Photo Jewelry - Why Are My Pendants Turning Blue?

It's a daily frustration for many people, and I should know because I receive the phone calls and emails from frustrated crafters who've learned the hard and expensive way that packing tape, MicroGlaze, and nail polish do not prevent the dreaded blue tint you see in the example above.

What's going on? Why do some pendants turn blue, others green, and some never turn colors? 

The answer is simple: the pendant trays that are copper and bronze are plated with real copper and real bronze, both of which oxidize (change colors) when exposed to water. Chances are pretty good your adhesive is water based. Put the water based adhesive and the bronze or copper plated pendant trays together and you've got trouble.

SAY NO TO PRODUCTS THAT DON'T WORK!

MicroGlaze. 

What is MicroGlaze? It's a beautiful citrusy-smelling wax that is meant to protect inkjet prints and other water based inks from smearing when being handled. Like on the cover of a scrapbook. It's also versatile, and I've used it to protect silver jewelry from tarnishing. I love how it smells. I love how it works and how easy it is to use. I love the stuff.

But it's not the right product to make photo jewelry. 

Desperate and frustrated emails flood into my mailbox that their water based glaze is not sticking to the images that are coated with MicroGlaze. Why is it their glaze is peeling off their images? Because MicroGlaze is a wax. 

Let's break it down. 

What happens when it rains on your freshly waxed car? Does the water bead up on it and allow the rain to effortlessly flow from your car? Does the wax repel the rain water? The answer is yes.

So why would you use wax with your water based glaze if the wax prevents them from sticking to each other? If you knew MicroGlaze was a wax, you'd probably not use it for photo jewelry. But someone probably pinned a tutorial they never really used to Pinterest, and the rest is history.

Additionally, you cannot use wax with epoxy resins. The wax will flake off the image surface and float to the top of the resin. You can use it around the resin, such as on the sides of the image, but not on the surface.

And for those of you inquiring, MicroGlase is not an adhesive. It's a wax.

Packing Tape.

This one is my favorite to debunk because the idea that packing tape is a good idea is funny to me. 

First, the water based glaze is never going to dry sandwiched between plastic and glass because it needs air to dry (water dries with air), so you end up with a cloudy film for days and weeks on end. If you're anything like me, you don't have days and you don't have weeks to sit around and wait.

Second, you know the packing tape ends where the edge of the paper is and you know while it sits around for the next 3 weeks drying, the moisture is going to seep into the paper on those edges.

Third, it looks less than professional.

Fourth, packing tape is sticky and picks up fingerprints as you handle it. You will see these (ie. your) fingerprints in your finished work. Lovely.

These points 4 aside, the concept makes sense, but as you may already know, it simply doesn't work, and gives inferior results.

Nail Polish.

Without going into too much detail, here are some basic facts about nail polish:

1. It will yellow

2. It doesn't work

3. It will yellow

SAY YES TO A PRODUCT THAT DOES WORK!

I've been helping people make photo jewelry for many years now. My first kit launched in May 2008, and I've written and revised many tutorials and kits since then. Because my company is founded on helping people and solving problems, having issues like smearing inkjet prints and images turning blue have really bothered me. The status quo was not OK for me, and it's not OK for you. As a result, I've spent the past few years researching adhesives and working with manufacturers to develop the ideal adhesive for inkjet prints, while avoiding discoloration due to metals on some pendant trays.

And I have the answer. A lovely, fantastic, affordable answer.

The answer is Glamour Seal which can be used with both laser prints and inkjet prints. It will not cause your pendant trays to turn funky colors. Since January 2013, we've been successfully helping photo jewelry businesses and hobbyists alike make the most beautiful jewelry using Glamour Seal.

Some facts about Glamour Seal.
Glamour Seal will not cause inkjet prints to smear
Glamour Seal will not cause your pendant trays to turn blue or green
Glamour Seal is a strong adhesive
Glamour Seal is a sealant
Glamour Seal can be used with inkjet prints and laser prints and scrapbook paper and Chiyogami paper, etc.
Glamour Seal dries faster than water based glazes
Glamour Seal is very affordable
Glamour Seal is shipped internationally
Glamour Seal is odorless and safe to handle
Glamour Seal is the definitive answer!

Below are 2 example pendants made with Glamour Seal. Images compliments of Piddix.com

And here are just a few actual customer testimonials Glamour Seal has received:

Glamour Seal Customer Testimonials:

“Finally!! Something that works on Inkjet printers YAY!!”

“Finally, I found a product that works with my pendants! Speedy delivery and wonderful customer service. Thank you!”

“Great product!”

“AMAZING PRODUCT!!! Just what I needed!”

“This stuff is GREAT!!”

“Exactly as described, excellent product and price. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!”

“Great product!! It works wonderfully on my inkjet prints for my glass pendants. I would definitely recommend Annie Howes Glamour Seal.”

“I used it ....and....BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clear beautiful image under glass! THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

“IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC THANK YOU SO MUCH WOW”

“I know you’re a very busy lady but I just wanted to let you know how wonderful

your glamour seal is! It has solved all my problems regarding color bleeding.

