New Year's Eve Statement Necklace

I miss being a fashion designer.  It was everything I ever wanted since I was 13 years old, and my time in NYC making clothes was magical.  One of the best parts of putting together my runway shows was creating the jewelry pieces.  For my shows, it was the bigger the better!  This piece is an homage to that time in my life.  It's big, bold and perfect for a party!  Can you believe that hot glue was used to make the roese? It's such a great way to make jewelry components and it's much quicker than you think.  I may just wear this piece around the house with my bathrobe.  Wear what you want, my fabulous friends, and always Make Your Mark!

Big, bold and beautiful!

It reminds me of Victorian mourning jewelry

I learned how to hammer aluminum wire for this piece.  So much fun!

Everything I used for this project:

Surebonder Glue Guns & Products: https://amzn.to/3bOpfiZ John Bead Aluminum Wire: https://bit.ly/2J6TqYN John Bead Faceted Glass Beads: https://bit.ly/rondellestrands John Bead / Crystal Lane Faceted Teardrops: https://bit.ly/33iKXJ9 John Bead / Crystal Lane Faceted Oval: https://bit.ly/2JaiGh1 John Bead Jump Rings: https://bit.ly/3o1syst DecoArt Metallic Lustre in Silver Spark: https://bit.ly/3q14nMy Redesign With Prima Silicone Molds: https://amzn.to/3mZn01h & https://bit.ly/37NHkwb MY AMAZON STORE: https://www.amazon.com/shop/markmontano

Watch how to make this necklace here OR

watch how to make it on my  YouTube channel here:  https://youtu.be/qWEJSlPI3bc

DecoArt's Metallic Lustre is amazing stuff!  A great way to bring out the details of a molded piece.

Happy New Year!

Faux Quartz Pendants

I always have a glue gun at the ready when I'm working. It's quick, versatile and much sturdier than clay when you fill silicone molds with it!  These druzy crystal necklaces took a while to formulate...At first I wasn't sure how to get the look I wanted so I tried everything from making a glob and rolling it in the crushed glass to putting the glass in the mold first and then filling it with hot glue.  In the end, the simplest way worked out.  See the video below. My favorite part of this technique is spreading the glitter on the base of the mold with a brush...it looks like a metal coating when you pop out your crystal!  Experiment like a kid, sweet possums, and always Make Your Mark!

Druzy afternoon

I used decorative crushed glass for the light pink version and crushed glass (in my crafty coffee grinder) for the other colors

STUFF I USED FOR THIS PROJECT
Surebonder: https://amzn.to/3bOpfiZ MY AMAZON STORE: https://www.amazon.com/shop/markmontano Marabu Alcohol Inks: https://bit.ly/3dcKlrR Silicone Molds: https://amzn.to/2Au94tt & https://amzn.to/2YDN4nH Americana Decor Metallics in Vintage Brass: https://amzn.to/2UPX1h0

Use different sized sifters to get different sized "crystals"

Gently sprinkle it on the glue and leave it alone for a few minutes, even if you don't want to!

Watch how to make these here OR

watch the video on my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/bwXuaE7D7dU

Marabu Alcohol Inks are perfect for adding color to crushed glass!

Just lovely! 

Cardboard Clay - Upcycled DIY

So many cardboard boxes piling up right now, and though I love turning them into funky postcards, I thought it might be more fun to figure out a cardboard clay recipe.  It took a while and some tinkering around, but I finally did it!  The first batch had too much glue, the 2nd batch didn't dry right, the third batch was just right and dried hard as a rock!  So far I've just filled silicone molds with it, but I'll get around to making a bowl or covering an armature eventually.  Until then, why don't you whip up a batch and see what you come up with?  Have fun, upcycle and don't forget to

Make Your Mark!

 My colorful cardboard clay pins!

 Never bored with cardboard!

STUFF I USED

My molds: https://amzn.to/39P7v4U Americana Acrylics: https://amzn.to/2UFQwgQ E6000 Plus: https://amzn.to/30GJc4P Pin Backs: https://amzn.to/3dWSnp4 Triple Thick Gloss Glaze: https://amzn.to/2UIrD4e

Watch how to make CARDBOARD CLAY here!

Or watch it on YouTube HERE!

The sacred hearts are my favorite! 

 I think these would make an awesome necklace, too!

From boxes to brooches!

Hot Glue Bracelets DIY

I've been hooked on filling silicone molds with hot glue for a while now.  It dries super quick, is stronger than clay, doesn't have the odor of most epoxy resins and it's flexible.  Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for other silicone mold fillers, but I'm a hot glue loyalist!  Now that I have my huge, high temp glue gun from SUREBONDER, I'm basically filling up every mold in the craft house.  For these bangles, I created a base from a plastic container and then made sure to connect everything so it would be one, solid piece of hot glue all the way around.  Grab a little black base paint and Enchanted iridescent paint from DecoArt and you'll be sure to Make Your Mark!

 Iridescent shimmer created by the new Enchanted paint from DecoArt!

 LINKS to the molds I used HERE

Watch how to make them here!

 Look at that shimmer!

Too good to be glue!