A Frosty and Spooky Jewelry Gift

Hi there, today I want to share a fun jewelry set I made to give as a gift.  I have great family and friends that appreciate and love hand made gifts.  One of my sister's is always wearing something I made for her, many years ago.  It feels great to see people appreciate something you made just for them.   Since our family celebrates the Day of the Dead, I wanted to make something fun and different.

I took some pretty clear beads and thought it would be nice to dip them in etchall to give them a "frost" look, I thought it would make them look ghostly too.  I made my own tiny resin skulls that were hand painted to look different and incorporated black beads into the project as well.

This had to be a full set, a nice necklace, bracelet and earrings.  I can't wait to give this set to my sister tomorrow.

So here's what I did to my clear beads.  See below for steps on how this awesome product works.

I purchased these tiny cups that look like cupcake liners but they are for painting, the inside is like plastic, but yet is flexible just like a paper cupcake liner.   I use these a lot when I paint, to hold water or even small amounts of paint.

I took my dip'n etch liquid, my paper cup, and my clear glass beads, I left the head pins on the beads.

I placed the beads in the paper cup and added enough etching liquid to cover them completely, left them alone for 15 minutes so that the etching would take place.

Once the  15 minutes are over,  you can pour the etching liquid back into the bottle, because just like the etching cream, the liquid is re-usable too.  On the photo below you can see the beads, all you have to do at this point is rinse the beads and make sure all the etching liquid is gone, I got to re-use my paper cup too.  Remember to follow the instructions on how to rinse off the etching liquid safely, specially if you have a ceramic sink. Click on this link to find out more about this great product and how to purchase some to try  if you haven't yet. Dip'n Etch Liquid

 

Here you can see the now frosted glass beads, at this point you can do anything you want to them, you can go ahead and paint them over, add designs or like a friend suggested add some tiny eyes and make them look like tiny ghosts.  I decided to just use them this way, I had some beads I didn't etched, so the contrast by using both would be nice. 

Here you can see how the clear glass beads look along side the new frosted glass beads, loved how this product allowed me to make my glass beads look so different this new mix is going to make my project more interesting.   Now it was time to assemble a new jewelry set to give away as a gift.

Here are some photos of the finished necklace and bracelet, I was able to incorporate the original clear glass beads along with the new frosted beads and some black beads were added to add more contrast.

This photo shows the necklace, the focal piece has one of the resin skulls I hand made and a cluster of beads showing the new frosted and the original clear glass beads, along with a couple of black beads.

I added three skulls to the chain, each one has beads on the sides, both the new etched beads and the original beads, I'm really happy on how these looks, it's interesting and fun, knowing it's the same bead, and that I was able to give it a new look with this fun etching product.  

I had to take this project outdoors to get a better reflection of these fun beads.  The first photo below shows the bracelet I made, using the same items as the necklace and focusing on the same type of groupings to make this a matching set.

This photo here shows the three groupings on the necklace, here you can see the focal piece, that nice cluster of beads really shows how the etching liquid can help you take one bead and make it look completely different, allowing you to have more options in your jewelry making without having to go and buy other beads.   I can't wait to give this to my sister, I just know she's going to love it.

I recommend you give this product a try, it's so easy to use, really in this case all I had to do was pour it in a container with beads and let it do it's work, that's it, it can't get any easier.  Go her to order this and some of their other products available for you.   Get creative and make your Holiday gifts, I'm sure everyone would enjoy a special gift handcrafted just for them.   Etchall