Dolls in photo (from left to right):
-Girl of the Year 2025 Summer McKinny
-Girl of the Year 2006 Jess McConnell
Let's start with the pair on the right side of the photo. Jess, aka Namaari, is modeling the Team AG Sweater & Skirt. This is a classic Americana themed ensemble. Naturally, I had to go with red, white, and blue beads. I don't have many options of red beads in my stash. But I knew these polymer clay spacer ones would be perfect. I got them in a bracelet making kit via Amazon Vine a couple years ago (they were free in exchange for leaving a review). I'd used a similar layout for a Rainbow High doll's earrings in the past. I really liked the way these beads stacked together for earrings...it almost looked sporty to me. So I knew it would work for the Team AG getup too! I added gold star charms (also from Amazon Vine). The buttons on this sweater are gold, so it was perfect that the star charms were golden too.
Miss Summer's Bake Sale Outfit, on the left, was a blast to make jewelry for. I did have some trial and error though. This cupcake mold I used was from the clearance section at Walmart. I bought a UV jelly resin kid craft kit in early 2021, for just a $1 or $2. The molds included were perfectly sized for dolls. The issue is that they weren't made for jewelry originally. So unlike other molds I have, there wasn't a peg inside to make a hole for attaching findings. UV resin cures quickly, so you cannot add an eye pin while it's curing. I originally opted to use polymer clay (that way I could stick an eye pin through them before baking). But when they were done baking in the oven, I really didn't like the blobular look to them. The clay got a bit distorted when I removed it from the mold. Much of the mold's definition was lost. So I decided to experiment with this mold and UV resin for earrings. I filled the mold about half way with resin, and added some sequins. These were from a sand art project Colleen brought home from work years ago. Then I cured it under the UV lamp. Afterwards, I added another layer of UV resin, and placed an eye pin (which I'd trimmed down to be about a quarter of an inch long). I tucked the tail into the the resin, and left the eye sticking out. I cured this, hoping the eye pin would stay adhered. This ended up working out fantastically! I was even able to bend the eyelet forward after it cured, so it was at a straighter angle!!! These earrings turned out so much less clunky and awkward than the polymer clay ones. I added a couple of pink and teal beads (from Walmart's $1 baggies) to tie in more colors from the ensemble.
