Always Seal Papers For Resin Embedding

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-26-2012

Here's a quick post to show what happens if you don't properly seal whatever paper you want to embed in resin with mod podge or glue layer of about 2-5 layers:




These aren't as bad as you could get, true, and I didn't do a whole lot of embellishments in them (thank goodness!!) but it is still a little sad to see the soaking. It's so bad, I almost wish it'd soaked through the whole thing because it'd just be that liiiiittle bit more, yeah? Oh well, lesson learned, and hopefully these plus all the other examples out there will remind you to completely seal whatever projects you work on!!

Clear Resin Pendants with DIY Backing Decorations

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-26-2012

I found this blog that Carmi Cimicata does using Envirotex Resin to show the awesome diversity it has to it, and this is one of the many posts that caught my eye so much so that I just HAD to play with it in my own way!!

http://resincrafts.blogspot.com/2012/04/resin-shoes.html#



Aren't they just the neatest!!

She has the tutorial for making them on the link I provided as well as a bunch of other things so go check it out!

For mine however, since I didn't have a high heel mold, I used a little flower mold I have since they're thinner and would cure faster.



These are a few of the flowers that came out. Now, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them, so I went looking through my scrapbooking paper pads and found this one!



It's pretty neat, but doesn't seem too terribly exciting on its own. When I put it under one of the flowers however, it took on a pretty neat look!!




Isn't that neat?! I think I'm going to have to try fabric and maybe paints next and of course I'll share so keep an eye out!

I might even make bunches of the clear pieces and sell those as lots so you can put whatever backing on them you want and use as jewelry pieces or embellishments or whatever!! What do you guys think?

Careful Selection of Resin Molds Required

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-26-2012

I got this awesome mold for unicorns a while back that I was very excited to use for clay and resin. I used one slot for a clay unicorn that turned out ok (should have used different colors or not as many since it was a little too much to see the details of the unicorn) but a couple weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make a whole bunch of glittery resin unicorns!!

I got out the mold:


And I proceeded to put clear resin in each hole (except for the dirty clay one, oops! forgot to clean!) and got this (will explain the missing chunk further down):





This was all well and good......until I attempted to push them out. I decided to try with this orange one I'd poured as it was near the edge (the missing chunk you see in the first picture). I tried popping out while it was still part of the main mold, but that didn't work so I cut that piece out and tried cutting into the plastic around it, halfway through.

No matter how hard I tried however, this thing would NOT come out! I am so very sad that these didn't work as I was just so excited to use these for little kid's charms and to give a couple to a friend of mine! **sigh**

Lesson learned : choose your molds very carefully when working with resin. Make sure that they are able to be bent and folded enough to pop these guys out and/or use mold release! I might try to clean that last spot and spray with mold release and try one more time just to see if it's the mold or the fact that I didn't use release with the others, but I'm betting more towards the mold wasn't quite the right one to use.

ACEO Art Trading Cards

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-25-2012

My friend at work recently got me into ACEO Art Trading Cards. I think they're a neat way to do sampling as well as sharing and collecting of artists work! Therefore, I have gone ahead and created 2 using first my pastel pencils and then my oil pastels with a woodblock stamp of trees in black acrylic paint on the foreground and added glitter to the pastel pencil one.

Here they are:




I think I'll actually try to make a whole set of these to see what variations I can get, but only 1 of each exact coloration and design!!

Anyone have any specific color/pattern requests for these?

First Attempt at Clay Scales

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-24-2012

I have been thinking it'd be neat to try to make a clay dragon statue lately... so I tried to start one last night:




I'm actually pretty happy with how it looks so far!! Can't wait to get back home and start working some more! Also, I have to create more body clay to get the legs attached and start thinking about the head? We'll see how it turns out... ;)

First Attempt At Faux Blue Opal

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-16-2012


Thanks to Carmi over at resincrafts.blogspot.com and the referral back to Marie Browning's idea for Faux Opal Using Easy Cast Resin, I have been able to make these awesome pendants!!





**Please excuse the bad pictures, I'm still figuring out how to get the best shots but the first one really is how these guys look!!*

The instructions called for mylar flakes for the opal shine so I set out on a mission to find this stuff locally.

I had looked at about 4 craft stores one day, looked in the resin, clay, craft sections... I even asked a couple employees at the stores if they had any mylar flakes I could use as was recommended by these ladies but noone had the foggiest what I was talking about!!

I thought I couldn't have gotten THIS unlucky, could I?? At the HobbyLobby checkout, I saw this stuff though so I decided to get it to see if it'd do about the right thing, until I could find the real stuff online:



Only in looking up what they called this stuff to give it a name here did I find that apparently, this stuff IS mylar!! YAYY!!! Also, they seem to have about 10 different colors!! WOW!!

After these pendants turned out so great, I might just try to get my hands on some more of this stuff!, in different colors!! Such a great price for a material like this when it's US $2.00 a bag and there's SOO much in there!

Only catch though guys, this stuff is extremely, HORRIBLY staticky!! I got the strips out and was just cutting bits off but it kept sticking to my hands, the table, my legs, etc. The only way I could get it in the mold on the first layer of resin so I could pour the second layer on top to seal it in was to use a paintbrush, put a layer of glue on the resin and then dob it on the pieces of mylar to stick to the brush and then apply to the glue on the jewelry piece in the mold!! Yikes!! Needless to say, it made a decent mess, but since glue dries clear, you can't even tell I had to do those extra steps!

Does anyone have any idea how I could de-static this stuff and make it easier to use next time?!

The Dangers of Cold Glass

Previously on Artfire: Published On: 07-16-2012

A quick note: anyone that plays with glass and a torch to make flameworked beads, beware the bead that's too big and your fiber blanket is too small/thin and/or not having a kiln readily available for those truly (would-be) awesome beads...




**Siiiiiiigh** That would have been a totally AWEsome bead!! If only I hadn't made it quite so big as I only currently have/had a fiber blanket and it just wasn't enough to keep this baby from cooling down too fast.



This one was just a bit unlucky I think bc it may have just been a tiny bit too cold? I swear it was warm, just maybe not quite warm enough... 

I think since it's so hot in Central Texas (in the freaking 100s people!!), I may just try to bring out the torch and glass one day next month and see about getting some new stock made??