Sunday, September 07, 2008

More on plexiglas necklaces

Click on the pict for a larger view.

Sandy left me a message asking me the difference between plexi and Tim Holtz's fragments. I see her point. I will have to make different shapes in the future. This is my first try at it and the rectangle was the easiest shape for me to cut and finish. So, I cut the rectangles in half unevenly, drilled holes through both sides, and threaded gun metal wire through the two of them making two uneven halves. So groovin' on it now. I did put some liquid laminate on top. That made the gold dim a little bit.

Someone asked me about the dremel part. The Dremel with the sanding and grinding tool did not work too well for me. Maybe, I need to find my other Dremel and see if it goes at a slower speed. It was too fast and it did not smooth out my edges. I kept getting chunks of Plexi on the edges - too hot and it gunked up. I ended up using fine grit sand paper instead. My first try at layering did not make me happy. I liked the uneven shapes and the way the little screws fit on. I had stamped on some mica and colored it a bit with alcohol inks. I then sandwiched them all together with the screws. It looks okay but I need to play some more until I find a layering technique that I would wear.

On the other one where I used only one layer of Plexi, I used some clear pigment ink and then gold embossing powder. I did not have black. That is what my next Joann's coupon will be for. The heat gun does not melt or warp the plexi if you only hold it over the embossing powder for a short time. I also did more waving than usual so it would not get hot in one spot. Make sure you let it cool completely so it will not rub off. I used some liquid laminate on top. A bit of the gold diminished but it still looks good.

I may have to get out my jeweler's saw to create different shapes. The Dremel will create grooves and valleys but the attachment is too wide to do any detail work. I might just need to play with a piece of Plexi and my dremel more so I can do the sanding and shaping with my Dremel. Yes, I still have a learning curve just like anyone else.

You can get plexiglas online or at any hardware store. If you would like a small piece to experiment with, then email me and I can send you a couple of small pieces. I just ask enough to cover my cost, envie, and postage. I figure $3 domestic is a good round figure. It will cost close to $2 for postage. I also incur a paypal fee. I would send you raw pieces where you would need to sand, drill, and do your creative artwork. If you want me to drill a hole, then I can do that (or you could just go out and buy a Dremel). I would think that the Fiskars manual drill would work here, too.

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