Luck o' the Irish - Good Fortune, that is!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - Leave a Comment

Want to be lucky this St Patrick's Day? Then why not make yourself a bracelet from a lucky Four Leafed Clover!

Bottle cap bracelet featuring green striped scrapbook paper with real dried 4 leaf clovers embedded in resin.

Here's what you'll need:

Flattened bottle caps or if you'd like to flatten your own, Crown caps and a hammer
Magic-Glos UV curing resin
Jasart Four leaf clover stickers - these are real four leafed clovers on a clear background so the background can't be seen under the resin
Crystals, rub-ons or other small embellishments
Green striped scrapbook paper
1" circle punch
1mm drill bit and drill
UV nail lamp (sunshine will cure the resin if you don't have a UV lamp)

Use the hammer to flatten the bottle caps to give them a nice border. Punch as many circles from the scrapbook paper as you need. My paper didn't require sealing but some papers do. If yours does, then use Translucent Liquid Sculpey. Do not use Mod Podge for this project - it's not compatible with Magic-Glos. If you're not sure if your paper needs sealing, then seal it anyway. To do this, coat the back and the front AND the cut edge then bake in the oven on non stick cooking paper, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Whilst the paper circles are in the oven, you can continue with the next step.

Squeeze a blob of Magic-Glos into the centre of the bottle cap about the size of a 1c coin and spread it out to the edges.

Place a paper circle in the Magic-Glos and press it down so that the resin oozes up around the outside of the paper. Place another blob of resin in the centre and spread it out to the edges so that it fully covers the paper. If there are any bubbles, pop these by passing a BBQ torch briefly across the surface. Keep it moving at all times. Place the bottle caps under the lamp (or in the sunshine) for about 10 minutes to cure.

Apply a four leaf clover sticker to the centre of the bottle cap. Cover the entire surface with Magic-Glos and cure for another 10 minutes.

Add any embellishments such as rub-ons now, then apply another layer of Magic-Glos, add the crystals and then place under the lamp until cured.

Turn your lucky four leaf clover charms into jewellery by drilling holes in each bottle cap and assembling them with beads and charms, and then finally, add a clasp.