30 minute Thursdays...interchangeable faux amber charms!

I love it when a happy crafting accident leads to a discovery...and today's 30 minute Thursday project is a classic example of this...i discovered through laziness that if you don't clean your Melt Pot thoroughly enough when you've been using gold embossing powder in it...and then you add clear UTEE...you get something that looks remarkably similar to amber!!  Personally, i've always had a love affair with amber...so i'm particularly tickled by this discovery :0)  Add into that the fact that it occurred to me that this technique could be used to make interchangeable charms...and i have to say i'm rather chuffed with today's offering! *blushes slightly*

What you need:
Clear UTEE
Flex
Ranger Ink Essentials Memory Frame
Chipboard shape/costume jewellery pieces/small flowers...whatever you like really as long as it fits in your frame!
leather thong

What you do:
This is such a simple project that i haven't even bothered to give you step by step photos...i really don't think you need them.
First off, melt the clear UTEE in your Melt Pot with a tiny smidge of gold embossing powder {less really is more here and the gold powder is opaque and we want a beautiful translucent liquid}...while that is heating...lay your frame onto a non~stick craft mat and arrange your inclusions in the frame.  In the sample above i've used a chipboard flower {from Bee Crafty} which i coloured with gold Brilliance ink.  When the UTEE is liquid carefully pour it into the frame, over the flower and gently press half a press stud into the flower centre...leave it to cool...add a thong and some beads and you're done!!  See...i told you it was easy!!!  I''ve only popped a short length of thonging on this one as we both like the look of it hanging in the kitchen window.

As long as you are careful not to add too much UTEE {no going over the edges}...and because of the way the frames open and close...you can remover the cooled charm...and then do another one with all sorts of other things in the *amber*...i've used a chipboard letter with a fabric rose and some small flowers with some glass chips...but if you want to go for realism with your pendant maybe you could try a dead fly!! ;0)

My favourite of the pieces i tried was this one...with a rather yummy piece of broken jewellery in the middle and i've hung this one on a long thong to wear as a Winter necklace over a cowl neck jumper.

The jewellery piece was quite chunky so the gemstone *ahem* section sticks up above the *amber* and the whole thing feels rather sumptuous. :0)

And there you have it...a simple idea that can be used to create pendants to wear or for hanging in the window...even to hang on the Christmas tree would be lovely.  I'm bursting to make a steampunk version of this too with clock parts and cogs...i think that would be fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by and i do hope you'll give this technique a go...