Sunday 10 February 2013

Take your pixels - How to DIY Orla Kiely's pixellated galleon designand Topshop's geometric jewellery

90s retro pixel designs, graph paper... you do the math.


Left image: Asos.com

You will need



Graph paper ( with 5mm x 5mm squares)


For the jewellery

Fimo clay

Fluorescent nail polishes (available in a pack of 4, costing £2 from Primark)

Scalpel

Pencil

Clear car body lacquer (£3.99 at Elliots)

For the Galleon top

Black cardigan

Pins and a sewing machine (for taking in the sides)

Neon yellow and white jersey (in my case, cut off old clothes)

Scalpel

Sharp thread scissors

Pencil

Iron and ironing board


Time

About an hour for each one, not including baking time in the case of the jewellery.

Difficulty


Pretty Easy

Modelling the clay for the jewellery takes quite a bit of patience but thankfully it's not technically taxing. Just take your time.


To make the jewellery...

Draw your shapes onto your graph paper using the grid-like layout as a guide to get your jagged, pixellated edges.

Use your scalpel to cut out your shapes, zigzagging along the edges and using the sharp edge to gouge out the middle once you have cut an outline.


Bake your clay shapes in the oven closely following the instructions provided (if it's Fimo, it will probably be half an hour on a low heat but don't take my word for it, refer closely to the specifications on the packaging!). Paint your nail polish onto both sides and glaze your pieces with an all-over spray of clear lacquer.




Glue in place any attachments and fastenings for your jewellery, whether they be for brooches, earrings or pendants.


For the top...

Using your graph paper as a guide, draw out your ship design, which includes the yellow backdrop. Cut all your pieces out with a scalpel.



Glue them to your bondaweb and iron it onto your clothes.


Cut out your bondaweb and fabric pieces with your sharp thread scissors.


Peel away your bondaweb backing (the paper stuff on the back) and iron your pieces in place.






1 comment: