It's Cool to Paint Cool2Cast!

But now what the heck do I do with them?

I've spent some time the last couple or days painting the previously unpainted pieces that I made in a Michael's sponsored workshop at the NAEA convention in San Diego.  When I took the workshop, we painted some of our pieces with alcohol inks, which worked will.  

You may recall I shared a couple of necklaces that I made from finished pieces in a post you can find here.  Here's one more necklace that wasn't complete when I wrote the prior post.

But anyhow - I don't have alcohol inks at home, so with the rest of the pieces, I experimented with a combo of acrylics, watercolors, and even a a few oddball pens and markers. Some, obviously, worked better than others.  I painted the finished pieces with a hard gloss after the the paints were dry, which blurred some techniques but not others.  It was hit or miss.  The gloss I used is excellent - it's made by DecoArt and it's called Triple Thick Diamond Non-Yellowing Clear Finish.  I've never found anything that compares to it, for the look of depth and the hard glossy shell it provides in one coat.

Anyhow, my problem now is what to do next, and I'm hoping you, my loyal readers, have some brilliant ideas for me.  The bigger leaves (below) are close to 3" long.

There's also two hearts (and I am NOT a hearts and bows sort of gal) that you can see in the center of the top photo. I assume I'll glue bails onto the two pieces directly below, and make them into pendants, (unless you give me a better idea).  They look a bit darker in the iPad photo below than they really are.

Then there's this crazy thing, about 2" across from point to point.  And the two cute little paisley thingies, which are maybe a touch longer than an inch.  Not a clue what to do with any of them.

And these below?  Really? What ARE they?!?

And this hideous thing below, which I keep painting another color, and another, and another...  It's big - almost 3" across, maybe 2" tall,  and perhaps it's headed to the trash can.

I suppose the leaves could maybe get glued on a picture frame or a box or some other decorative item, though that's really not my 'thing', so if you have a better idea, please don't be afraid to say it!

And wait - there's more!  All of these below have been painted with some layers of base coat colors (acrylic craft paints and sample acrylics, and some assorted watercolors), but nothing else.  I can stamp on them, stencil on them (though I suppose it would help if I actually had stamps or stencils, if I want to go that route), or maybe even decoupage something on them?  I could paint little things on them, like I did with the dragonfly a few photos back, but really I'm not a small-brush kinda painter.  I'm more of the 'huge brush slap globs on a canvas' sort of gal when it comes to painting.  These pieces are so tiny that I just don't have the fine motor skills or the will to do something nice. They are probably from about 1/2" long to an inch and a 1/2.  And while some of them have a metallic sheen from paints I used, they do not have the gloss finish on them.

So please, I'd love your ideas!  Thanks!!

Cool2Cast from Michael's workshop at NAEA

If there is one thing I probably don't need, it is yet another fun crafty material to use for making jewelry. Yeah, another hobby...  But that's just what I recently acquired!  

At the NAEA convention, Michael's offered a selection of FREE hands-on workshops.  I attended one, where we learned about Cool2Cast, a really awesome and easy to use casting medium that dries quickly, with an almost porcelain-like look.  We learned to mix and cast it into molds (they even gave us molds to keep!), and we all got to cast a whole bunch of pieces.  We also had time to paint a selection of pre-cast pieces that were given to us, using alcohol inks and also some stamps and stencils.  

I packed everything I made into my suitcase, figuring the little pieces would all be broken by the time I made it home cross the country.  And even if it had all broken, it would have been OK, because the workshop was totally free, I had fun, and I learned to use something new.  But amazingly, not a single piece broke!  As a result, I have about a dozen painted pieces (in great sizes for pendants, earrings, and maybe even a barrette), and probably at least 50 unpainted pieces, to decorate and use however I like.  I even have some really large leaf shapes that I won as a door prize, that could be used to decorate a frame or maybe the top of a box, or ...  I don't know yet!  There are so many possibilities!

Meanwhile, I put a coat of gloss on the painted pieces that I thought were done, and glued jewelry bails on the backs of them.  Then, yesterday, while it was warm and sunny out, I took the first two of my painted pieces, and transformed them into necklaces.  And I'm sharing them with you here. The one in the photo above has not yet been incorporated into a necklace, but it will.  Soon.

Here's one complete necklace and earrings set -

And another, with a double strand -

And a closer view - 

When I've worked with some of the other pieces, I promise to come back and share with you again right here on the blog!  Cool2Cast is awesome!  Thank you, Michael's!