Jamie Dougherty Designs: Handmade Holidays 2013

Welcome to the Third Annual Handmade Holidays blog hop!! The best crafters, designers, and makers have come together to create and share a series of thoughtful, handmade gifts for the holidays during this 3 day blog hop. Our goal is to inspire you to create something from the heart this holiday season as well as share how to use our products in fun, innovative ways. We intend this hop to serve as a resource to you for this holiday season and for years to come.

Hop along to each blog in the list. Each day, from November 1 through November 3, 2013, we’ll be posting a brand new list of blogs to hop to. Comment on each blog, share your favorite posts over social media, and then use the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of each post to enter to win the Grand Prize, a gift basket filled with crafty swag from the companies on the hop! We’re ready to inspire, share, and create – are you ready to hop?

Today I have a fun creative project for all of you. Nothing says more heart felt than homemade. This necklace would be a wonderful gift for that special someone this Christmas or that perfect finishing touch for those holiday parties!

To create this piece you will need, polymer clay, ICE Resin, Jewelry pieces(Industrial Chic), Smooch in (Olive Twist), Color Box in (Fawn), Pliers, paint brush.

First use the polymer clay and fill your bezel with the clay. Then you will use a rubber stamp to make a design in the clay. Once you have your design put it in the oven and bake until finished (look at guidelines on the box, products and bake times may vary.)

Once your piece is cooled you can now color it. First use your ColorBox ink and run it over the surface of the clay. You can then use the smooch, with its fine point brush and paint in the crevasses to add more dimension to the clay.

To protect your surface add ICE Resin with a brush. It's self-leveling so you won't have to be too precise when painting it on. You just don't want to add too much. (To mix your resin use the plunger and add your 1 to 1 mixture and stir to make sure the two parts are blended evenly.)

Now you can add your chain and other embellishments to finish the necklace. You can use so many different colors and materials to create this look!! Now go and get your creativity going and make your Holidays handmade ones.