We are always on the look out for craft supplies and materials that we haven’t used before. It would be too easy to stay within our comfort zone and make what we know but that would be no fun right?! So when Michaels asked if we’d like to try their new Friendly Plastic pellets we approached the idea with both excitement and trepidation. It’s not something I nor any of my team had used before and we weren’t even sure what we could accomplish with such a material. We had seen plenty of earrings, bracelets, cuffs, even masks made with Friendly Plastic, but we wanted to do something different, something that sits with our aesthetic, something that we would want to use ourselves. We think our DIY jewelry holder bowls fit the bill.

Heating the pellets is a little tricky and there was definitely an element of trial and error during our “crafternoon”. We used the hot water bath method which is probably the best if you are using the Friendly Plastic pellets as it’s easier to get an even temperature. Fill the bottom of a pie dish with water and heat to between 140F and 150F. Pour in the pellets and allow them to soften into a malleable state. Take care lifting the plastic from the water as it will obviously be very hot. We experimented with coloring our plastic by adding a few drops of paint to the warm plastic and kneading it in to achieve an even color. The plastic dries quickly so you will have to work fast. We formed the warm plastic over a number of different sized bowls using an embossing heating tool to reheat any areas that needed further work. I have to say it was a lot of fun. We decorated our bowls using our favorite new gold leaf pen which is just the best for adding a little glam to your projects – like we did on our leather feather earrings earlier this week. We are SO pleased with the results of our fun afternoon with Friendly Plastic pellets, it was such fun to do and we have found a new crating material that we will definitely be using again. If you are inspired by our results and decide to have a go yourself please do share pictures of your creative work with us across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – we always love to see your work! Enjoy! ~ Lia