Creativity In A Nutshell

I had so much fun making these sweet scrabble tile earrings for my friend Olivia: Love on the Rocks


I really like the earrings, and think they came out great. I will be listing something quite similar in my Etsy shop soon, so stay posted! You can have some Love on the Rocks earrings of your own!

Yesterday, I spent 2 hours and 15 minutes in a car. Driving to my school. Realizing I forgot a bag full of clothes. Driving back home. Then back to school. It was, in a word, great. Ohhh well. I'm here. The problem is, I forgot to bring my chain-nose pliers. Great. I'm sure that someone around here will have some I can borrow...

Today I posted this darling little scrabble tile pendant:



I hand-painted it about a month ago, inspired by some really beautiful japanese origami paper, then sealed it and added the gold plated bail. I think it would make a really nice Valentines Day gift, so it's part of my Valentines Day sale, starting on Tuesday! Full price, it's $10.00 , however, Tuesday the 2nd through Sunday the 14th, it will be just $6.00!

Want to learn more about my scrabble tile jewelry?

On a side note, the Dirt Road Artists now have a fanpage over on facebook! We will be adding photos of our great products on Etsy, info on our swaps etc and all kinds of good stuff! Check it out!

*Who Doesn't Like Free Jewelery? Especially When it Rocks!*

Valentines Day is a holdiay of love. It does not have to be that mushy gushy holiday with bright pink roses and chubby cupids, though I don't mind the boxes of chocolate (and if you're into the flowers and the cupids then props for you).
I look at Valentines Day as my chance to pay-it-forward and show my love to everyone... so to speak :)

What's The Plan, Stan?


For this Valentines Day, I am offering up a gift to you! You have a chance to score these beautiful and quirky hand-made scrabble tile earrings, "Team Cupcake", totally free!

Your mission, should you choose to accept (and why wouldn't you?!):

• Leave a comment on this post, telling me your favorite item from Callie's Creations on Etsy, and why.
• Be sure to inclue your name and a link to your own blog, if you have one.

You may enter to win up until midnight, Sunday February 7th. I will select a winner out of a hat (with fingers crossed for you all) on Monday, February 8th. I will get in touch with you when you win and mail out your sweet new earrings!

Want to learn more about my scrabble tile jewelry?

Over the past month I have been inspired to create upcycled jewelry using scrabble tiles.
All of my scrabble tiles are created by me :) You can purchase my scrabble tile jewelry in my Etsy shop, Callie's Creations.

Many of them are drawn in india ink and then lightly colored for a vintage or aged look, then finally sealed.

Every single one of them is unique and one-of-a-kind.


More Similar Fun Stuff!

• Indie Girl Handmade Scrabble Tile Necklace
• Coffee Equals Happiness Scrabble Tile Earrings
• Fly Scrabble Tile Charm
• Tree Girl Handmade Scrabble Tile Necklace
• With Love Handmade Scrabble Tile Necklace
• Belong To Paris Handmade Scrabble Tile Necklace

More Stuff on the Information Highway:

• Stamping Scrabble Tile Tutorial 
• Project: Scrabble Tile Bracelet

crabble tile pendants certainly are all the rage at the moment, but there's no reason to settle for the typical cut and paste projects. This tutorial will walk you through using fun stamps, Pearl Ex Pigments and micro beads to create some one-of-a-kind pendants and charms of your own.




Ingredients:

• Scrabble tiles or similar (there are some scrabble tile look-a-likes out there)
• A variety of stamps - smaller stamps will fit the scrabble tiles, but remember that you can use just a part of a larger stamp for an interesting affect
• Ink pads in a variety of colors - I reccomend Staz On
• Pearl Ex Pigments
• Regular white glue (elmers or tacky)
• Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents
• Modge Podge
• Micro Beads
• E-6000 and bail (unless you're going to drill your tiles)

Tools Of The Trade:

• Paintbrush
• Plastic pallet (for mizing pearl ex pigments)
• Safety Pin
• Waterproof, permanent pens - Faver-Castell India Ink pens or Sharpies work well
  

Process:

• Step One: Select your stamp. I am using some great small stamps I picked up at Michael's for $1. Ink your stamp.If you are using a stamp larger than the scrabble tile, ink a slightly larger area than you intend to use - it's pretty tough to get the stamp exactly where you want it on the tile. Stamp the image on the tile by laying the tile down on the stamp, not the other way around. Press down lighty, doing your best not to wiggle it around.

