Bracelet made with charms from the May Art charm exchange.

Charm artists from left to right- Rashell, Judy, Sheela, Mary J., Pegy, Sharie, Jan B., Tricia, Cathie, Connie, Ellen, Jan B.

Denice O'Herons *Tiny* Faerie Book Charm. From the ICE Mini Book Charm swap.

This book is very small and beautiful in person.
An amazing example of how cute and full of color a
little book charm can be! Denice did a wonderful job
getting the pages to line up evenly and lay flat!
This book is very sturdy, and well put together.
Thank you Denice for joining in!

Now THAT is ART! Charms by Connie Williams

The ICE group is about handmade ART charms. Take a look at the submission Connie in Hawaii has created for the May ICE (International Charms Exchange). She has designed 2 different sets of 21. For a total of 42 AWESOME ART charms!

There is STILL time to sign up for the swap due on May 31st. All submissions must be approved. It is a light juried swap. All design levels are welcome. All that we ask, is that your work is *neat*, safe, sturdy, non toxic, ARTISTIC, and innovative. It is appreciated when the artist also takes the time to create a fun presentation for their work! This swap is based on quality. Please only join, if you like taking your time, and care about what you make.

What have you made with YOUR return charms?

http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/ch.html
Gillian has started a page on her website for us to share what we have made.

Right now, I am designing a demi parure using the charms that I have gotten in return from the charm swaps. I am not going to be done with it for another few weeks, but it is looking quite lovely!

Please share with us what you have been making so we can post it!

Sparkle Charms by, Amber Dawn

This piece is made up of vintage Swarovski stones, and other goodies. It is a sparkling beauty for a sparkling beauty to wear!

~*Lori Anderson*~

Lori Anderson crafted 2 sets of wonderful artisan bead dangle charms. Each piece is constructed using sterling silver components.

The glass beads she chose to include are fun, whimsical & beautiful.

By Amber Dawn

The area below, where the text is removed, was done to keep the focus on the ball of string.

This image is to allow you to see the depth of the charm. The charms below, are made from polymer clay, and have an image of a clock on the reverse.

Time to make 3 Wishes.

MINI BOOK COVER SAMPLE

This is NOT what each book has to look like. This is just *my* style of construction.

This is an unfinished, unfilled, unembellished book. Just the cover.

The reason these pictures are taken on the envelope, is so you can see how SMALL the cover is. These are REAL postage stamps.

Current count of charms for 1/31/07 EXCHANGE

Almost 2700 charms!!!

ICE MEMBER HEATHER BLUHM

Heather created a variety of altered scrabble tiles which she transformed into cute charms.
Each charm is presented in a plastic bag with a handmade header card.

ICE MEMBER GINA LOUTHIAN- STANLEY

The following images represent the 2 sets of charms that Gina has submitted for the 42 for 40 swap.
Each charm is made by setting an image in a bezel and embellished with beads.

ICE MEMBER CLARISSA SHARP

The following images show a representation of the charms that Clarissa has submitted for the 42 for 40 charms swap.
These are soldered glass hemispheres with an image or word glazed beneath.
Each charm is presented in a plastic bag with a bit of decorative paper and title.

ICE MEMBER TERESA STEBBINS

The following images show examples of the 2 sets of charms that Teresa sent in for the 42 for 40 swap. Each charm is nested in it's own fabric pouch and tucked inside of a small coin envelope which she hand stamped.
The hand made fabric drawstring pouches/"Yo-Yos" are made from vintage cloth, and tied with a simple string. Teresa designed the first charm, using antique sterling forks, which she cut, then added a tiny glass bead with wire at the top.

Next, Teresa made a set of dramatic glass fused charms. The black glass is topped with dichroic glass bits. The glass was fused with metal wire inside of it, forming the loop from which the jumpring is attached. These are also nested within a hand made Yo-Yo drawstring style pouch and tucked within a stamped coin envelope.

Response to coating question-

Hi may I inquire what types of sealants you suggest would be good to use on the shrink plastic and metal for that matter that would make them waterproof? Thank You J.Myers
Sat Jan 13, 10:35:00 PM PST

RESPONSE- By, Amber Dawn
I suggest Diamond Glaze, for most metals other than brass (I have not yet tried it on copper)
Brass will turn the Diamond Glaze a greenish blue, and everything that it is adhering to the metal will become blue green as well.
For Brass, I use triple thick glaze from Krylon and Delta.
They both work well. Most spray glosses work well with metals.
Shrink plastic does not need a sealer if you use alcohol based inks and solvent inks on it. YOU MUST USE AMPLE VENTILATION!!!! When baking solvent and alcohol inks in the toaster oven!
Do NOT use your home food oven for this EVER!
If you are using INK jet shrink plastic sheets, you will need to seal the printed side of the plastic so that the image does not run as it will not be water proof once baked.
*I* reverse my images so that the printed side becomes the back side, and then my image can be seen through the smooth plastic. It is almost like looking at glass!
Depending on your printer/ink-
I use BRUSH ON glosses, and PAINT to seal it.
Use light coats and build up gradually. do not rub the brush too hard on the inked side.
It will distort it, causing the ink to run, or seperate from the sheet of plastic.
ONLY SEAL THE PIECE AFTER IT HAS BEEN BAKED!
If you Spray it with a gloss, use a little bit at a time to make sure it does not cause the ink to run.
Do it in layers, allowing each later to dry WELL.
ALWAYS TEST a piece before doing a whole batch!
Make a test scrap piece for each type of coating so that you can see which one you prefer, and which one hold up to your testing!
RESULTS WILL VARY!