I don't get nervous anymore when I get a glass tile order.

Thanks you so much for taking the time to help me solve this major issue I WAS having!”

“This stuff really works well! The more you add, the less bubbles on the glass and it dries crystal clear. Great product.”

“I am obsessed with this product! Tried everything and this is BEST!! I will repurchase soon :)”

“Finally a product that works! Will definitely buy from seller again!”

“The Glamour Seal is great! It isn't hard to use & works well :-)”

“Great product. I use it religiously.”

“Love this product. It's a reorder.”

“Finally! A product that seals the pictures for my glass jewelry, but doesn't make the colors bleed. I've tried countless different ways, but this is the first product that does exactly what it said it would. It works like a charm and only a small amount is needed so it will last a really long time!”

“This product is amazing! It truly is the best for glass pendants! I have struggled for so long with many, many different products. Air bubbles were a constant issue, sometimes processing the same project 10 times just to get a clear bubble free result. I wish I would have tried this product sooner! Now my pendants come out clear the very first time! 5 star product!”

“Really really quick shipping and product works perfectly (the only product I have found that works perfectly...and I've tried quite a few!!!)”

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Visit my website for a free tutorial on making Glass Photo Pendants.

Gingerbread House Selected!

Thank you for voting on the Gingerbread Houses! This was not necessarily a beauty contest, this was a voting process purely for fun to pick a house and offer the discount associated with that house, and I hope you had as much fun as we did!

Each of these houses was carefully crafted by a member of the studio at www.anniehowes.com. Houses 1 and 2 were decorated by Ryan and Sophie, respectively. House 3 was decorated by Bridget, my daughter, and house 4 was decorated by Katy's girls. Each house was a joy to see, and I think despite some groans, each was fun to decorate.

With one exception, the houses were identical, and the rules were loose: use whatever found objects to decorate. Everyone stuck to the  contents of the box, except Kay's girls who included a Santa figure and coconut flakes, which were creative touches.

There was one boxed Gingerbread house that was slightly different from the others. One corner of the box was a bit damaged, and worried there might be a disaster inside. I reserved that kit to decorate myself. Bridget offered to decorate it for me, and because the deadline was fast approaching and I was swamped, I was relieved to have her help.

As suspected, there was some pretty serious damage. Upon opening the box, we learned each wall and both roof panels of the house were broken in at least one place. This could have been a disaster, but instead it led to the creative diagonal line along the walls on the house which may or may not have influenced your vote.

And I learned something through this about how we can start with something that's imperfect and turn it into something we can be proud of. It's not how it looks when we begin a project, it's how it looks when we finished it. It's not what we are given, it's what we make of it. This Gingerbread house could have been picked last in gym, but you voted it #1!

If you're a VIP Club member, then you've already received your discount code. Check your email =)

And, did I say thank you?

xo,
Annie

P.S. Here's the discount sheet that was sealed inside an envelope...just so you know, at the last moment, I increased the discount to 35%! Please check your email for your discount code!

Gingerbread Houses! What's Behind Door Number...?

It's kind of a tradition for my daughter and I to decorate a gingerbread house each year. This year, everyone in the studio at www.anniehowes.com decorated a gingerbread house, too. I thought it would be fun and help us all get into the spirit of the holidays and Katy, Ryan, and Sophie each decorated a house, and it's been so much fun for all of us to share our creations.

To make it more interesting, I've assigned discounts to the 4 houses, all of which will be the New Year's Day Sale available to all of our VIP Club Members. The first 100 replies will help determine which gingerbread house discount code will be used. If you're not one of the first 100 to vote, don't worry, you will still get to use the discount code if you are a VIP Member.

So, which gingerbread house do you choose? Here's the link to cast your vote.  You'll receive the discount code through the VIP Club email before New Year's Day.

Have fun voting! And happy holidays!

xo,
Annie

P.S. Here's the sealed envelope with all the codes!

Easy! How to Add A Charm to A Bangle Bracelet.

You can easily make bracelets like the one shown above in just a few moments. If you've never made jewelry before and you're ready to get started with something easy, then this is the just what you need to start making beautiful jewelry. 

Let me first point out that these pliers in the photos are a bit large. It's what I had on hand when we took the photos. By no means do you need pliers this heavy-duty unless you're working on heavy gauge stainless steel.

Start by taking one set of pliers and grasping the jump ring on one side of the ring just below the opening. The opening should be at the top evenly spaced between the pliers.

To open the jump ring, hold one end firmly in place and rotate the other end, either away from you or towards you. Do not pull the ends away from each other. Only rotate far enough from the other end to be able to slip the charm and the bracelet through the opening. 

 Now you're ready to add the charm to the jump ring. Hold onto the jump ring with one of the pliers, and add your charm.

 Next, slip the bangle, bracelet, earring bail onto the jump ring and rotate the ends together.

Your jewelry is now ready to wear! Wasn't that easy?

I hope you've found this tutorial helpful. For more great tutorials, please visit www.anniehowes.com

xo,

Annie

Easy to Make Bottle Cap Christmas Ornaments.

