A Gateway Tutorial to the World of Polymer Boxes
I figured there were a number of you who might have been intrigued by the containment form of adornment this week but thought it would be too much work to get into it. However, I have found a ‘gateway’ tutorial that might just get you addicted to the idea of making container necklaces. Then, you might find yourself moving onto purses or who know what else. In any case, if you like the form, you really should give it a try.
These matchbox amulets, as Tina Holden calls them, address both the inside and outside of this form. They have a slider similar to inros, but a construction that may be a bit more accessible to the novice box maker. She sells a two-part tutorial on her ArtFire page for those of you who want to jump in with pretty much guaranteed success. If you have already played around or you create container adornments, this could be inspiration for a new form.
You can find the two-part tutorial on this link here, or, if you don’t want to dive in wholly at this point, you can get Part 1 here, and then go for Part 2 later when you see just how addictive it is! She has a lot of other tutorials to offer, so if you aren’t up for boxes right now, still stop by her shop to see if something else piques your interest.
*Update: If you want to try your hand at another polymer matchbox design, Randee Ketzel sent this link to an older tutorial where it is opened by moving the outside of the box up the cord rather than pulling the inside up. This would not be ideal to hold loose objects (if the outside gets jostled up, items could fall out) but looks to work great as an amulet with hidden items secured inside. It is free so you can give it a try before you buy something more detailed like Tina’s tutorial: http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2000december/matchbook.html Thanks for that Randee!
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What a nice surprise to get tagged on Facebook this morning! thank you so much!!
There has been much talk in the Beader community also about wanting to bring back Amulets and Amulet Purses and make them popular once more. They could be so much more than just a necklace or jewelry, including Memory boxes that can sit on a mantle or night table, keeping something special in them from a loved one such as a photo (as they can be stood up with the inner part open). I hope this tutorial does serve some inspiration. Thanks again.
If you want to purchase and are an ArtFire patron, there is automatically 5% off or use STARFISH 10 in any of my shops for 10% off. This includes my Etsy and Zibbet shops https://www.etsy.com/shop/Beadcomber and http://beadcomber.zibbet.com/
OHhhh…I should mention something fairly important! If anyone is looking for the Download in ArtFire (happens a lot)…there isn’t one. ArtFire doesn’t have an Instant Download feature like Etsy does, but I do email the files pretty much right away, usually within less than half hour (if not in your Inbox, please check the Spam folder :o). Zibbet doesn’t have instant downloads either, at least not yet, so if you want the files right away, use Etsy. Again, the coupon STARFISH10 should work for all 3 shops. Thanks so much and happy crafting.