Among the many things I love are: Instagram, Martha Stewart, crafts, jewelry, monograms, turquoise and Michael's. Imagine my surprise when perusing Instagram and seeing bloggers unbox Martha Stewart Crafts new jewelry line... I went ballistic and set a reminder on my phone to check out Michaels the very next day. Well, I did... and I went a little crazy over the Jewelry Enamel!
Like most girls I adored painting stripes on my Barbie's car with nail polish. Okay, maybe that was just me. This translated into teen years spent repainting costume jewelry with my neon pinks and glittery blue lacquers. The thing is, nail polish still smells like polish when it dries, it chips off, and never dries totally hard. Jewelry enamel dries permanently with a hard and glossy finish, no odor, and is just totally awesome.
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| Supplies. |
You'll need the following:
- A disposable mixing surface (or Martha Stewart silicone mat)
- toothpicks
- cheap paintbrush (or Martha silicone tool; comes with the mat) for large areas
- Martha Stewart Jewelry Enamel
- Martha Stewart Jewelry Enamel Activator
- Metal jewelry or Martha Stewart jewelry pieces
- rubbing alcohol and an old rag or paper towel
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| One drop Pool, half a drop Yellow Jacket, three drops Meringue |
The Jewelry Enamel comes in under 10 colors and there is no purple, brown, or gray so you may want to mix. When mixing, blend your colors together first (after thoroughly shaking and massaging the tubes) mixing with a toothpick. Mix way beyond what you think is necessary, otherwise separating can happen.
You want twice as much Activator as enamel. Activator is thick (E600-ish) and the enamel is very runny, so this can be difficult; add a tiny bit extra Activator if you're unsure. Mix thoroughly.
Using a toothpick, the Martha Stewart silicone brush, or an old paintbrush for very large areas, you want to carefully apply the enamel mixture to your metal piece that has already been cleaned with rubbing alcohol to remove residue.
When flooding a cavity you don't have to be as precise, but with a flat area like this B necklace, I used too much and had it flood over the sides. It is self-leveling, and therefor drips off the sides like resin. So use less than you need, work on a totally flat surface, lightly dabbing it on.
This is the finished "B" and I couldn't be happier with it! I have a gold-plated custom monogram necklace I ordered a while back, but I really love this because I haven't seen it elsewhere. The resin dried hard, looks incredibly professional, and doesn't have any lingering scent.
If you're like me and you get in a frenzy and forget directions... you might accidentally mix equal parts enamel and activator. If that happens, your piece will undoubtedly not cure and remain tacky for two weeks, like mine did. I finally mixed up a new batch and coated the bezels you see above with a new layer of yellow and my mint green mix. It worked out flawlessly and cured perfectly. As for the little bumble bee, I need to add some yellow stripes onto the blue!
If you're wondering, I intend to cut my monogram out of vinyl with my Silhouette SD and place them inside of those bezels as keychains or zipper pulls on a bag. More on that later!
