Here at Marker Supply we are always interested in seeing how crafters are using our products in creative ways. When we stumbled upon the amazing jewelry by Dawn Bryant we just had to share it with our readers! Dawn was kind enough to write a tutorial on how she uses the Prismacolor Pencils and Fine Line Markers to create these beautiful pieces.
Enjoy!
Prismacolor Paintings on Shrink Plastic Tutorial
By Dawn E. Bryant
One of the best gifts I got for Christmas was a book geared for teenagers called “Shrink Art Jewelry” from Klutz.com. This book was so basic that I decided to try it out – using a bit higher tech artwork than the book suggested. The book came with some patterns and some special paper. I used one of my photographs instead of the patterns. Wow! It came out great and I was hooked! TONS of fun!
Now I spend my days using Prismacolor pencil on the rough side of Shrinky Dinks Frosted Ruff ‘N Ready paper, creating landscapes, abstracts and more that I sign, punch holes in and shrink, then turn into jewelry.
It took a few mistakes before I got comfortable with the stuff and learned which colors work and which ones don’t, as well as new layering techniques, because the layering process is very different from on paper.
The first color you lay down is what will show (and it does NOT erase).
Okay, let’s get started!
Materials:
•Prismacolor Pencils
•Prismacolor Verithin pencils
•Sharpie Ultrafine markers
Tools:
•Parchment paper
•cookie sheet
•smooth bottom glass pan
•standard paper punch
STEPS:
1) Find the photo or graphic you want to work from and if you want, print it off on plain paper as a 4×6 (this will be the size you need for the pendant after it shrinks).
2) Choose your colors. I use Prismacolor pencils, Prismacolor Verithins and Sharpie Ultra Fine Point markers.
3) Lay down the first layer of color. Here I used Cool Gray 30% on the dark area of the clouds and white on the white areas, scumbled in with a circular motion. Outline the entire cloud area with a white Verithin. The rest I left blank. On the surrounding sky, the first layer is blue slate. On the yucca blossoms I used cream for the flowers and limepeel, for the greenish areas. The flower stems were done with light umber for the first layer. The pinkish areas I filled in with beige sienna. The blossoms are outlined with a goldenrod Verithin pencil. The leaves are limepeel, marine green, kelp green, olive green and dark green. For the shadowed area amongst the leaves I use black grape for the first layer. The background area of the ground is left blank for now.
4) For the second layer I go in with cloud blue over the entire cloud area and light cerulean blue over the sky. On the yucca blossoms, I go back in with the cream and limepeel and make sure everything is filled in solidly and I go over the stems with Tuscan red.
5) Now I start the background, with a layer of bronze. Over that I layer jasmine and goldenrod.For the last step I go over the blue portion of the sky with cloud blue.
6) Next I cut out the picture using a paper cutter or scissors and round the corners with the scissors so there are no sharp edges, then I sign my name with a black ultra fine point Sharpie permanent marker on the front at the bottom. I didn’t this time, but on the front I can also outline the flowers with the lightest yellow green Sharpie Ultra fine marker, go over the stem with the dark brown Sharpie and go over the leaves with the sharpies that match. This gives a 3D effect.
7) Lastly, I bake the piece at 325 degrees face down (colored pencil side up) on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for 3 minutes. After I take the piece out of the oven, I immediately flip the piece over and press down on it with a smooth bottom glass pan. The piece still needs to be sealed on the back (don’t spray the front, it will smear the marker) so I take it outside and spray it with an acrylic spray sealer in gloss finish (do this is a well-ventilated area). When that is dry I take it back inside and string it with beads to turn it into a necklace.
To make earrings, I take the same photo and make a 1.5×2.5 version (or whatever size correlates with the 1.5 inch side) of the photo I was working from and a mirror image of that, so there is no guesswork while doing the painting, and I repeat the process and string them for earrings.
I used green and blue cats eye glass, gold filled beads, freshwater pearls and brown, green and blue glass e beads for this necklace, along with handmade gold-filled chain and a handmade clasp.
For more information on Prismacolor pencils and markers visit Marker Supply’s Prismacolor section. For more on Dawn’s jewelry visit her Etsy site : www.dawnebryantdesigns.etsy.com
