Stenciled Faux Glass Technique

Hello! Tami Sanders here to share a jewelry project with you.

I was very intriqued by Sarinda Jones’ post back in May… Kilnformed Glass Using The Crafters’ Workshop Stencils.

I thought it was a VERY creative and interesting way to use TCW stencils. But, I don’t work with glass. I think there would have to be paramedics standing by if I worked with anything that could get THAT hot! But I do love to work with shrink film, and it comes in clear, and it looks like glass when it shrinks. So I wondered if I could use embossing powder and shrink film to mimic Sarinda’s look. I thought I’d use her color palette too, and slightly “grunge” graphic style to make the comparison a little easier.

I started by cutting some white shrink film in strips, then punched a hole in the tops. I laid the strips out on my worksurface and used blue tape to tack them down in a row along the top and bottom…

1 - tape down (1024x678)

then I dusted the film with some anti static powder…

2 - powder (1024x768)

then taped down some TCW stencils – BRAND SPANKING NEW ONES! – TCW470 Geometric Art Layers and TCW491 XOXO, both in the 6X6 size…

3 - tape (1024x768)

then started tapping on Watermark Ink using a Stylus…

4 - watermark (1024x668)

and then sprinkled on some black embossing powder…

5 - emboss (1024x768)

and then a little red…

6 - emboss 2 (1024x768)

and they looked SO good, just as I’d hoped, I couldn’t wait to shrink them…

7 - powdered (1024x768)

and then I took them out of the oven, so anxious to see how they turned out and…

8  fail (1024x480)

…and, as my kids would say – EPIC FAIL! The embossing powder melted all over the tiles and the great patterns made with the TCW stencils were GONE 🙁

I’ve shown you what I did step-by-step so you know what NOT to try!

Still determined to try to recreate Sarinda’s glass in shrink film, I took another approach and got out my Surfacez Inks. I repeated the same basic steps as above – omitting the static powder step, and tried just inking the shrink film as I had when making my first DT project – Graffiti Earrings

9 - surface (1024x777)

9 - inked (1024x767)

here’s how they looked when shrunk…

10 - shrunk (1024x527)

I inked both the fronts and backs using the TCW491 XOXO and TCW492 Kasia’s Letters – 6X6.

I wanted to use both opaque white and clear shrink films as Sarinda used both those types of glass. So I again repeated the steps listed above with clear shrink film and inked the front of the pieces with red and orange inks and the back with black to make it a little more 3D. I used the TCW490 Tattered Lace 6X6 Template for both. Here’s how they looked when shrunk…

11 - clear shrunk (1024x643)

12 - cu glass (983x1024)

The colors and styles looked slightly asian to me when they were finished, and I thought about some beads that I have had FOREVER…

15 - people beads (1024x768)

So I decided to make a bracelet using my “glass” tiles and add in the beads. I also decided to incorporate my EPIC FAIL tiles as I did like how they looked…

bracelet - faux glass with shrink film (1024x666)

and here’s a closeup…

2014-014 - cu bracelet (1024x768)

I learned 3 things from this crafting experience: 1) If you see a project that you like, let it inspire you to transform it into something different. Use a different medium, technique, color scheme, style etc. 2) Don’t think you can’t make something just because it uses products or techniques you aren’t familiar with – make it YOUR way. 3) Mistakes can be BEAUTIFUL!

Supplies Used: THE CRAFTER’S WORKSHOP: 6 X 6 TemplatesTCW490 Tattered Lace,  TCW470 Geometric Art Layers, TCW492 Kasia’s Letters and TCW491 XOXO,

OTHER:Grafix: White and Clear Shrink Films, Clearsnap:  ColorBox Surfacez Inks: Black, Scarlet and Marmalade and ColorBox Stylus & Tips, Beads, 2″ Head Pins, 8MM Jump Rings, Chain, Clasp and Blue Painters Tape

Tami Sanders… The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member

6 thoughts on “Stenciled Faux Glass Technique

  1. Thanks Tami.
    Beautiful techniques. Thanks for incorporating the no-so perfect ones too 🙂
    Best way to learn is by trial and error. You showed that “errors” can be beautiful too :-))

  2. This was a wonderful post! I loved the final result but so appreciated how you showed the trial and “error” parts too! In the end you show that there are no real mistakes in being creative!

  3. Such a great post Tami and stunning project to boot! LOVE what you did and how you found your way around the problems! I have had some shink plastic sitting in my shelf for some time having not used it for ages! you have inspired me to get it out again!

  4. I love your bracelet! I have got to try this. A special thanks for showing what happens when you make a mistake. Not many people do that. Showing what happens when doing a wrong step is just as important as seeing the positive tech.

  5. Wow this is fabulous and I just have a tonne of shrink film on hand ready to be played with. I may just have to give this a try with some of my new stencils too. TFS and inspiring me!

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