipate!)- I painted on the back side of the image, thinking this would reduce any color running when I added sealant. What I learned is that the glittery effect does not show through to the right side. Of course this makes sense, because the glitter comes from light bouncing off of mica in the watercolor paints. And the light can't do that through paper.....Sigh. So I repainted on the right side where I wanted to accent the glittery nature of the color.
Then, I gently tore the paper close to the image. To help myself, I used a fine paintbrush dipped in plain water to draw a tearing line. This helps to prevent tearing into the image. The reason for the tearing is that you want a rough edge that will blend away more easilly than a cut one.
After tearing the image, I glued it onto the white surface of a domino using plain PVC white glue. I smoothed the edges so they disappeared at the edge of the domino. When it dried, I used my Krylon Gold Leafing Pen to color the edges and the back.
I used two pieces of 24 gauge artistic wire, one through the bottom hole, and one through the top. The bottom was decorated with beads and a brass charm. The charm was put on first and guided to the middle of the wire. I twisted the wire to create a loop to hold the charm, and then added some pink and white beads. The ends were then passed through the holes, and I curled them to hold them in place.
At the top, I created a loop in the center by twisting a couple of times, and then added the same bead pattern as I put on the bottom. I passed the ends through the holes, and then finished one side with a little brass charm of a key.
The piece was strung on black satin cord, with a brass clasp added at the ends.
I would wear this piece!!! What do you think?
Keep creating!!
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