Acrylic Skin Crafts — Leftover Paint Pour Projects Part 2
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I don’t know why it took me so long to get back into paint pouring, but now that I’ve started it again, I am HOOKED! I’ve spent hours watching videos and planning, and I finally decided to just go for it (again). I’ve been experimenting with some new things, like using a hair dryer and pouring over vases—in addition to the usual canvas pours. In the process, I’ve accumulated a bunch of acrylic skins, so it’s time to turn them into something! Or a lot of somethings.
Check out my first post on leftover paint pour projects HERE. I made some paint pour pendants and some wall art. How about some earrings and magnets?! Read on!
I love my pendants and butterflies so much that this time I decided to see what else I could make. With a few different sizes of cabochons, you can make a lot of different things! In my Amazon searches alone I found all kinds of different jewelry trays.
I’ve mostly been making my magnets and earrings at the same time. With an assortment of cabochon sizes, it’s really easy to lay everything out together. One of the coolest things about acrylic skins is that you can get some very different-looking pieces out of the very same skin. It’s so much fun to see what you can find.
Here’s what I used in addition to my acrylic skins
*** I’m linking to exactly what I bought. There are plenty of other sizes and quantities also available.
For magnets:
For earrings:
- Earring trays (8mm, 10mm, and 12mm studs)
- Cabochons (8mm, 10mm, 12mm)
- Diamond Glaze
- Scissors
I’ve always used my leftover paint drippings for these projects, but I know there are people who create just paint skins using whatever colors they want. However you end up with acrylic skins, they have to properly dry and cure before you can use them. As far as curing time goes, I’ve read anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I’ve done my very best to wait a full 4 weeks, although that is really tough when you’re excited about a project.
BUT, once your acrylic skins have dried and cured, you’re ready to turn them into something special!
First, play around with placement. Move your cabochons around on the paint skin to see what looks cool. Check the underside of your paint skins, because sometimes that side looks very different from the top.
Spread some Diamond Glaze on the backside of the cabochons and press them onto the acrylic skin. Make sure there aren’t any bubbles underneath. If moving it around a little and/or pressing down more doesn’t get rid of them, you can lift it up and try again. (I’ve done that a few times.) Wipe up excess Diamond Glaze with a baby wipe or a damp paper towel.
Set it aside to dry, and put something heavy on top while it dries.
Just like so many of the best projects, the next step is to wait. Wait for the Diamond Glaze to dry. I usually let it sit over night, but from what I’ve read, it may actually only take a few hours for it to dry.
Once the Diamond Glaze has dried, carefully cut around the cabochons.
If your magnets came with adhesive, attach that to the magnet and the acrylic skin. Otherwise, you could use some kind of strong glue to attach the magnets. I would probably use super glue or E6000.
I made the “mistake” of making a bunch of magnets at one time (I mean a BUNCH) and laying them out on my table. Well, I’d move one and they’d all cluster together. So I started putting them on an old pizza pan we have. (You can also buy them at Dollar Tree.) Much easier to deal with.
I’m still working on a way to package these up for giving away or selling, but I found a suggestion I thought was good using cardstock and small washers. I’ll link to them if I find some that work well for me.
To make earrings
Just like the magnets, move your cabochons around to find the colors and patterns you like, and attach them with Diamond Glaze. Press down and use a wipe or damp paper towel to clean up any excess that has squeezed out.
Once that has dried, spread a little Diamond Glaze inside the earring tray, and press the cabochon into it. Press down to make sure you don’t see bubbles. Wipe up any excess Diamond Glaze.
I always put something heavy on top of the earrings while they dry, and it’s a little more complicated with stud earrings because of the posts. I’ve been using a block of floral foam for this. I put the earrings in the foam and then cover them with a heavy book or two.
Enjoy your new earrings! They will truly be unique.
Happy crafting!
