When I first saw these chipboard mini ornaments that Joe Rotella designed for Want2Scrap, I knew that I wanted to transform them into a holiday necklace. And what could be more festive than the twinkle and sparkle of mica flakes!!
The first step was to paint both sides of each ornament with Perfect Pigment Titanium White. This assures that the true color of the mica isn’t dulled by the natural brown color of the chipboard pieces.
Mini ornaments painted with Perfect Pigment Titanium White
Now, the fun begins! After the paint was dry I coated each mini ornament with PPA and liberally coated them with Mica D’Lights. The color selection is outstanding, so each ornament is a different color. After the PPA and mica dried, I sealed each ornament piece with PPA Gloss. This was a precautionary step since I didn’t want any loose mica flakes sprinkled on a black dress :) Since the ornaments needed to be suspended while drying, I threaded them in batches onto corsage pins that I stuck into a piece of foam.
Ornaments coated with Mica D’Lights
While the ornaments were drying I created the focal piece charm. I printed the Merry Christmas sentiment on an ink jet printer, and tore the edges for a distressed look. I love the natural, irregular shape of the Mica Tiles, perfect for this focal piece. I used a Crop-a-dile to punch holes and set eyelets for attaching jump rings and chains.
Because of the natural way mica is composed in layers, it is easy to separate the layers. Delaminating is a technical term for splitting the layers. An even more technical term is cleaving. But, this is easy to do by working a fingernail between the layers and gently lifting off the top layer. The focal charm is two layers of mica with the sentiment sandwiched between them. I used PPA Gloss to collage the sentiment piece to the back of the top layer of the mica tile. I also coated the back of the sentiment with PPA Gloss to hold the back mica layer in place . The application of the PPA caused the inks to run just enough for a vintage look.
Finished mica charm
I used jump rings to attach each mini ornament and the mica focal piece to a double length of chain. I also added tiny glass Christmas shapes.
Finished necklace made with chipboard ornaments, Mica Tiles, and Mica D’Lights
You can see more of my projects on the Create & Craft blog.
Carole