• Step Two: Try layering differnt stamps and different color inks. You can also use embossing powerder and a heat gun at this point if you'd like.

• Step Three: give the stamped images time to dry. If you are using an  "imitation" scrabble tile, more than likely it has an unfinished surface and the ink will seep into the tile rather quickly. With an actual scrabble tile, the ink will sit on the surface and need more time to dry. Once they are dry, you can add punch to the stamped images using pearl ex pigments, mixed with a little bit of water and glue. Use them just like you would paint- mix colors, play around. I suggest using a small brush to apply the pigment to your tiles.

• Step Four: Again, allow everything to dry. At this point, you can add 3-dimensional stuff to your scrabble tiles. I recommend starting with micro beads because they're small, however, by all means, play around. If you are using micro beads, I would suggest:
• Coat the side of the scrabble tile you're working on with a thin layer of mod podge or slightly watered down glue.

• Place the micro beads about where you want them - it's going to be impossible to play them exactly in the right place on the first try. Using a pin, push the beads to where you want them to be. Allow the mod podge or glue to dry completely.

• TIP: No matter what - DONT leave the container open. I... I guess I really am a clutz, though I wish I could say I was just multi-tasking too much, but of course... I managed to spill them. All over my desk. It was a disaster. Good luck!
• 
  Step Four: Once you're happy and everything is dry you can seal the tile. Here is the crux. If you've used a waterbased ink, you're going to need to use a sealant that is NOT water based. Otherwise you're going to end up with a blurry mess. Finally add a coat of diamond glaze or glossy accents. If you're working with non-traditional scrabble tiles, you're going to want to coat every side of the tile. Wait for one side to dry completely before working on another side - I've learned this the hard way...

• Tips for applying Diamond Glaze: Use even pressure, working around the edges, then moving into the middle. If you happen to get a bubble, you're not really going to be able to pop it. Drag it out using a pin.
• Step Five: Now it's time to complete the pendant. I always allow my scrabble tiles to dry over night - that way there's no risk of mess ups - and as I am clutsy as it is, I don't need to do anything to add to the liklihood of my messing up. Using a small dab of E-6000, attach a bail and voila!
• Tips for working with E-6000: If you're sensitive to strong smells, make sure you have some ventilation. I'm pretty sure there are warnings for this... In any case, I try to work with small amounts and leave the room if I start to get a headache. I dab a bit of epoxy on a scrap piece of paper and use the tip of a safety pin to dot a tiny bit on the back of the bail - a lot goes a long way. Then I place the bail on the tile, center it, and use another safety pin or a toothpick to carefully swab away any excess epoxy. This takes some practice :) 
• 
  
  
  
  
  

C'est Fin!

In my bead and charm-making adventures, I have often heard many people talk about working with Diamond Glaze. I have mostly been tampering with Glossy Accents, but I though, eh, what the heck?! Got ta try something new, right? Well... my first venture with Diamond Glaze was in my Artistry Beads Tutorial, and things could have gone better.

Problems:

• I found that the Diamond Glaze quickly began to set and harden, much like nailpolish lacquer. 
• There were literally millions of big and little bubbles, which were already in the bottle. I know that if you shake the bottle, you're going to get bubbles. I didn't shake the bottle. Still there were all these annoying little bubbles! Gah!

Good Things:

• I really like the nice, solid and hard finish with the Diamond Glaze. It's very shiny, and shiny is good :)
• It has no smell that I noticed
• It didn't take long to dry... but then again that's a good and a bad thing
• I have been told that you can mix watercolors etc into it, and it's water-soluble, so that adds other options, however, I have not yet experimented with that aspect of Diamond Glaze yet
  

What's the Plan, Stan?

