Pink "Joie de Vivre" Resin Banner Necklace

I love the elegance of flowing banners and retro-ness of old school tattoo banner designs.

This necklace was created using Pasta Alphabet (thanks for Michelle Frae Cummings for the tip!), polymer clay and Amazing Mold Putty and Amazing Casting Resin.

Supplies:

Polymer Clay
DaVinci Pasta Alphabet -- 12 oz (found at a gourmet grocery store)
Craft knife
Silver Rub-n-Buff
Ranger Alcohol inks
Jump rings
Pliers
Amazing Mold Putty
Amazing Casting Resin
Craft stick
Mixing cups

The First thing I did was condition the polymer clay by rolling it in my hands. The heat from your hands makes the clay more pliable. I then rolled out the clay on my non-stick craft pad and used a spare bottle as a rolling pin. I cut out a thin, long piece of clay and then curled it like a banner. After it was laid out in the banner shape; I dove tailed the ends. In this image I ended up trimming it more for the desired look. Don't forget to add the holes for hanging!

Next add the alphabet letters to spell out your saying. I chose Joie de Vivre...which means "joy of living" and perfectly describes life in south Louisiana!

Press the letters into the clay and bake the clay as instructed on the clay package.

Once clay is baked make sure the letters are still stuck in clay. If not, glue them in place. The next step is casting a mold so you want to make sure the letters are securely in place.

Next cast the mold following the directions on the Amazing Mold Putty box - OR - CLICK HERE for step-by-step instructions. A how to video is available HERE.

After about 20 minutes, pull the clay item out of the mold. One of mine broke, but that's ok, it still cast a good mold.

Mix your resin. I added a few drops of Alcohol ink. The first batch came out fine. When I tried for a darker shade (using more ink) my resin never cured. When adding alcohol inks to resin you have to be careful, if you add too much color, it will alter properties of resin and prevent it from curing. A better option is to color using ALUMILITE DYES, or powdered pigment colors such as perfect pearls.

Mixing resin with ink.

First batch with lighter ink added.

I came up with an alternate plan. I used a cotton swab and rubbed alcohol ink inside the mold before I poured in the resin. This worked pretty good. I just added a little more ink after it cured and embellished.

Top and bottom casts are from rubbing ink inside the mold.

Alcohol ink used.

For a finishing touch, accent the letters using a cotton swab and silver Rub-n-Buff.

"Geaux Tigers" banner necklace.

"Joie de Vivre" banner necklace.

I hope you enjoyed today's project. I encourage you to take some time to explore and search through the many AMAZING projects from the Amazing Mold Putty Creative Team. There are so many great tips and ideas!  ~ Tanya