Art Squares - Stencil and Color Your Own Piece of Jewelry

Hello everyone!!  Happy Election Day!  I do believe that this is going to be a long and very interesting day and, since I am 3 hours ahead of the states, I will probably not know who won until tomorrow morning!   At least the sun is out and it will be a beautiful day.  Gotta think positive...right? 

So for Day 6 of The Daily Marker and the 30 Day Coloring Challenge I decided to go in a different direction.  Actually, I kinda veered way off course and used an Art Square by Inchie Arts to make a simple necklace.  Art Squares are precision cut mattboard, available in many different sizes, and are perfect to use with ANY medium!  To see all the different ways you can use an Art Square check out the Inchie Arts blog HERE.  

Now...to make the necklace - I started by placing a 2" Art Square on my work surface with the Crazed stencil (StencilGirl Products) on top of the Art Square.  I then traced the design I wanted with a pencil.  Then I removed the stencil, went back over my pencil lines with a black Bic Marker and then colored in the design with a variety of other Bic Markers.  (You can trace directly with the black marker but...if you make a mistake...you cannot erase it).

Next I adhered a piece of decorative paper to the reverse side of the Art Square and smoothed out the edges with a piece of ultra fine sandpaper.  Then I rubbed in some MicroGlaze (Judikins) to seal both sides so that my colors would not bleed when I applied the glaze.  To be honest, I can never remember how the markers I use will react with certain glazes I use so I use MicroGlaze first. MicroGlaze is a cream wax that protects and coats the project and repels water. I love this product and highly recommend that you have it in your craft arsenal!! 

Once the MicroGlaze has been rubbed in, I let it sit for a bit to completely dry, and then I applied Diamond Glaze (Judikins) over the front of the Art Square. I popped all the bubbles and then set it aside, covered it with a box so that no dust would settle on the glaze, and allowed it dry overnight.  

The next morning the piece was dry and ready to make into a necklace.  You have two options - one is to slip the finished Art Square into a 2" Memory Frame, slip a chain around it and you are ready to go.  The only problem is that it seems these are no longer being made by Ranger so they may be in limited supply at your local craft store.  (If these are still being made, please let me know because I cannot find them online other than on Amazon or Ebay).

The other option is to adhere a jewelry backing to the back of the Art Square, allow it to dry, and then slip a chain through it to wear.  This will not give you a frame around your piece but it gives a more modern look - I think.  

I hope you guys enjoyed this different type of project from me.  I love making cards but I miss using my stencil stash and had to try something different this week.  Let me know what you think and which necklace you guys like better. Until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil - 

Michael