• Well, I am going to continue to experiment with the Diamond Glaze to see if I can't get something to work. As I find solutions, I will post them to keep you all updated!
• If you have any tips or tools of the trade to use with Diamond Glaze, please, share! Email me at cagarp@plymouth.edu
  

Where can you buy some Diamond Glaze of your own?
Art fire

There's a lot of beautiful jewelry out there. I can get caught up on Etsy for hours and hours, just engrossed in all the wonderful ways people create jewelry. It truly is an art. That word right there, art, is the key to what I aspire to with my jewelry. I believe any necklace, earrings, ring, bracelet should be a unique and inspiring work of art.
One way to reach that goal, is to create interesting and innovative designs. Another way, however, is to create my own little art beads and charms. I have been working towards that with my scrabble tile charms and pendants. My next new idea is to create miniature watercolor paintings, which I will epoxy onto a shape and create a miniature mounted painting, which can strung on a necklace, or dangled from an earrings.
I am just in the beginning stages of this technique, but I am so excited about it, I just had to share the idea! I have a great deal of experience with watercolor painting. To see a collective gallery of my watercolor works, skip over to my art website.
On a side note, I will also be testing out Diamond Glaze for this tutorial. Since this is my first time using it, I have come up with a lot of problems and am searching for solutions. Stay posted to learn more about my adventures with Diamond Glaze!

What's The Plan, Stan?

• I'm going to walk you through my initial process of creating these fun, original works of art, with additional information on paint and paper.

Ingredients:

• First of all, you will need watercolor paper
• A note about paper: you will quickly notice that realm of artist watercolor paper is vast, and rightfully so. Different kinds and qualities of papers will have different affects. Here are the basics:
• Cold press paper will have a more rough, more visible texture to it. This can be good or bad, depending on what you want.
• Hot press paper is the opposite, which a much smooth surface, and minimal visible texture.
• To begin with, student grade is fine, at least until you know if you like this idea or not.
• You will also, of course, need watercolor paints
• A note about paints: while I would not suggest buying a crayola watercolor paint pallet  you should not spend a gazillion dollars on the firt project. Try a cheap boxed tube set for $6-$7 at Michaels
• For this adventure, we are going to work with two scrabble tiles to mount our pictures on. A - because we are (hopefully) already familiar with them, and we already have some (again, hopefully)
• If you have something else you can mount your paintings onto, by all means, try it out, and feel free to let me know how it went via cagarp@plymouth.edu
• Epoxy - there are tons out there but E9000 is a good one
• Mounting bail 
• Diamond glaze, or similar
• Modge Podge to seal the painting

Tools Of The Trade:

• Fine round point watercolor brushes - synthetic work just fine
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Masking tape
• Watercolor pallet (you can get one for $.99)
• Art cloth - any clean old rag will do
• Mechanical pencil

Process:

• Carefully trace the scrabble tile on the watercolor paper, using a mechanical pencil. Make sure the lead is pressed right up against the tile.

• Next, keeping an extra boarder of about 1/2 inch, cut out the square.
• Tape down the paper, lining up the edge of the masking tape with the edge of the traced scrabble tile. Watercolor paper gets distorted as the fibers expand and soak up the pigment, but if taped down, it will shrink back to its normal shape.

• Paint your design/picture using whatever variety of watercolor techniques you know. Allow to dry completely. Remove the tape gently, so not to rip.

• Trim off the extra border around the painting. 

• At this point, you may want to prep the scrabble tile. You could paint it, stamp it, do anything at all. Be creative! You may want to seal the scrabble tile with a coat of Modge Podge or lightly watered down craft glue.
• Attach the painting to scrabble tile using Modge Podge, or basic crafting glue. 

• Turn the scrabble tile face down and trim off the extra paper.

• Seal top of painting with a coat of Modge Podge.
• Don't use watered down glue, as the water will cause the painting to smear.
• Epoxy the bail to back of the scrabble tile.
• Coat one side at a time with Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents and allow to dry completely.

C'est Fin!

Bead Artist Showcase
Your work could be right here! Submit your own artwork beads to Creativity In A Nutshell via email to cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel free to include pictures, anything new you tried and suggestions you have for improvement.

More Similar Fun Stuff!
Project: Scrabble Tile Jewelry
Tutorial: Scrabble Tile Pendants and Charms

Create the look of funky foreign ephemera stamps with these post-office inspired earrings.



What's The Plan, Stan?

• Use two postage stamps (either real, or not :) to create twin scrabble tiles charms, which will be used to make a simple, yet distinct pair of earrings.
  

