December 11, 2009

Mica Magic!


Mica, mica, mica!  What is a mica?  It's a mineral that has been laminated into tiles for the altered arts, crafts, scrapbooking market.  I ordered some from Ornamentea to create Christmas ornaments for my tree this year.  The small sheets are the size above, I simply stamped them with my favorite rubber stamps and Stayzon ink.  I used my 2-hole metal punch to make a hole and created a hanger with some 'brass' craft wire.

And that got my brain jumping and I thought, uh mica icicles!  For these pieces I cut the medium size mica tiles into long strips.  I used a pair of scissors for the cutting.  I used my metal punch for the holes and made a hanger with a copper eyepin.  I madea  dozen or so of these to add a little shimmer to those tree branches.


And those sparked the idea for these Frosty Window Pane Earrings that are featured on the Art Bead Scene today as one of our 12 Days of Christmas free projects! 

15 comments:

TesoriTrovati said...

Those are oh so pretty fabulous.
I have always wondered about mica and where it comes from and what it is made of and how to use it. Thanks for demystifing that stuff! I just started following the Shiny Little Things blog for Ornamentea. I will have to place an order there soon! Enjoy the day, Heather! Erin

peacockfairy said...

Very pretty! What an interesting material!

rosebud101 said...

Thanks for the link to the source for the mica. Gorgeous work, as always!

mairedodd said...

thanks so very much for this heather! i have some mica at home but was concerned about its fragility - and, well, you know that fear of new things i have... i will be giving it a second look now!

Dale said...

ooo this looks so good! I love the idea of using mica as christmas ornaments, i bet the lights really shine and sparkle with these guys. Great, great stuff here, thanks for sharing how you use this pretty material.

pdmaxfield said...

Ohhh! I likey!

Judy said...

OMG, I love these! I had no idea you could do that with mica. I remember as a kid swimming in a mica mine in New Hampshire. It was the most "glittery" place and so magical for us kids.

SuzyQ said...

Wow, these are really beautiful. What a great idea!!!

m.e. said...

I love how one thing lead you to another in the creation process.
What charming pieces .
Each is Simply beautiful !
speaking of one thing leading to another...
read this blog ,now off to buy some mica ! Thank you for the link ! :) m.e.

Della said...

Very, very cool! I really love the earrings,too. Your beads are always so beautiful!

Kathi said...

fun fun fun!

“sent here on a marvelous surf via http://valerieaharoni.com”

Alice said...

I saw that last set on the ABS, and you've got me wanting some mica! Love it!

Julie Pishny said...

Lovely creations - mica is one of my favorite elements - why don't I use it more often? Thanks for the inspiration - Happy Holidays - Julie

Heather Powers said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I've really loved discovering this new medium. It's great for altered art projects too, fun stuff!

Gaea said...

Oh! They are all so lovely and festive! I especially loved the mica elements! The way they look ghosted! Fun!