My Supply Wish List~ (This Week)

Do you ever go to Hobby Lobby or some other craft store and just walk up and down the isles secretly wishing you would win the Publisher's Clearing House $5000/week for life.  Man I do! I think I would spend one of those weeks in Hobby Lobby filling up carts with jewelry & craft supplies. What a dream......

Now back to reality.  I would like to show you all some of the items I really want. Sometimes I'm not sure why, I just think this stuff rocks!

Vintaj Natural Brass Flourish Petal Bead Cap

This bead cap is so pretty, I can envision the jewelry I could make with a bunch of these using vintage beads...These babies are $2.99 each, so I may not be making anything major.

Sizzix - Vintaj - DecoEmboss - Moroccan Tile $9.99

I love these emboss folders, they make the coolest jewelry pieces. I have several that I use all the time on pieces of vintage cookie tin to add a little flair.  (This one will be my next purchase!)

Enough about Vintaj items, (I could go on all day...)

Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Pillow Box w/Labels $29.99

I've been wanting this die for awhile. It wasn't in stock for like ever!!  I want this to package my jewelry in instead of plastic bags.  Soon you will be mine....bwaaahaaaaa!!!!!

Vintage News Tissue 4 sheets for $2.99 (The Container Store)

(Please, someone, send me a gift and put this tissue paper in it!!!)

HELMER Drawer unit on casters, red $39.99 (Ikea)

Now granted, this is not a "supply", however I could really use all these drawers for all the little bags of beads 

and vintage jewelry pieces I have.

KASSETT Box with lid, dark pink $3.99/ 2 pack

Anyone who knows me, knows I love these boxes & they are super cheap!  I have them in every size they make. (Mine are green and orange though). They are great for storing stuff, Hiding messes (did I say that out loud?) Ok, sometimes, I just shove everything off the top of my workbench into one of these boxes to be sorted out later.  I buy a pack (or 2 or 3) of these boxes every time I go to Ikea.

Well, that's it for my list this week.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Faux Enamelware Jewelry Tags

I have been wanting to make these for a long time but wasn't quite sure how to do it.  I finally got it figured out and had to purchase a few items to get going.

You will need:
Tim Holtz Grunge Board 
Ranger Distress Crackle Paint in Picket Fence
Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snowcap
Ranger Enamelware Embossing Powder (it's clear with white specks)
Embossing ink pad
Archival Ink (Black)
Stamp of your choice
Heat Gun (mine is a Harbor Freight Special)
*Tim Holtz Alterations Tiny Tags & Tabs cutting die.

*(If you don't have a machine to run this die through, skip this one.  You can always make a template of a shape you would like to use. Trace onto grunge board and cut out with scissors, you will also need a small hole punch).

These are my new "toys", aren't they awesome??? (I say with a big grin on my face).

 To begin making the coolest faux enamelware tags in the world, ( I might be exaggerating a little bit, but they are pretty cool), you will need to make some tags.  I chose to use the smaller tags on this die.

  Cut a piece of grunge board to fit the area over the tags.

Run the die through your machine of choice like so.... (I have a Vintaj Big Kick- Isn't she pretty!)

This is what you end up with, perfect tiny tags.

 Next, paint all the tags with a paint dabber in snow cap.  Allow to dry and paint the other side.  You can use a heat gun to speed up this process.

Then paint the tags with distress crackle paint in picket fence.  If you want small cracks, use a thin coat.  Larger cracks, use a thicker coat.

Allow 10-15 minutes to dry. You can use a heat gun to help it along but not until after cracks start to appear.  The pieces tend to curl a little too so I choose to just wait for them to dry on their own. Flip over and do the same on the other side.

Stamp tags with black archival ink, allow ink to dry. I usually stamp front and back, but you don't have to.

Using the embossing ink pad, ink the top of the tag really well.  It's hard to see since it is clear, however, it will be shiny or wet looking if you move in under a light.

