New Kawaii resin items for January/February 2014

I have been hard at work with decoden cases, but that doesn't mean I haven't stop making resin items! Here are some things I have been working on the past two months. All from Rara's Jewels on Etsy. 

Egg hair clips! These were actually a request from Jane (aka Pastel-cutie). I couldn't find any egg molds that would work for what Jane was looking for, so I had a mold custom made for her. The idea was great and it definitely makes a unique hair clip. 

Kitty face bangle bracelets. These are so fun! This mold was a freebie given to me by one of my mold suppliers. I think I might try making a black cat one too~

Seashell heart molds. This was another freebie mold. I am using a pearlizing powder for the white shell part that gives it a beautiful shine. 

Alpaca face necklaces. I have had alpaca necklaces since December, but I also bought the face mold to make even more necklaces. 

Milkshake necklaces are probably my favorite out of all my new items. They have a sort of vintage feel to them and would fit in with Fairy Kei coords. 

Love letter necklaces. I have seen people using these for cabochons, but I thought they make a cute necklace too!

Floppy disk necklaces. Another items with a cute, retro feel to it. 

I also got some new 'spooky' molds too.

All of these items are handmade out of resin by me and are available from my Etsy shop. 

 Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rarasjewels

Personal Website: http://rarasjewels.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rarasjewels

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RarasJewels

Tumblr: http://rarasjewels.tumblr.com/

How to care for a decoden case!

If you have never owned a decoden case before you may be wondering how to care for it! As long as you care for your case it will last you a long time. Here are some basic care tips for your decoden cases.

1. Decoden cases may have a little bit of a strong smell when you first get them. I try my best to air out my cases before they are sent out, but the scent can come back. This is common with all decoden items, especially those made with 100% silicone. This is because the case has been trapped in a bag for several days, so they smell builds up in the bag. When you get your case simply take it out of the baggie and leave it out for a day or two to air out. Once it is aired out it will be good to go!
2. Take care not to be too rough with your case. Like any other type of case, a decoden phone case could break if you don't take care of it. Because of this I do not recommend decoden cases to small children because they can become a choking hazard if small pieces fall off after dropping.
3. If a piece does happen to fall off your case it can be fixed super quick with a drop of super glue! For 100% silicone pieces E6000 tends to not stick very well to the silicone, so as much as super glue can be a hassle and mess, you are better off using it. 
4. After owning your case for a while you may notice it collecting dust or dirt. This can easily be cleaned! There are two methods I recommend; You can take a q-tip, wet it, and gently rub the dirty spots until they are cleaned up or you can take a little bit of sticky tape, press it down on the case, and gently lift it off. 
5. It should go without saying, but please do not pick at the cabochons! They are secured pretty well to the case, but picking at them again and again can cause the pieces to come off. Putting the phone in a tight pocket or purse with lots of abrasive items can also cause the pieces to fall off. 

I want everyone to be able to enjoy their decoden cases! Follow these 5 simple care tips and you will have an amazing case that will last you a long time. 

Remember; decoden cases are not indestructible, so please take good care of them. 

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rarasjewels

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rarasjewels

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RarasJewels

Tumblr: http://rarasjewels.tumblr.com/

Duo Tone Angel Wings

I used to duo tone items for my shop pretty often, especially bats, but I sorta fell out of the habit. Now I am starting to make them again with angel wings. I am making them into both hair clips and sweater clips. 

I still have more plans for other colors, but here is what I have made so far~ 

All of them are available in my shop and other colors or color combos can be made upon request 

 Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rarasjewels

Personal Website: http://rarasjewels.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rarasjewels

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RarasJewels

Tumblr: http://rarasjewels.tumblr.com/

Lisa Frank 3DS Case

I've seen a few things like cases and other items decorated completely with Lisa Frank stickers before. I always really admired them and wanted to make one of my own, but I knew it would be pretty time consuming. Today was a pretty good day for something time consuming, though. I was a little stressed and needed something relaxing to do. I had an extra 3DS case and more Lisa Frank stickers than I will ever use in a lifetime, so I decided to give it a shot. 

I am really happy with how it turned out~ It took me a little over an hour plus the time to cover the top with several layers of Mod Podge. 

Here are a few more pictures of it.

Honestly, I had a lot of fun and I wouldn't mind doing something like this again as a gift for a friend~

Additional credits to BityKity for the cute chocolate charm. 

SprinkleChick Review~

I haven't done a craft trade in a long while, so when Ashley, the owner of SprinkleChick, sent me a convo on Etsy asking about a trade I was exited!

Ashley's shop features a lot of kawaii accessories that remind me of candy! She mostly has clay and acrylic charms. Probably one of my favorite things is all of the narwhal themed items! 

Onto the review!~

Here is what I got in my half of the trade! I picked out a cute elephant figurine and a lamb charm. Ashley also included a cute handwritten letter, some sticker flakes, and a few extra business cards. I'll probably keep the business cards in my bag when I wear the necklace in case anyone asks where I got it from~!

Here is the lamb charm. You can get your own here. I've never made my own acrylic charms before, but I did consider it and do some research on it. I can tell Ashley chose a high quality supplier to print her designs. The print very clear and the charm itself is pretty thick. I can tell it won't break or damage easily. 

The second item I got was this adorable elephant! Ashley doesn't have the same exact one in her shop, but there is a similar teapot elephant. The painting on this is flawless. It is also sculpted with a good quality clay. It is sturdy and will last a while. I currently have it sitting on my My Little Pony castle. I need to give him a name, but I haven't thought of one yet. 

SprinkleChick gets a thumbs up from me and I will be back in the future to buy one of her adorable Narwhals for my friend. I would highly recommend her shop. She was friendly when we talked on Etsy, quick to ship, and all of the things I got are perfect. Thank you, Ashley! 

New decoden items!

I made a post a little bit back about how I was now carrying decoden cases. Since then I have already improved on my piping skills so much! I am no where near the skill level of some of the other case makers I know, but I am proud of my improvement so far!

These first two cases are still available in my shop!

For the HTC One

For the Galaxy S4

This was a case for the 3DS XL. It has already sold, but I plan on making more cases for the 3DS and 3DS XL soon. 

This was a gift for one of my best friends for Christmas.  She really needed a case for her 3DS XL because the bottom of it was coming off for some reason! Ohno.

This was my first custom case request! Isn't it cute~ The customer had such a great idea. They even drew what they were envisioning out for me so I had a really clear idea of what they wanted. 

When I was doing some deco items I had just a little bit of 'whip cream' left so I decided to make this~ Whenever I go shopping I always save my change in this cute jar and once it gets full enough I take it to the bank to throw into their change counting machine. When it is full it can have anywhere between $20-$40! It takes a while to fill up, but it is worth it and I usually get myself a nice meal or get some new clothes with the money. I used to have a decoden lid on it, but it was pretty old from when I used to work with polymer clay and some of the pieces have broken, so it was time for a new lid. 

And that is it for now! I am really glad I started making decoden cases because I think it is super fun. I am continuing to work on my piping skills and I am thinking about taking a cake decorating class to learn some piping skills. It seems silly, but I think it would really help!

Also, for those on instagram I now have an instagram account! I post a lot of my shop items on there, but I also sometimes post things from my toy collection and some Pokemon I have for trade. I also sell off my extra resin cabochons on there for those that are interested~ I really recommend that if you are a case maker or interested in becoming one that you get an instagram. I see lots of other case makers on instagram and they all seem super successful with it~

http://instagram.com/rarasjewels

 Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rarasjewels

Personal Website: http://rarasjewels.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rarasjewels

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RarasJewels

Tumblr: http://rarasjewels.tumblr.com/