Star Trek Cabochons and necklace

Those of you who've been reading this for the last several months may notice a few new changes.  Now that I've got lots of crafts up, I'm adding a page to make finding a specific project easier, in addition to what I've got on my Etsy shop.  The numbers for this blog keep going up week after week and I want to make it easier for new people and crafters to see what there is to see.

Speaking of Etsy, I'll be producing some components that you'll see on the crafts here, like the cabochons in this project.  You can purchase them here.

Thank you to everyone who has come to my site.  I hope that I can continue to inspire you all.  

Star Trekkin' across the Universe

I remember sitting down with Mom, Dad, and my brother to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation every week when I was a kid.  Mom loved the original series, so we'd gather around the tv to watch the latest episode on UPN.  The Inner Light, where Picard encounters an extinct alien civilization, is one of my all-time favorite episodes. I still cry at the end!

I love seeing the evolution of Star Trek as it responds to new concerns and values in our culture at large.  It's always been a groundbreaking show, and I hope that future incarnations, whether fan-made or Hollywood made continue that tradition.  I follow several former cast members on social media because they seem like genuinely nice, interesting and compassionate people.  I've seen every episode of the original series and TNG, a few seasons of DS9 and  Voyager, a few episodes of Enterprise (Didn't like that one), the animated series AND the web series Star Trek Continues.  I've watched documentaries about the fandom and the wonderful series hosted by Shatner called The Captains, but I don't consider myself a Trekkie or Trekker because I'm not involved in the fandom. 

I was looking at a cameo and I wanted to do a simple design that would have a lot of visual impact. I decided to do the iconic Starfleet insignia.  My original idea was to do some sort of piece glued into an ornate bezel to resemble a cameo.  I wasn't able to find any bezels that I liked, so I ended up wrapping the cabochon in wire.

Fun fact... The delta shape was originally the insignia for the Enterprise crew on TOS.  You'll see different insignias on the crews of different ships.  Lore has it that it became the Starfleet symbol after the Enterprise was the first ship to return safely from its 5-year mission.  

Aw, hell.  Maybe I am an antisocial Trekkie.  There are worse things to be!

Supplies

(Cabs)

Sculpey

Sculpting tools

Easy Mold sillicone putty

AMAZING Casting Resin

Rub n Buff in Antique Gold

Acrylic paint in red, yellow, blue, and black

Clear sealant

Wire

Sandpaper

(Neckace)

Gold chain

Seed beads in gold, yellow, light blue, and red

Beading needle and thread

Gold wire

Pliers (round nosed, chain nose)

Wire cutters

A simple sculpting project

I haven't been feeling well this week and wasn't able to do as much as I want to.  Fortunately, this design is perfect for weeks like this.  Before touching the clay, I drew out my design and cut out the elements to make things consistent.  

I rolled out the clay to about 1/4" thickness, placed my template on top of the clay, and cut out the oval and delta, and placed one on top of the other.  I left all edges sharp because I wanted a nice, thick bit of mostly flat clay.  I stuck the delta on top of the oval, positioned until I was happy, and then did some small decorations.    I used wire along the outside of one to give me a slight raised edge along the clay.  For funsies, I used the wire to make a Harry Potter Deathly Hallows symbol, but I'm not so happy with that one yet. 

In retrospect, I'd do this step after I baked and sanded the clay.  

Bake the clay according to package directions.  Mine took about 12 minutes to bake.  I let it cool and attacked it with sandpaper for a couple of hours until I was happy with the result.  

I WIN!!!!!!!  

Since I've had such miserable luck with the homemade versions of molds, I decided to let the professionals handle it, bit the bullet, and bought a box of Easy Mold at Michael's.  It's a two-part silicone mold putty which has a slightly oily, viscous texture in the pots.  The box says it's good for clay, resin, and low-temp metals.  You take equal parts of the purple and white putties, mix them thoroughly, and press your item into the blended putty and let it sit.  Let it sit until it doesn't move around when you poke it... I let it sit for about 10 minutes after that since I am a paranoid little thing, popped it out, poured some resin into the molds and...

IT WORKED!  HOLY MOLY, I ACTUALLY MADE A MOLD WORK THE FIRST TIME!

They still needed a little refining after I poured the resin, so I sanded them gently until I was happy with what I saw before I began painting.

I used Rub n Buff for the delta then painted the background with a small brush with enough coats of paint to get a nice, bright color.  I sprayed them with a sealant to keep the paint from wandering off without permission.

Making the necklace

I've seen, loved, and owned wrapped cabochons for years, but I never quite figured it out on my own.  I couldn't figure it out from books, and fortunately, there's lots and lots of tutorials on the internet.  Beadaholique has one by Wyatt White that I really liked.  I round wire instead of square because it's what I have, but it still works.

I made a beaded spiral for the blue necklace you see above and a 2nd necklace with a spiral tube.  Both are made of gold, blue, and red beads for command, medical/science, and Ops/Engineering.  I incorporated the pendants into the beading by sewing the beads around them, using the many loops of string to keep them securely attached.  

I really like the way they both turned out.  I've been having a lot of fun learning how to make beaded jewelry lately.   As of now, you can find both necklaces for sale!