Ingredients:

• Two scrabble tiles
• Two stamps (I bought a small pack of scrap booking stamps - made to look like they're from all over the world, however, there are literally tons of options out there. You can use some stamps you have in your own collections, you can buy some real exotic stamps online, you can make your own...)
• Tacky Glue
• Glossy Accents (or similar)
• Two eyepins
• Two ear wires
• Four large jumprings
• Two small jumprings
• Two pyrite rondelles
• Two shell 4 mm rounds
  

Tools Of The Trade:

• Drill with small bit
• Scrap piece of wood
• Paintbrush
• Needlenose pliers
  

Process:

• Measures and mark two holes on each scrabble tile - one on top, one on bottom. Drill :)
• Cover blank side with think coat of lightly watered down glue. Place postage stamps on top, then add another coat of glue. Allow to dry. Repierce the holes with a thumbtack, safety pin etc
• At this point you can add further decoration to the tile with Pearl Ex Pigments, sharpies, colored pencils etc. I left mine as it is. Allow to dry completely.
• Cover each surface with glossy accents.
• Once the tile is completely dried, add the jumprings. Attach the earwires to the top jumprings by linking them with the small jumpring. 
• Connect the eyepin to the bottom jumpring. Add the pyrite rondelle, then the shell round. Close with a wrapped loop.
  

C'est Fin!

Bead Artist Showcase
You work could be right here! Submit your own BLANK to Creativity In A Nutshell via email to cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel free to include pictures, anything new you tried and suggestions you have for improvement.

More Similar Fun Stuff!

• Tutorial: Scrabble Tile Charms and Pendants  
• Project: Scrabble Tile Jewelry 
• Classic Decadence: Vintage Inspired Earrings: Project
  

More Stuff on the Information Highway:

• Recycled Crafts
  

Making jewelry is expensive. There is just no way around it. So, I'm going to start handing you tips and tools for making it much more affordable, and in some cases free. Remember, the goal here is saving a dime, but also saving the environment.


What's The Plan, Stan?

• Raid your (and your friends') recyclables and trash
• Ok, I don't necessarily want you to go dumpster diving, but keep and eye out for:
• Soda and beer cans
• Bottle caps
• Plastic water, soda, juice etc bottles
• # 6 recyclable plastic - it will shrink when you heat it up (a fun tutorial to follow in the near future)
• Go through your magazines
• Most magazines have some pretty sweet pictures (after all, most of us only look at the pics anyways! Use 'em to make some beautiful beads, like the Tutorial on Scrabble Tile Pendants and Charms
• Keep your eye out for cool text and stuff (a sweet tutorial using these little treasures is sure to show up soon)

• Rummage through your drawer of miscellaneous hardware
• Look for cool string-able stuff, like washers. Or look for funky little stuff that you can glue on to make fantastic designs, like steampunk jewelry.
• Broken Technology
• We all have broken or old technology around. Take it apart and find some really sweet stuff to make nifty, geeky jewelry with
• Calculators
• Keyboards
• Ancient computers
• Those annoying broken remotes
• Ancient and broken phones (if you have ancient but working phones, you really should donate them to people who need them)
• Broken Watches
• How many of us have stupid non-functioning watches just kind of hanging out in our dresser drawers in the blind hope that one day they will miraculously begin ticking again. I'm not saying you should destroy your Rolex, but old and not especially valuable watches have some really nifty parts in them.
• The glass
• Rotart parts, hands etc
  
• Chips etc, if a digital watch
• Old Board Games
• What happens once you lose one of your game pieces? You can't exactly play the game, so it ends up collecting dust in some closset or cupboard. Instead, raid 'em for some wicked sweet jewelry
• Dominos
• Mahjong tiles
• Checkers
• Scrabble tiles (of course)
  
• Use your imagination!
  

Do you have any cool recycling/upcycling ideas? Let us know! Leave a comment below, or email me at cagarp@plymouth.edu.

What is the draw of the Mona Lisa? The subtlety, the mystery. Create your own mysterious intrigue with this Mona Lisa inspired necklace.





