Constellation Trinket Tray

Inspired by We're Going to Make It's Astrological Sign Trinket Dish, I created one of my own with the constellation Cassiopeia, my favorite constellation. I really love the way it turned out. The instant I saw this project on their blog, I knew I had to make it.

Materials:

• clay (oven-bake)
• cup or bowl
• plastic knife
• pencil (or other object with a point)
• acrylic paints
• paint brushes

I started with just the green clay, then realized that I'd need more, so I added orange. I'd suggest using a lighter colored clay so you don't need to use as many coats of paint for full coverage.

I rolled out the clay and cut it into a circle by tracing around a mug. Once I had my clay into  the shape I wanted for my dish (I crimped the edges with my fingers), I took a pencil to poke holes where the stars of the constellation would be and then dragged the pencil to draw faint lines connecting the stars.

I kept fiddling around with the shape, trying to perfect it, but I eventually said enough is enough and put it into the oven according to the directions. My dish probably could have baked a few minutes longer because it is still a little bendable.

After letting the dish cool, I started painting it. I used a light blue for the top and for the bottom, I mixed a few colors to get somewhere between a forest green and turquoise color.

For the last step, I went in with gold acrylic paint to fill in the constellation and also made a gold edge around the tray.

I'm really happy with the way my trinket tray turned out! It would be a great holiday gift for someone who loves the stars; you could do either one of the Dippers or their astrological sign, as was done by We're Going to Make It ~ thank you for the inspiration.

to see how I made the Galaxy Bracelet in the image above, click here

Dream Big Galaxy Bracelet

Inspired by Oh The Lovely Things' galaxy necklace, I sought to make my own similar creation, which was super easy and quick to make. So off I went to Hobby Lobby for the supplies.

Here are the materials I used to make my galaxy bracelet:

• bracelet cord • "dream big" charm • mini star charms • jump rings • a sponge • jewelry pliers • different colored nail polish •

note: you only really need a few colors, but I had so many  appropriate colors at home that I added a good majority of the ones pictured here

I started with a dark base coat, which I applied with the brush and let sit to dry. Then I just went a little crazy sponging on the colors (I literally have no control!!), continuously adding a dab of pink here and a dab of green there, oh wait! a tad bit more of pink and so on and so forth. Once it had dried and I was happy with how the colors looked blended together, I put some clear polish with glitter as my top coat, giving it that starry feel I was going for.

here's what the charm ended up looking like - I used different light settings so you could see the depth of all the colors (and the glitter!)

The assembly was also very simple: First, I opened up two jump rings with the pliers, fitting the ends of the charm into the rings. Next, I added one star charm to the jump ring so that it would slightly overlap the main charm. Lastly, I closed the jump rings around the clasps in the cord to put the whole piece together.

This was so simple to make, but it looks great and provides a nice message - DREAM BIG - to those like me who like to gaze at the sky, always dreaming, always wondering.

Once again, a special thanks to Oh the Lovely Things for the inspiration - originally on a beautiful triangle necklace. 

🌠 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕓𝕚𝕘,

 𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣 𝕘𝕒𝕫𝕖𝕣