Resin Resource

 This month there has been a lot of resin going on! And we are not the only ones, resin is trending all over the craft world. 

 What is resin anyway? Basically, it's a plastic. It's a special plastic that is very hard and clear when it has cured. Resin is fun because it becomes very glass-like.   More specific abilities of resin depends on the brand you are using. If you have tried it in the past and been frustrated, it's worth going back to. 

 Diamond Glaze, Glossy Accents, and a few others have some great shiny effects for paper crafting. They are ready straight out of the bottle and air dry. So why use a two part product that requires mixing and curing time? Resin has the ability to cover a large surface very quickly and much more economically. I have never seen Tim Holtz (who one cannot help but adore) filling up his shadow boxes with glossy accents. 

This was from my most recent post, but I did not bring this up to imply anything against Tim. I bring it up because I did try to coat a tray with Glossy Accents. Actually two trays, for two beloved family members. The compartments turned uneven and warped. I can hardly stand to look at it now, it's such a mess.

 At the time of my tray disaster, I did not know about self-leveling, doaming, or the role of surface tension. The paper crafting products I used had high surface tension (the characteristic that causes water to form in droplets) and so did not even out (or level). Resin will level out as far as it can when you have first mixed it before curing starts. This is why you can easily get a smooth glassy surface in those jewelry settings (usually bezels). 

 The other resin ability is that we can cast with it! Casting is pouring a material into a open form that will later solidify. I worked in a jewelry store's customer service area after college, and in the shop the jewelers would cast in gold and white gold every week. At the shop you see "Clear Cast" which is the clear resin. Amazing Crafting Products also makes a white casting resin. Have you see Prima or Melissa Francis's frames, butterflies, and other white embellishments? They are resin, probably a white resin. 

 There is one other piece you need to start casting, a mold. Amazing Crafting Products makes two types of mold making ingredients, molding putty and rubber molds. The putty is very easy, clean and quick. Mix it together and use a small object to create an imprint, and when it is no longer squishy, you have a mold. The rubber mold needs a container you can pour it into to set. However the cured mold is really flexible and surprised me with its ability to mold intricate forms. Don't forget there are finished molds you can pick up in your craft store if you would like. 

 I cast with a rubber mold, a putty mold and a polymer clay texture sheet for my recent project. Pictures, fianlly!

Rubber and putty molds, all objects are the cast pieces not originals. 

Martha Stewart mold with some Pearl powder from ACP dusted on before the pour.

A mold set by Mod Podge that I dusted with metallic powder

A texture mat by Lisa Pavelka for her favorite medium, polymer clay. Even these thin little gears held up. 

Here are some casts and the originals

 The casts come out clear or white, depending on what you use. I painted mine with Viva's Precious Metals Effects paint because it is fast drying. I'm confident Pinata paint or alcohol inkers will also work. This mostly applies to castings in the rubber mold because it creates a smooth surface that may not be good for water color and some acrylics paints. 

 Now see the cast pieces in my project close-ups. 

 If you have had the patience to read this whole post, then I think you will be better prepared of what you can expect from resin! One final and really important tip: read the instructions! Prepare the things you are working on and pay attention to stirring time, the time you have before it starts hardening and how long to leave alone to do its thing. 

 And it's only half way through the month! Enjoy resin! -heather

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Steampunk Shadow Box Art

  It's another Steampunk inspired project from me (Heather Kindt). I don't always go Steampunk, and this project can certainly be in any theme! 

 I have "One More Thing" to add to the kit, which is going to be my reoccurring theme with Frog Dog's awesome kits. Last month, a paint color tied things together and this time it is the substrate when all the kit parts can be together. 

 

 You can use what ever kind you like. Since this one has a cover, I cut up my tissue and covered it. 

 With the Gold pigment ink, I painted what would be pages if it were an actual book (it is the blue Staz-On ink on the cover edges). I like this disguise!

 What is also difficult to show in the pictures, is the coating of resin I gave to the cover. But the cover was shingling and there is more resin to come.

 Before we get into it I want to show the technique I used for the stamping. I stamped all my images on deli paper. I used the colors and black so I would have choices. 

 

 You could also stamp on gift tissue paper. I prepped all my images and surfaces then prepared some resin. I recommend covering your large flat surfaces first if you have any. That way if gets a bit thicker it is just fine for enclosed areas like the boxes or jewelry bezels. 

 

 Here is everything drying! The resin is soaked into the paper and makes it more transparent. That is how my stamps became darker in the inked area and the images became sharper. You can sprinkle your mica flakes onto the wet resin for shimmer that will never fall off. Putting it under resin is fine too. On one of the fragments I adhered the quote (glossy accents or diamond glaze) then resin, then mica fragments. 

Here is the final shadow box book! Many of the accent pieces were cast in resin and painted. But that is a discussion for another day! Enjoy the close ups! 

 I used Big Pitt Pens for some color, and Staz-on ink pads for the edges.

 

 Defy shadow boxes shadows by flipping over some of the boxes! My ladies and gents would be hard to see if they were inside the boxes.

 Hello birdie! He is black, resin and golden edged. The letter blocks I got at the Frog Dog Studio store also got some gold and black. 

 No need to hang the fragments inside the box (like I have labored over in the past), find some buttons, thick adhesive tape or scrape cardboard and you can secure the fragment at any depth you desire. 

 If you have a cute embellishment you want to use, but it seems to fade away too much in the back of a box, you a pen to increase the contrast. And note all my little gears, butterflies, the scrollwork and the face I cast in resin myself! 

 I hope you enjoyed the pictures and enjoy creating with your kit! -heather Kindt 

 

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Gear Love plus my Texture Tip for This Month!

Good morning! Today I am sharing with you a project I have created using several items from this month's sponsor, Sin City Stamps.

To begin, I covered one of the large wooden panels with a cool gear themed edge with gesso and let it dry. Then, I used some red acrylic ink to lightly paint the background. A light dusting of Tim Holtz Distress Glitter in pink was also added while the ink was still wet.

Next, I used the Pan Pastels from the kit and worked them into the background, as well as added some color to several of the gear themed die cuts. I also covered one of their chipboard keys with gold Stickles for some sparkle :)

For the final touch on the background, I used the large gear laser cut page as a stencil and sprayed some Dylusions spray ink in Postbox Red.

A few weeks ago, I covered several pieces of vintage papers with clear resin from Amazing Crafting Products. TEXTURE TIP: I love the clear resin on vintage paper, especially the older thin papers. It adds a transparent quality that is really interesting. I decided to use some of these in this project, along with some clip art from the Frog Dog kit. I blended in some of the Pan Pastels to add some color, then collaged the pieces together and added some stitching around the edges.

On the collage I also used one of the Sin City Stamps and some Versamark ink. Then I used Lindy's embossing powder to bring out the design and add a smooth texture.

I followed up by edging all of the pieces with the Gelatos from the kit to give it an even more distressed look. Then I adhered the mini collage to the large board and added several of the wooden gear pieces and the cutouts that I had colored before with the Pan Pastels. I added a piece of rosette trim that I found in my stash, one of the stick pins from the kit, and a few other little bits from my stash to complete the project. Here is the final result:

And a few close ups:

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