What's The Plan, Stan?
We're going to use a scrabble tile to make a beautiful unique pendant for this vintage-like necklace

Ingredients:

• For Pendant:

• Scrabble Tile
• Image from magazine etc (cut with scrabble tile template)
• Pearl Ex Pigments (optional)
• Glossy Accents
• Tacky Glue
  
• Two gold plated jump rings
• One gold plated eyepin
• One 6 mm onyx round
• One 3-4 mm faceted garnet round
• For Necklace:
• 34 wooden oval beads (dyed red)
• 16 3-4 mm faceted garnet rounds
• Four 6 mm onyx rounds
• 16 flat oval garnet beads
• One gold plated jump ring
• Two gold plated crimp beads
• One gold plated clasp
• Wire for stringing - I use fishing line, actually :)
  

Tools Of The Trade:

• For Pendant:
• Drill with small bit
• Scrap piece of wood
• Paintbrush
• For Necklace:
• Needlenose pliers
• Beading board (optional, but most helpful)
  

Process:

• Drill two holes in the scrabble tile - one on the top, one on the bottom
• Glue your image onto the tile. Let dry, and coat with another thin layer of glue. Re-pierce holes with a pushpin or safety pin.
• OPTIONAL: Add more detail with Pearl Ex Pigments and watered down glue. Allow to dry.
• Coat entire tile with glossy accents. Allow to dry completely.

• Place jump rings though both holes. Attach eyepin to bottom jump ring. Add first garnet, then onyx beats. Close with a loop.
• Bead Pattern for necklace:
• Wooden bead: Garnet Round: Wooden Bead: Garnet Oval:Wooden Bead: Garnet Round:Wooden Bead : Onyx Round. 
• Make sure to place your crimp beads between two garnet rounds, rather than right at the end of the necklace. This will prevent it from being worn too much and breaking. End one side with a jump ring and the other side with the clasp.
  

C'est Fin!


Bead Artist Showcase
You work could be right here! Submit your own Mystery Woman Necklace to Creativity In A Nutshell via email to cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel free to include pictures, anything new you tried and suggestions you have for improvement.

More Similar Fun Stuff!

• Project: Scrabble Tile Bracelet
• Tutorial: Scrabble Tile Pendants and Charms
  

More Stuff on the Information Highway:

• Scrabble Tile Jewelry Supples  
• Mini Scrabble Tiles
  

• Scrabble Tiles
• Acrylic Paint (I used white, blue, yellow and red
• Glossy Accents
• Silver Ink
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Silver Pearl Ex Pigment

Tools of the Trade

• Drill and tiny bit (Just gotta love power tools!)
  
• Small paintbrush
• Flip Flop stamp (I was given mine a long time ago, so sadly, I have no clue where it came from)
• Heat Gun

Process

• Drill Tiles
• Paint entire tile with white acrylic - careful around letter
  
• Stamp and Emboss

• Paint background, edges. Paint flipflop. May take several layers.
• When happy, allow to dry completely. 
• Glossy Accents - DONT TOUCH FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR! Or you will be sorry. I was supposed to end up with two charms, thus make a pair of earrings. Instead I have a necklace pendant. You must consider yourself warned. 
• On a lighter notes, once the Glossy Accents has dried to a hard surface, the charms are done and you can use them in your super fun beading projects. :)

 Bead Artist Showcase

• Your work could be pictured right here! Submit your own completed flip-flop charms to Creativity In A Nutshell via email : cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel Free to include plenty of pictures, new stuff you tried, sweet new ideas and suggestions.

More Similar Stuff

• Tutorial: Scrabble Tile Pendants and Charms 
• Project: Scrabble Tile Jewelry
  

I am a huge fan of beautiful vintage prints, mixed with chic modern style. You can find this artistic influence all over the web - just take a peak at your favorite artsy blogs. Many of these prints make use of delicate florals, and from this, I have drawn my inspiration for this this project.

What's The Plan, Stan?
In this project, we're going to make relief-stamped images on scrabble tiles using a beautiful floral stamp for some fantabulous earrings.

