Washi Tape Embellished Necklace

I'm really loving all the statement necklaces that are so popular at the moment, there are some really bold ones available. I recently bought a silver coloured necklace very cheaply (from Primark, well actually Penney's as I bought it in Ireland) with the sole purpose of jazzing it up a bit and thought washi tape would be perfect to do just that.

The necklace consists of three crescent-shaped pieces attached to a single section on each side, these in turn are attached to a length of chunky chain. The front sides are smooth with a slightly beaten look while the reverse side has a ridged lip around the edge and textured surface.

Front

Back

I decided to add some colour to each of the crescents which graduate in size, getting slightly bigger as you go down, and decided to do this to the reverse side so I could easily apply a resin coat thanks to the lip.
The first step was to use flat-nose pliers to open the jump rings attaching each crescent and removing them but keeping them safe.

I then used some paper and a pencil to create a template for each of the crescents by tracing them as best as possible, cutting them just short of the hole on each side. 

This is what I stuck the washi tape to, I attached short sections of tape completely covering the paper surface, I then trimmed off the excess. Repeating the process 3 times, once for each section.

I used three different tapes which I liked the look of together. You could do complimentary patterns/colours, contrasting patterns/colours, all the same- what ever takes your fancy!

I then glued each one in place to the corresponding section using epoxy glue. After this I coated each crescent in clear resin (here's a link to a previous resin post of mine:  http://craftinernest.blogspot.co.uk/2013_09_01_archive.html)

Once this was thoroughly dry I used the original jump rings to reattach each crescent but the reverse side out, creating a totally unique accessory. 

All that was left was to wear it with a big smile on my face :-D 
Hope you like the result? Keep crafting in earnest, Craftin' Ernest!

Washi Tape Boxes

You can’t fail to have spotted the huge popularity of washi tape lately! It’s all over the internet and rolls of the lovely stuff have been appearing in my favourite shops.

For me it was a case of, I really liked then look of it and definitely wanted some but didn't really know what I wanted to do with it. That put me off buying some for all of about 3 minutes, so I treated myself to a bumper pack online in the New Year sales. I also bought an extra couple of rolls of ones I simply couldn't resist on a shopping trip.

Now what to do with them (other than admire and gently stroke them)? In some ways I feel they are too precious to use, I annoy myself when I get like that.

One roll I purposely bought to stick on the back of clocks I've made, that one was pretty obvious.

The next thing to jump in my head was to jazz up some boxes. I was given a Charbonnel et Walker, Pink Marc De Champagne Truffle box (without the chocolates which normally would be an awful travesty but I don’t like champagne truffles so all was fine)
The box itself is actually rather nice as it is and very sturdy, but I didn't want people thinking there were chocolates in there if they spied the box, so I decided to give it a makeover. 

I attached some stripy, paper stock and embellished it with a few strips of tape over the top, followed by some strips around the edge. Next were the obligatory buttons, I used PVA glue to attach them in the shape of a heart and just for good measure I coated the whole top with PVA for extra toughness. I thought the end result would make a lovely gift box that the recipient could keep as a trinket box. I didn't think about lining the button design up with the lid indents which bothers me now but I know for next time!

I felt I was on a roll then [pun intended ;-)] so went to work on a plain, brown, cardboard box. Again I used a rectangle of paper just on the top as a foundation and added washi tape with just a single button accent. I also decorated the bottom half with tape. It's just the right size for a pair of earrings I've made for a friend and makes the gift just that bit more special.

I then remembered a Thomas Sabo gift box I received containing a stunning bracelet, well that had to have a make-over too.

I did try to use it as I would use regular tape to wrap a present. The paper was slightly glossy, red paper with small white polka dots so I thought the white tape with red polka dots would look good. Unfortunately the tape would stay stuck down, after about 10 minutes it would curl up at the ends no matter how much I would rub it down. Ah well, that wasn't to be.
All in all, I do love the stuff and have a few more ideas up my sleeve....
Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x