I've been thinking this week about getting a jump-start on making holiday ornaments and crafts (I know, November is not exactly a jump-start), and I've been staring at these bottle caps that I just put on sale. What I came up with is a super easy, inexpensive and fun project with a Christmas theme.

There are so many different images you can use to make these ornaments, and you don't have to search far because I have these images available in Adobe PDF format on my website. You can also make and print your own onto smooth white card stock.

Here's what you need to make these:

• Bottle caps with split rings
• 1" Glamour Dots 3-dimensional clear epoxy stickers
• Glamour Stickies dry adhesive 1" circle shapes
• A Burnisher is helpful, especially if you're like me and you want to get out all the trapped air
• A metal hole punch, 1/16th"
• A 1" circle paper punch, or this one which is a better fit, but trickier to use.
• Printed images on very smooth paper, preferably card stock, but not absolutely necessary

And here's how you make them.

Punch a hole in the bottom of two of the bottle caps and assemble them into a string of three bottle caps. The bottom bottle cap shouldn't have a hole in it (unlike my Santa, which is my own goof).

Next, punch out the 3 images and, one at a time, peel and stick a Glamour Dot (the 3-dimensional epoxy sticker) onto the face of one of the circles. Turn upside down on a clean and smooth surface (like a clean piece of card stock) and rub the backside of the paper to remove the air pockets. Check the other side and keep rubbing until you've got them out. Rub the edges really well, too.

Then, once you have done that to all 3 pieces, take one of the Glamour Stickies and remove one of the non-stick backings from it and carefully place it on the back of the paper then press firmly. Remove the other protective backing. Carefully line the image up with the direction you want the image to face (ie. Santa's head is on straight) and press firmly into the bottle cap. Repeat with the remaining pieces. 

You are finished! Unless you want to get super crafty and add ribbon, or other things to it. Let your imagination roll! 

All supplies are available from Annie Howes.

For more fun tutorials, please visit www.anniehowes.com

Making Photo Jewelry: Is the Glaze You're Using Causing Your Images to Turn Blue?

Have you ever made the most beautiful batch of glass photo pendants in trays only to discover a day later that some of them have turned all kinds of blotchy? If you're like me, I've also experienced this and it can be very frustrating. Over the past few years, I've determined what has caused it and how to prevent it. The good news is, it's easy and affordable and blotchy papers are avoidable.

In the past, the solutions meant we would first coat our pendant trays, typically the vintage plated pieces, with a clear varnish. That's an extra step and extra product, and we all know that means extra money. That's outdated and old school.

First, let me explain why the pendant trays turn colors. The vintage gold and vintage copper pendant trays are plated with real metals that are reacting to (most likely) the water in the water based glazes. Moisture and oxidation cause copper to turn green-ish blue and it's the oxidation that makes copper such a beautiful material to work with in architecture. But lets be honest, we're not wanting the beautiful effect of oxidation on our papers. It's just not...beautiful. The vintage gold pendant trays are actually plated with bronze, and bronze also changes colors as it oxidizes. To use water based glazes on these pieces is where the problem is occurring.

So if water based glazes cause the papers to turn blue and green, then what should you use? The answer is to use a product that isn't water based.

There are two easy-to-use affordable options that will not turn your pendant trays and papers funny blue-ish, green-ish colors.

Option 1: Glamour Seal is a liquid adhesive and sealant that is used to glue the paper to the glass, and to glue the glass into the pendant tray. One product does it all and costs the same as a bottle of water based glaze. It's just as easy to use and equally as affordable as the water based glaze you may already be using. Another added benefit? You can use this adhesive to make photo jewelry with inkjet prints! Can your glaze do that?

Option 2: Glamour Stickies is a relatively new product (Spring of 2013) that has quickly grown in popularity. This dry adhesive is incredibly strong and contains no water. It's also archival, meaning it's pH neutral and contains no acid to yellow your papers. Peel and stick and press into place. Glamour Stickies also work well to attach paper to just about anything, including your scrapbooks!

Road Trip: The Murals at Chloride, AZ

On a recent road trip returning from Las Vegas, NV we took a few minutes to explore the one-time silver mining town of Chloride, AZ in Mohave County. Located off HWY 93, it's located between somewhere and nowhere (ie. I have no clue what mile marker) in the middle of the desert.

It was Sunday, and the town was quiet. We drove past the open old-timey convenience store with tables on the sidewalk, and followed the signs that read, "MURALS". The unpaved road got bumpier the further we drove and eventually it ended at a few boulders that were, in fact, freshly painted with interesting, and unusual murals.

 



 

There was also a nice but rocky trail that led up a hill, and another that led down through the brush. If you do plan to stock at Chloride, be sure to bring sturdy shoes for the trails. You don't want to *ahem* twist your ankle *cough cough* on any loose rocks while wearing completely inappropriate shoes.

 

If you're road tripping and your legs need stretching, and your body is feeling particularly parched, it's an oasis you might want to check out. There are also plenty of antique shops and a few artist studios located in this rustic old mining town.