Ingredients:

• Two wooden scrabble tiles (or similar)
• Alcohol inks (one or two colors)
• Alcohol ink blending solution
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Silver Pearl Ex Powder
• Glossy Accents
  
• Two ear wires, two eye pins
• Two beads, matching ink colors you're working with 
  

 Tools of the Trade

• Drill and small bit, small piece of wood
• Needlenose pliers
• Heatgun
  

Process

• Drill each scrabble tile in the top left corner
• Stamp the blank side of the scrabble tile with silver ink. Sprinkle with the mixed embossing powder/silver Pearl Ex Pigment. Heat with heat gun :D (I love this part!)

•   Give it a minute to cool down. Splotch the embossed tile with one (or two) color alcohol ink. The ink will dissolve the embossed image, simultaneously creating a relief image, and floating the pearl ex pigment over the top in cool patterns. 

• Add Alcohol Ink Blending Solution to lighten the color - dab with paper towel as necessary.
• Once you are satisfied, allow the tiles to dry completely.
• Coat each surface with Glossy Accents. Remember to let each side to dry completely. Drying time can differ widely, depending upon weather conditions. For example, it has been pretty hot when I've worked with Glossy Accents in the past, so it has dried much faster. Today, however, it's been frigid and rainy - so it's taken much, much longer to dry. 
• Once the Glossy Accents has dried, attach a jump ring, then eye pin, with a matching bead. Attach your ear wires and TaDa!

Fin! 

Bead Artist Showcase

• Your work could be pictured right here! Submit your own completed Victorian Inspired Earrings to Creativity In A Nutshell via email at cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel free to include plenty of pictures, new stuff you tried and any sweet new ideas or suggestions you may have :)

More Similar Fun Stuff

•   Project: Scrabble Tile Jewelry
• Tutorial: Scrabble Tile Pendants and Charms

More Stuff On The Information Highway

• Check out this great blog for inspiration: The Background Fairy and her sister blog The Graphics Fairy
• Need more inspiration?
  

Ingredients:

• 7 scrabble tiles
• 7 various pictures/images of one theme (I used vintage portraits of women in this project)
  
• Scrabble tile template
  
• 22 open jump rings
• Lobster clasp
• Glossy Accents (or similar)
• Pearl Ex Pigmants
• Tacky Glue (or similar)
  

Tools of the Trade:

• Drill and small bit 
• Needlenose pliers
• Paintbrush
• Pallet (or other non-porous dish)
  

Procedure

• Drill two holes in each of the scrabble tiles according to the directions in the tutorial. 
• Select your images and cut them out using the template.
• Glue them onto the tiles, allowing them to dry.
• Coat the images with a thin layer of lightly watered glue, or other sealant. 
• Apply pearl ex pigments for extra detail, if you wish. For this project, I left the images as they were.
• You may also apply pearl ex pigments or acrylic paint to the sides and back. Again, I left the tiles as they were.
• Coat each side with Glossy Accents (or similar) Make sure you allow the side to completely dry before turning or touching - - I learned the hard way. :-/
• Once the tiles are completely dry, put a jump ring in each hole. This may be a bit tricky, depending on how close you were able to drill the holes to the edge. Link each tile with a jump ring. Add the lobster clasp and an extra jump ring on the end to complete the clasp. 
• Voila!
  

Ingredients:

• One large image with several interesting parts Or several small corresponding pictures
• Scrabble tiles or similar
  
• Tacky glue or similar
• Glossy Accents or similar
• Pearl Ex Pigments
  

Tools of the Trade:

• Scrabble tile template (described in the Scrabble Tile Pendants/Charm Tutorial )
  
• Xacto knife
• drill and small bit (or bail and epoxy)
• Paintbrush
• Pallet or other non-porous plate
  

Procedure:

• Step One : Pick out your image - you should plan to make 7 or so beads/pendants for this necklace project. (I suggest holding onto the scraps - you may be able to use them for earrings or a bracelet.

•  Step two: Using your scrabble tile template, select seven pieces of the picture to use - cut these out with an xacto knife. Line them up with an eye for composition - try to consider how you will place them in the necklace.
  

•  Step Three: Glue the cut pictures to the scrabble tiles

• Step Four: Cover the sides and backs of the tiles with Pearl Ex Pigments (I used a crimson and a gold color) using lightly watered down glue. Allow to dry completely and coat with a layer of watered down glue, other other sealant.
• Step Five: Cover all sides with Glossy Accents (or other sealant)
• IMPORTANT: Allow each side to dry before touching or turning. I learned this the hard way. 
• Step Six: Once the tiles are entirely dry, attach jump rings to each hole in the tiles.
• Step Seven: Arrange your tiles on a beading flocking board. Select additional beads to match colors already in the pictures you used in the tiles.