Lay your tag on a piece of regular printer paper (this is so you can easily pour your left over embossing powder back into the jar).  Sprinkle the enamelware embossing powder generously over the tag making sure to cover it completely.  Using some tweezers, prop the tag up so you can grasp just the edges and tap the excess powder off.  Pour the remaining powder back into the jar using your handy paper funnel.

(*Note: I noticed that with every use of the embossing powder I started getting concentrated sections of white specks instead of somewhat evenly dispersed specks.  I started shaking the jar really well before pouring and got better results.)

Examples of  unevenly distributed "specks"

Move all of your items aside. Brush off any embossing powder that may have gotten on your craft sheet. 

Lay your tag in the middle of your work surface.  I use the low setting on my heat gun, otherwise my tag would blow away.  It takes a few seconds, then right before your eyes it changes in to a shiny raised surface.

If you want to emboss the back of the tag (I do because I like for it to look finished), you will need some additional tools. I utilized a nail that was sitting on my table & some pliers.

Why do I need these you ask??????  Well, from my "experience" (i.e. mess ups), if you have already embossed one side and try to emboss the other side, the side facing the work surface will remelt and stick.  That is not what you want. So this is where the nail and pliers come in handy.

Now, heat the embossing powder just like the other side.  I hold it up for about a minute so it can cool off before setting down on the work surface to prevent it from sticking and messing up the finish.

The only thing that is left unfinished are the edges, it is hard to get the embossing powder on them.  I like to take a black sharpie marker and color the edges, then I go over it again with a silver sharpie.

So now you have these cool tags.  

What do to with them?  Well, I'm a jewelry person, so naturally I would make them into jewelry. Here are some of the items I have made.

Earrings from the tags in the tutorial

Bracelet (shape was traced from a template and hand cut)

Another bracelet.  This one I used distressing ink to ad some color

The nice thing about jewelry made with grunge board is that it's very light weight and flexible. It almost has a leather-like feel to it.

*Note: items are not waterproof, although they would probably hold up to a little bit of water.  I do not recommend submerging them in water.

Hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  Let me know how your tag project turned out and don't forget to leave me some comments.  Be sure to follow me too!!

I'm going to be linking up to Creatively Tuesday at the Rustic Pig!!


http://www.therusticpig.com/

And so it begins.....

Hi my name is Hilary and this is the start of my first blog.  First off, you might want to know how to pronounce that last word in the name of my blog.  Alquina (al-qwine-a). 

So Hildegarde of Alquina came about when I was trying to pick a name for my Etsy store.  Originally I just wanted Hildegarde, but it was taken. Boo!  So I thought and thought, and came up with Hildegarde of Alquina.  No, Hildegarde is not my real name (I have been asked that more than once).  Back in the day, some bratty boys that rode my school bus started calling me that, I have no idea why, but I HATED it. They had a stupid song they sang too.  It went something like "Hildegarde ain't got no shoes...blah blah blah" (it was grade school and we are in Indiana, so yes "ain't" is used on a regular basis.) And by the way I have plenty of shoes!  
I started to come to terms with my nickname when my husband started calling me Hildegarde whenever I did something goofy, it was ok for him to make fun of me... Alquina is a small itty bitty place that I live near.  It has a four way stop, it used to have an elementary school. It has a cool name...... Hildegarde of Alquina was born!

photo courtesy of Ascension Visionary Concepts

Enough about the name, I live in rural Indiana, have a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter.

photo courtesy of Ascension Visionary Concepts

I love making "stuff", one day I will be making jewelry, the next it will be reclaimed wood signs or vintage inspired stationary or whatever else strikes my fancy.  I like most anything vintage or antique, I'm really into genealogy, I like playing card games (anything except Euchre, which I believe is the official card game of Indiana) and spending time with friends and family.

My goal for my blog is to share my love of making jewelry out of reclaimed items and refashioning the old and broken into something new, making other vintage inspired items and sharing all the other things in my world that inspire me to do what I do.  Who knows what I will be writing about from day to day. I hope you enjoy my posts!

Thanks for stopping by!!