Adventures in Resin

I've seen resin things all over the place: butterfly wings, charms, bracelets, you name it... I probably first heard about it when those scrabble tile pendants were all the rage. I've been looking into it again as a super shiny, durable, and strength-adding finish to my polymer clay items. I finally bought a small kit designed for jewelry and tried it out about a week ago. It was surprisingly easy to use. I was expecting a bit of a learning curve, but really the only thing I wish I had done differently is  made sure the rhinestones I used in a few of my pieces were real crystal. They dissolved into the resin, leaving behind the silver foil backing where they used to be.

The house was just a touch on the cool side for the resin, which recommends temperatures be between 70 and 80 degrees for the best cure, so I brought over a space heater to bump it up just a little bit by the table where I was working. I did my best to leave them alone for the full 24 hours while they cured, and resist my urge to hover, as my butter-finger self would probably find a way to accidentally knock them over.

The pieces remained ever so slightly tacky for a few days afterwards. It wasn't like a genuine sticky, but more like a grippy kind of finish. I was slightly disappointed, as I was hoping for more of a smooth hard glass kind of feeling. It looks like it: like liquid smooth glass. Here are some of the things that didn't turn out so great with my first run with resin:

I just finished a few more steam punk pieces with resin a few days ago. I was a little wary of how they would turn out, and made doubly sure that the measurements were exact. (I measured the first time too, but this time I was extra careful to get it perfect.) I also used a different technique to stir it this time. Happily, it turned out perfectly this time, even if it was substantially more messy this time around as well.

 

I've also created a Facebook page that I'm thinking I will be able to keep updated on more of a daily basis. I will probably continue to post longer things such as tutorials on this blog, but for a more mundane look into my artistic thought processes, Facebook is the way to go. You can find that here. (https://www.facebook.com/LadyGraceCrafts)