Frog Dog Studio Teams with Amazing Crafting Products : Vintage Styled Ornament :

A Beautiful Partnership has been formed...

Frog Dog Studio + Amazing Crafting Products

Together, we will be sharing even more creative projects than ever!

Our goal is to inspire you to create with us...as we all have FUN "in the making!"

Each of us on the Frog Dog Design Team have been experimenting and creating with 

Amazing Crafting Products, incorporating them into our December Kit projects.

This is my first joint project.

I knew I wanted to make an ornament, so I started with a simple metal frame ornament and a jewelry embellishment I found at Michaels.

These would be my mold pieces.

Once I create a mold, I can make as many frames as I want!

Amazing Mold Putty is simple to use.  Mix equal parts of each container.

IMPORTANT TIP: you must work quickly.  Have the piece you want to mold ready because you will have 2 minutes to work with the putty before it sets.

1 minute to mix with your hands (until 1 uniform color is achieved) and 1 minute to mold your piece.

I am beginning to understand why these products are called AMAZING:)

Above are my finished molds.  This was my first attempt and I am passing along my "learning curve!"

*Tip #1: Make sure your putty is smooth, without any dents or imperfections.  

(imperfections will carry over in all your cast pieces)

*Tip #2:  Uniform thickness is important so that you have a level piece when finished.

(if you look at my frame mold above right, you can see the top of the frame is thicker than the bottom.)

*Tip #3: Delicate pieces are more challenging to mold. The "spokes" on my jewelry piece are very thin and it is challenging to pour casting resin in such a small space...definitely a more fragile finished piece.

For this project, you could use either the Casting Resin or the Clear Cast Resin.

The Casting Resin dries white. The Clear Cast Resin dries clear.

I knew I wanted a metallic finish, so I decided to try mixing the Alumilite Silver Metallic Powder with the Clear Cast Resin to cast my molds.

1.) Mix equal parts of the A & B Clear Cast Resin solutions. (Use the plastic portions to measure, then combine both to mix into a plastic or paper cup.  (It really is easier to use a paper "dixie cup" because it is flexible enough to form a spout by squeezing the sides of the cup. This gives you more control when pouring.)

2.) Allow air bubbles to come to the top, and then stir slowly until you do not see any more swirls.

3.) Add a small amount of silver powder. (I used a popsicle stick to "grab" the powder and used 2 "scoops." (about a 1/2 teaspoon)

You can see below how thin the spokes are.  I tipped the mold back and forth to allow the resin to "move" down the spoke.

Above you can see the resin after it was poured.  I did have 2 of the spokes break.  After examining, I could see that I had not poured enough resin in those spokes...next time I will be more successful by using a small needle or toothpick to "push" more resin into the thin areas.

Below is the un-molded frame.  You can see a few imperfections in the center of the frame.

Glad I will be covering it up with a picture:)

*TIP: as soon as you remove cast pieces from your mold, see if you have any "heavy" areas that need to be trimmed.  If you look at the photo above, the "hanger" was a little chunky, but I easily trimmed it with scissors.

Next for the subject of the frame...This beautiful vintage image is from our December Kit.

I used a small make-up sponge with a little StazOn ink in brown to age the edges.

Next, I mixed Embossing Paste and Modeling Cream (1:2) to add 

to the fur trim on hat, coat and muff.

The Embossing Paste was in our October Kit and I still have plenty!

You can use the Modeling Cream alone.  It does give a 3 dimensional finish with a beautiful luster!

-Adding the embossing paste gave the Modeling Cream just a little more "stiffness."

I used a little more of the brown StazOn ink on these areas to give them added depth.

I decided to add glitter, to give the ornament even more of a vintage finish.

*Note: if you add this step, you could use EITHER the Amazing Casting Resin (dries white) or the Amazing Clear Cast Resin, since you'll be covering the piece with glitter.

1.) I mixed the 3 glitters together (they were 3 for $9 at Michaels)

2.) Coated the frame with Mod Podge

3.) Poured on the glitter and tapped off the excess

I did this same process with the jewelry piece below. (using silver glitter only)

I decided to break off half of the spokes on my jewelry piece. (2 were already broken)

  On each spoke end, and in the center, I added small crystal adhesive embellishments.

* The "STAR" piece you see on the bottom right of the frame is a  "snowflake" that was attached by a jump ring on the original ornament frame I purchased at Michaels.

(You can see the mold of this piece near the beginning of this tutorial)

Once the glitter was added ( I used silver glitter only to contrast with the frame), 

it looked more like a star...which I liked:)

I added another small crystal embellishment to it's center.

We are all excited about incorporating Amazing Crafting Products (ACP) into our monthly project tutorials.  Stay tuned for more great project ideas from our talented Design Team!

It is a joy to share and create with you!

Sue

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