Halloween Charm Swap

Remember my Charmed Halloween series? It all started when Thespa from Vintiquities Workshop invited me to join in on her very fun Halloween Charm exchange.

I made 15 charms. Three each of five different styles.

You can find a tutorial on how to make each one:

"Watching Eye"

"Potion No. 9"

"Mummy"

"Spider"

"Caged Skull"

 

I sent my charms off to Thespa and in a few days received 15 awesome charms back. I was amazed at the variety...all so very cool and with the added bonus of fun and creative packaging! I almost hated to remove them from their tags!

 

 

I didn't want to make a bracelet that had every single charm on it - my wrist are very small and couldn't pull it off. My solution was to create a bracelet that I could add a few of the smaller charms to. It will be very easy to swap them out and use some of the other charms for a different look. It's like getting several bracelets in one!

 

I plan to use some of the larger charms for necklace pendants.

Check out Thespa's Halloween blog hop link party 

to see what everyone else created!

Happy Halloween!

 

Spider - A Charmed Halloween Tutorial

Time for another tutorial in my "Charmed Halloween" series.

SPIDER

Supplies and Tools Needed:

For the Charm:
Black button (shank style) 
28 gauge dark annealed steel wire

Round-nose pliers

Flat-nose pliers

Wire cutters

 

For the Tag:

Small shipping tag

Brown ink pad (I used Staz-On)

Desired images (I found mine at The Graphics Fairy)

Modge Podge

Paint brush

Scissors

1. Select a black button with a shank back. I chose one that had a bit of a colored design.

 2. Cut four 1 1/2" long pieces of wire.  Insert them through the shank.

 

3. Cut an 8" piece of wire. Loosely fold the wire into half and wrap around the shank and wires a couple of times with the tails extending outward in the same direction. Twist the tails together to secure.

4. Continue to tightly twist the tails together.

 5. Make a wrapped loop at the end of the wire. (Find out how to make a wrapped loop here) Use the round-nose pliers to kink the wire.

6. Spread the wires apart to create the legs. Use the very tip of the round-nose pliers to make a tiny loop at the end of each leg.

 

7. Use the flat-nose pliers to make a bend into each leg.

For the Tag:

Remove the string from the mailing tag. Use Modge Podge to glue an image collage to one side of it. Let dry. Repeat for the other side. Once dried, rub with brown ink to age the images. Use the string to tie the charm onto the tag.

Front of Tag

 

  

Back of Tag

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Be sure to return in a couple of days for the last tutorial

in my "Charmed Halloween" series!

 More tutorials from the Charmed Halloween series:

"Watching Eye"

"Potion No. 9"

"Mummy"

"Caged Skull" 

Sharing with: Funky Junk Interiors: SNS 159

Thanks for stopping by!
 

POTION No. 9 - A Charmed Halloween Tutorial

Time for another tutorial in my "Charmed Halloween" series.

POTION No. 9

Supplies and Tools Needed:

Small plastic vial with lid

Apothecary images (I found mine at The Graphics Fairy)

Resin (I used ICE Resin)

24 gauge dark annealed steel wire 

5-6 tiny clear beads 

Brown ink pad (I used Staz-On)

Green glitter

Green food coloring

Round-nose pliers

Flat-nose pliers

Wire cutters

Modge Podge

Paint brush

Scissors

Needle tool

1. Size the graphic to fit the vial and print. I added the words "Potion No. 9" and "drink if you dare".

 2. Cut the label and words out. Use the Modge Podge to glue the words onto the label so that the skull still shows. Let dry. Rub the label with the brown ink to age it. Wrap the label around the vial and glue into place.

3. Use the round-nose pliers to make a tiny loop at one end of a piece of wire. Add a bead and then use the pliers to make a curvy bend into the wire above the bead. Repeat with 4-5 more beads. Use the needle tool to poke a hole in the lid.

 4. Insert the beaded end of the wire into the vial. Place the cap back on with the wire end extending up through the hole in the lid. Make a wrapped loop at the top. (Find out how to make a wrapped loop here)

 

5. Remove the lid from the vial.

 

6. Mix the resin according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add a drop of food coloring and some glitter and stir.

7. Pour the resin into the vial to fill (make sure to leave a little space at the top so it doesn't overflow once the lid is replaced). Replace the lid. Let cure.

 For the Tag:

Remove the string from a small mailing tag. Use Modge Podge to glue an image collage to one side of it. Let dry. Repeat for the other side. Once dried, rub with brown ink to age the images. Use the string to tie the charm onto the tag.

 Front of Tag

Back of Tag

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Be sure to return in a couple of days for the next tutorial

in my "Charmed Halloween" series!

More tutorials from the Charmed Halloween series:

"Watching Eye"

"Mummy"

"Spider 

"Caged Skull"

Sharing With: I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original Party , Funky Junk Interiors: SNS 155 & 159

Thanks for stopping by!