Tutorial: DIY "Heirloom" Silhouette Pendant

Disclosure: This is a compensated post with Blueprint Social and Plaid. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've always wanted to try my hand at making a silhouette pendant of my kids' cute little

silhouettes, so when I received a box with the new Mod Melts from Plaid I knew it was time.

This cool new product let's you make your own cabochon-like items with your glue gun,

the Mod Melts and the Mod Melts molds.

SUPPLIES:

Mod Melts in Milk Glass White, Mod Melts Frames Mold, Glue Gun,

Metallic Paint, Jewelry Bails & Jump Rings, Jewelry Glue

The Mod Melts look like giant glue sticks and they work perfectly in a mini glue gun.

FIRST

Load the Mod Melt into your glue gun and let it heat up sufficiently.

Then, working quickly, evenly fill your molds.

I kept my glue gun close to the mold and was careful to fill every niche.

Once the molds are filled, let the Mod Melts cool for at least 10 minutes.

Once they have cooled, pop them out of the mold and admire how cool they are!

I was seriously impressed with the intricate designs and how well they turned out.

SECOND

Use a sponge tip applicator to paint the cute little Mod Melt shapes with 

metallic and/or pearl acrylic paints.
I did two coats of paint - allowing for at least 15 minutes of drying in between coats.

THIRD

Create you silhouette.
I took a picture of JT with my camera on a white wall.

Then in Photoshop I used the "Quick Selection Tool" to select JT.

I dragged the selected silhouette to a blank white canvas, applied a black color overlay,

and shrunk it down to about 1"x1.5".

FOURTH

Mod Podge the tiny little silhouette onto the back of the Mod Melt frame.

Then, using jewelry glue, attach the jewelry bail to the back of the pendant.

I used a cute little "made with love" charm as my bail.

I attached a jump ring to my cute pendant bail and added a chain.

My darling little silhouette pendant is done and I love it!

Isabella loved it too and wants to claim it as her own.

JT swears it looks nothing like him :)

 

I had so much fun making the silhouette pendant,

that I grabbed the jewelry findings I had leftover from other projects

and made some more "heirloom" jewelry.

So now I have two statement rings, a cute pair of earrings and a silhouette pendant.

The Mod Melts are so easy to work with and Isabella is excited

to make some fun things with me this summer. 

You can keep up with Plaid Crafts:

 {Facebook}

{Twitter}

 {Pinterest}

 {Blog}

Disclosure: This is a compensated post with Blueprint Social and Plaid. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Check out these other fun projects made with Mod Melts:

Easy DIY Holiday Sparkle Shirts with Tulip Shimmer Sheets

If anything says "Here comes Christmas!" it's GLITTER!
The sparkles, the twinkles, the glittery magic - it's my favorite!!!
Well, Tulip Shimmer Sheets make adding sparkle to your holiday clothes easy peasy!!!!
I recently got a box of shimmering Tulip goodness and I set to making
some gorgeous DIY shimmer shirts for Isabella and my new niece to wear this
Christmas season.
(You can see my entire haul of Tulip products HERE. Be kind - it's my first video.)



SUPPLIES:
Tulip Shimmer Transfer Sheets
Tulip Iron-on Glass Crystals
Tulip Cordless Heat Setting Tool
Plain t-shirt or onesie
Scissors and/or Personal Cutting Machine
Iron
Pressing cloth

Since this was a shirt for Isabella I had her help me pick out
a shirt for the project and she chose the gold Tulip Shimmer Sheet
to glam up her green Christmas t-shirt.
I decided to try out using my personal cutting machine to cut an intricate
snowflake shape for my shirts.

STEP ONE
Place the Shimmer Sheet with the "sticky" adhesive side down on your cutting mat.

STEP TWO
Load your design to be cut into your machine.
I had the best success with my cutting machine when I kept the design
away from the edges of the cut space.

STEP THREE
Load the Shimmer Sheet on the cut mat into your machine.
I did a few test cuts with the blue shimmer sheet I was using for my niece's
onesie to get the best setting.
On my machine I had the best success when I set the machine
to "flocked heat transfer material" and used my pink - deep cut blade.

STEP FOUR
Carefully remove the cut design from the cut mat.
I had my favorite pair of sharp scissors handy to snip any spots
that didn't cut all the way through. In cutting 4 snowflakes, I only had
one spot where I needed them.

STEP FIVE
Arrange your Shimmer Sheet pieces on your shirt in the desired pattern and
heat up your DRY iron to the setting appropriate for the fabric of your t-shirt.

As you can see my shirt is magically black because a certain 3.5 year old
decided she wanted a black shirt instead of a green one.

STEP SIX
Place a pressing cloth over the Shimmer Sheet pieces - being careful not to disturb your design.
Iron your design into place by pressing firmly for 40 seconds.
Check to make sure the pieces are set. Re-iron is necessary.

WOOHOO!
Now you have shimmering t-shirt awesomeness!

If you want to kick up the glam a few notches . . .
AND WHO DOESN'T???
. . . then read on.
Grab your Tulip Iron-on Glass Crystals and Cordless Heat Setting Tool.

STEP SEVEN
Arrange your iron-on glass crystals in the desired pattern.
Hold the button on your Heat Setting Tool for 5-10 seconds to heat the tip.
Be careful to only touch the plastic portion of the Heat Setting Tool.
Gently touch the tip to the top of the crystal - do not press too hard or the
heat setting tool will touch your t-shirt and scorch it just like an iron.
Hold for 5-10 seconds and allow crystal to cool and check that it is set.

Now you have a holiday shirt that is sufficiently shimmered!

Isabella insisted on putting her shirt on immediately,

which was perfect because I needed a model to take pictures

of my fantastic sparkly shirt.

To see other great holiday projects using Tulip Shimmer Sheets
be sure to check out these great sites!



You can find more Tulip products & projects on their website,
and find them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Tulip and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.