C'est Fin!

 

 

There are literally tons of stuff to make recycled beads out of!  Similar to domino pendants, Scrabble tiles are all the rage with pendants and charms. These step-by-step directions will lead you through the basics of the process, which you can add on to. Feel free to post links to your own scrabble tile work!





Ingredients:

• Scrabble tiles or similar
• NOTE: I have found that the trickiest part of this fantastic craze is getting your hands on the scrabble tiles themselves. Ultimately, it's my opinion that upcycling old tiles (raid yard sales, second-hand stores etc) is best, however, there are plenty of other options out there.
• Hasbro.com has 'em for just under $7 (I don't know about shipping costs)
• Michael's sells Scrabble Tile Look-a-likes for $4
• You can also find pre-drilled scrabble tiles on Etsy.com under supplies
  
• Picture or other image 
• Tacky Glue
• Glossy Accents (or other glossy sealant, like Modge Podge)
• Pearl Ex Pigments

Tools of the Trade:

• Drill and small bit
• Scrap of wood
•  Xacto knife or similar
• Thumbtack
  
• Paintbrush
• Pallet or other non-porous dish to mix on

Procedure:

• Step One: Make a template of a scrabble tile using a thin piece of cardboard and an xacto knife. 
• Step Two: Take your chosen picture, and trace the template over the design you want on your pendant or charm. Cut this out, using either scissors or an xacto kife.
• Step Three: Mark your scrabble tile by first measuring a line down the middle. Then, make two dash marks three or four millimeters from the edge of each side. 
• NOTE: If you are using imitation Scrabble Tiles, or the ones you're using are worn, you may want to lightly sand them, using a high grit sand paper. 
  
• Step three: Drill two holes where you have marked.
• VARIATION: If you don't want to drill holes, feel free to use a bail instead. I've found that metal bails can be pretty expensive. I saw an example where someone used a scrap-booking brad.
  
• Step four: Coat the blank side of the scrabble tile with glue (via a small paintbrush and a tiny bit of water) Let the glue set and become tacky - this should not take long.
  

• Step Five: Set down the image, smoothing it out over the tile. Allow it to set for a few minutes. If there is excess hanging over the edge of the tile, place it face down on the scrap of wood and trim the edges with your xacto knife.

•  Step Six: Gently pierce through the image with a small thumbtack.

• Step Seven: Coat the top of the tile with glue, lightly watered down, using a paintbrush. Allow to dry completely. You may wish to apply one or two additional coats. You may, alternatively, wish to use modge podge or a varnish rather than glue. This step will seal and protect your image.
  
• Step Eight: You may wish, at this point, to further enhance the image you have chosen. Use Pearl Ex Pigments, with watered down glue, like watercolor paints, to add further details. You may also add more layers of images in a collage-type style for added interest.
• Step Nine: Coat again with a thin layer of either watered down glue or varnish etc...

• Step Ten: Cover each surface of the tile with Glossy Accents (or other) allowing the surface to dry completely before turning.
• NOTE: If you're using a bail rather than drilling holes, you'll want to attach it at this point, using a strong epoxy. I recommend E6000
  

• At this point the pendant/charm is complete!

Check out these related blog posts:
http://artistic-elements.blogspot.com/2009/08/project-scrabble-tile-jewelry.html 
http://artistic-elements.blogspot.com/2009/08/monday-madness-weekly-earring-project.html

A Side Note on Images:
I chose to use magazine pictures from the art&antiques magazine. However, if you are planning on selling your pendants or charms, you should create your own images, or use only non-copyrighted images. If you don't have photoshop to edit pictures for the correct size etc, try GIMP : www.gimp.org

More Stuff on the Information Highway:
http://littleput.typepad.com/me/2008/02/how-to-make-a-s.html
This website has great stuff to print out and use on your scrabble tiles (or any other collage beads, charms, pendants)
Go Green - Scrabble Tile Charm Earrings