"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" Part 2 featuring DominoART Pendants and Blockheads Stamps

Hello Stampers!

I'm so excited to share with you Part 2 of my "The Elegance of Natural Beauty" tutorials!  This is now my second project as an official Designer for
Blockheads Paper Arts and I'm having a blast!

If you haven't seen Part 1 yet then check it out here
"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" 
Vintage Domino WallART - Blockheads Design Team Project Part 1. 

Part 1 featured 4 of the 5 gorgeous flower panels available from 

Blockheads "Flowers Full Sheet 1 FL1001"

The fragile beauty of these Flower images inspired me to design something that would capture the elegance of nature and Part 2 continues along this theme with vintage Doublecross DominoART pendants.   I again wanted to focus on bringing out the beauty of the wood of the actual domino which in turn enhanced the elegance of the Tulips stamp.  But I didn't stop there!  I had so many ideas for this particular pendant I decided to include all the variations in this tutorial to show you how different jewelry embellishments can change the appearance of the same altered domino.
Enjoy!

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty"
1 Vintage Domino Pendant = 4 Different Styles

Tutorial Part 2

Supplies
Blockheads "Flowers FL1001" rubber stamps
1 Doublecross Domino
Ancient Page dye ink pads:  Chocolate and Sienna
Archival Jet Black ink pad
Violet Sharpie marker
Heat/embossing gun
E6000 glue
Krylon sprays Workable Fixative and Sealer
Paper towel
Drill or Dremel and a 1/16 bit
Drill vice
2 Brass eyehooks
Brass jump ring
Jewelry pliers
Various vintage jewelry pieces
Brass charms
Vintage (or new) Topaz crystal/rhinestone

So before I go on to show you my DominoART pendants I'll briefly recap how I went about altering the actual domino.   I drilled holes into both ends of the Doublecross Domino with a Dremel and a 1/16 bit.   It is best to use a vice when drilling so please take all necessary precautions when working with power tools!

FYI:  Doublecross dominoes have been out of production for years now so you will be very lucky if you can get your hands on some!  But you don't have to use dominoes to achieve the same look!  You can totally re-create my projects using any kind of wood for your pendants!   Using the 'Direct to Domino' method of applying ink, I dabbed on the Ancient Page dye inks (Sienna and Chocolate) randomly and rubbed the inks into the domino with a piece of paper towel.
I wanted to enhance the wood grain and imperfections of the domino and was really happy with the results.  Next I stained the sides of the domino with Chocolate Ancient Page and heat set the ink with a heat/embossing gun.

  

I used Jet Black Archival ink to stamp the Tulip flower panel onto the domino and heat set again.  Then I sprayed the domino with Krylon Artists Workable Fixative to ensure the inks didn't bleed when I sprayed them with the Krylon matte sealer.
I really love the 'old world' quality of this piece!

Glue the eyehooks into the drilled holes with E6000 glue and put them aside to dry.  TIP:  Note the way each eyehook faces coz you need to remember to glue them in the direction you need each one to be.  The bottom eye hook was the only one I needed to face forward so that I could attach the jewelry pendants or charms with a jump ring.

So that's how I went about altering the domino.  Now I can share all the fantastic ideas I have for the different pendant variations for this beautiful Tulip themed piece!

As I'm sure you've already guessed from my previous tutorials I like to play around with different variations before deciding on the final look for a piece I'm designing.  The following examples also give you a good idea of how you can design a piece that can be interchanged depending on what style you're going for!

Variation #1

'Subtle Elegance'
pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry

 

I embellished the altered domino by adding a vintage drop pendant from my bits and pieces collection of broken jewelry.  The orange stones and topaz rhinestones compliment the colours of the domino perfectly!  To finish the look I hung the DominoART pendant from a brown suede necklace I made.  Which I think added just the perfect touch for subtle elegance.

Variation #2
'Vintage Elegance' 

pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry and extra bling!

 

For this variation I kept the vintage pendant but added more bling!  I included the brass filigree fan which I also embellished with a large topaz rhinestone and strung the pendant onto a 2 tier gold ball chain for a lot more drama.  I would have adhered the charm and rhinestone to the domino with Judikins Diamond Glaze if this had been the final look I had decided on.  But I didn't coz there's more to see ;0)

Variation #3
'Elegance of Nature' 

pendant featuring a Dragonfly charm

 

Now for this variation I wanted to try out focusing more on the Nature theme of the piece.  I kept the gold 2 tier ball chain necklace and added a large brass Dragonfly charm.  I think this piece has a less formal look but still very pretty.

Variation #4
 'Violet Tulips'

pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry

 

Of course I kept my favourite for last!

For this variation I took the design one step further by staining the Tulips purple with a Violet Sharpie marker.  As I applied the Sharpie ink to the flowers the Ancient Page stained domino took on different shades of purple depending on where the dye inks were darker or lighter.  I also added shading to some of the petals by applying more Sharpie ink to those areas which gave more depth to the design.

I re-sealed the pendant with another coat of Krylon fixative and matte sealer.  I then attached the vintage jewelry pendant I liked best (coz of the purple crystals and peach coloured opal stones) with a jump ring and completed the look with a the purple cord necklace I made.  To me this pendant has drama and elegance all rolled into one.  I'm an Amethyst girl so I just love this beautiful necklace ;0)

Thank you for stopping by to check out my 2nd Blockheads Design Team project!  I'd love to hear what you think of it and don't hesitate to ask me any questions. Please feel free to go ahead and share my blog with your friends ;0)

If you want to see more great projects featuring Blockheads Paper Arts rubber stamps then check out what my fellow Design Team members, Karen and Diana, are up to!

Happy Stamping!

Leigh S-B
The Sharpie Domino Queen