a little tutorial...

so, as promised, here come the resin pendants... they're actually made of clear embossing powder melted into a shallow metal container. i used bottle caps, but you can also use empty little cabochon or bezel settings which are much more finished for jewelry. i'm thinking magnets might be fun with the little bottle caps. they're a quick and fun project that can be done in your kitchen, and i made a little mini tutorial of mine:step one...

(and this is the fun part!) empty your beer bottle to obtain an empty cap. as you can see i used stella artois, which is pretty much the only beer i'll drink. i used to drink it when i lived in france, and it brings back happy memories. plus the backs are really pretty.

step two...

choose little items for inside the form. paper, glass, and little metal beads or charms work really well. plastic will melt (which can actually be fun to experiment with) and i used a tiny scrap of organza ribbon in this one. hollow things can cause air bubbles.

step three...

assemble all the little pieces in your form. a little touch of glue or clay will anchor them. i tapped a bit of the embossing powder into a triangle bead tray for easier pouring.

step four...

gently tap the embossing powder to fill the form, and make sure there's a little mound in the middle so that it will spread out as it melts.

step five...

pop the whole thing into the oven at about 275 degrees. i used a piece of tinfoil to transfer it from the counter to my baking sheet. careful not to bump it!

step six...

keep a close eye on it as it melts (sidenote: make sure it stays in the oven until completely melted... this one was taken out for a bettter picture and it caused the finished effect to be cloudy instead of clear). all of the white powder will turn clear from the outside in, the middle will melt last. take it out of the oven as soon as all of the powder turns to liquid, if you leave it in too long your components inside may start to melt. again, careful not to bump it, the liquid can spill before it hardens.

and finally...
when the resin is all cooled and hardened, you're done! now you can make them into pendant necklaces, magnets, earrings, bracelet links, or whatever else you like. the black and pink flower one at the top right was the one actually made in these pictures. most of these were experimental, and i like the one in the rectangular setting the best. the bottle caps have a great old-school camp project feel (like a popsicle stick craft), i think i'll definitely be making a set of magnets with them. the embossing powder i used was judikins amazing glaze which can most easily be found at scrapbooking and stamping places.