Wednesday, March 19, 2014

DIY Enamel Dots - Tutorial


Hi friends!

http://www.mymindseye.com/Now&then/Now%20&%20Then/Lightbox/Accessories/1-Dorothy/NT1005.jpgIt's Wednesday and so I bring you another tutorial!   Are you a fan of these enamel dots like I am?
Well recently I came across a few ideas on how to make your own.  I opted to attempt the least odor inducing method.  Bet you didn't know that all of the tutorials that I attempt to put together to share with you don't actually make it to "print".

Some of the tutorials I share are ones that I find while researching online, others are my own ideas. But no matter how the ideas comes, I attempt to create each and every idea.  And honestly, some are just too complicated and so not worth it, others turn out way too ugly!  And some require a 'take 2 or 3".  So when I attempted this one, there were a couple of times that I was not sure whether or not it would work.  But, it really did!

So lets get started. You will need some Glossy Accents, Liquid Glass or other similar type product that dries hard and some waxed paper.


Go ahead and squeeze out a few rows of evenly sized blobs (yup we are getting technical!) onto the waxed paper.  Try not to make them too large or they will dimple in the middle as they dry. (This was one time when I was unsure if this would work.)  Leave these to dry for quite a while.  Put them in a safe place and do not do what I did and forget they are there and put something else on top of them. ha!  That's why my next photo looks totally different!

For the next step you will need some nail polish, in your favourite colours.  If you are not a nail polish owner / wearer hit the dollar store.  They have lots of 'tacky' nail colours that would be great for enamel dot colours.  And a $1.00 bottle will make hundreds if not more!







So now you want to go ahead and paint the dried Glossy Accent dots.  In case you hadn't guessed, this was the second time I thought to myself "there is no way this well work".  I can't not neatly paint these little tiny dots.  My hands are to big and my eyes too weak.  But I just plugged away, as I had nothing to lose.  You could always use a small paint brush, of course, this occurs to me afterwards and not at the time! ha! Now leave these to dry again, it doesn't take as long.

Once they were dried I discovered that wherever I painted messily around the edges the nail polish just flaked off so it really wasn't a problem that my painting wasn't great.  You just want to make sure that you have good and smooth coverage on the actual dots.

So, I thought I should show you that I actually used the dots that I made.  They were the perfect fun addition to this card that I made for a friend.



All in all, you should really give this one a try.  Aside from the obvious drying time it only took a few seconds to squeeze out the dots and a few more to paint them.  You could squeeze out a few dozen while watching tv (Criminal Minds)  one night and paint them the next night during your tv watching (Greys Anatomy).

Thanks for visiting1
Laura
xoxo

7 comments:

  1. super idea!! My girls will be thrilled when I start buying more nail polish!

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  2. Good job Laura! I like DIY embellies!

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  3. Looks great!... Did you squeeze the blobs out on wax paper? (that's what it looks like in your photos)..... I've also heard that they can be done on those non-stick Ranger craft sheets, although I haven't tried this technique myself!

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  4. Thank you for catching that Paula, I did intend to mention the waxed paper. Yes it works great for this application the little dots peel right off. I have also read about the Ranger craft sheets but since I do not own one I went with waxed paper as I figured most people had it and if they did not it can be found at the dollar store.

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  5. what a great idea, I have to try this, I have everything I need right in the house.
    I just discovered this site, love that you have great tutorials in addition to sketches.

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  6. Too funny! Love this idea - I saw melted plastic doodads and other ideas that I was not inclined to try but this looks easy and neat! Thanks Laura!

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