Thursday, August 13, 2015

ETI Resin Challenge Blog Hop - Mini Calendar and Jar Lid


Have you ever crafted with resin?  

This is my first go at it and I think I could really get hooked on this!  
I tried a couple of different ways to cast the resin.  I used a mould to create the element on the front of the mini calendar.  I decorated the lid of a ball jar...which was a little trickier.


You will need  EnviroTex Jewelry Resin for these projects. 

The first order of business was to pull out the papers and read through all of the manufacturer's instructions. I didn't go to the craft store for extra supplies.  I found charms, buttons, flowers, tiny beads, glitter and other little miscellaneous knick-knacks to cast in the moulds.  I layed down freezer paper with the wax side facing up for my work surface.  It works best if you tape down the edges.  I used painters tape.  A timer, latex gloves, paper towels and a drinking straw are great to have on hand with your other supplies.


After mixing the resin as instructed, I poured just enough to cover the bottom of the mould.  I then placed the trinkets (facing down) into the resin. Blowing through a straw onto the liquid resin helps to remove air bubbles.  My husband told me that I looked really weird doing this part.  I couldn't see myself but at least he was entertained!  I let the resin sit overnight and then popped it out of the moulds.  I found that they came out easier if there was just a little bit of over flow.  I pulled on that part up while working to pop the resin out of the mould.  I then trimmed the excess resin from around the piece.  At this point it will still be slightly flexible.  It takes several days to harden completely.


I used a 3" x 4" acrylic craft frame to make my mini calendar.  I cut memory paper to fit the frame and inserted it into the frame.  I used Tombow Permanent Adhesive to attach the resin piece to the frame.  I like the sewing theme.  The little calendar came from a memory paper store.


My real experiment came with this Ball jar lid!  To start, I adhered the inside of the lid to the inside rim of the outer lid.  Make sure there is a good seal and then allow to dry.  I painted the entire outside, top and sides of the lid with white acrylic paint and let that dry.

Mix clear glue with glitter and tap it into the top of the lid with a toothpick or craft stick.  Lay all of your little treasures (facing up) on top of the glitter.  Allow to dry thoroughly.  Now you will be ready to pour the resin. Again, follow the manufacturer's instructions for mixing and pouring.  Take care to not over pour.  It is better to be a little shy with it than to boldly pour and end up with a big mess.  This will take overnight to get dry enough to handle.

 
 Now you can decorate your jar anyway you like and put something in it.  I put thread spools in mine and painted the outside with chalk paint.


 As a little bonus, I want to show off the mini frames I very simply embellished using bottle caps.  The image was cut to fit and I used the same technique as for the mould.  I love the way these turned out.  The mini frames are manufactured by deflecto.  We will be doing a challenge with Deflecto products at the end of the month.  Be watching for that one!




Thanks for stopping by.  Hope this post "resinated" with you and got you inspired to try your hand at crafting with ETI products!  When you are ready to go forward or backwards on the hop, just go to the blue DCC button at the top of the page and click on it!  

Don't forget to enter the give-a-way!


 Take time to enjoy the small blessings along the way and
Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn






12 comments:

  1. You really went all out on this. Great projects.

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    1. Thank you, Sue! I plan on getting "really" creative now! Lol.

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    1. Thank you! I agree with that! Lots of possibilities and occasions!

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  3. Marilyn these projects are wonderful...I especially love the jar topper...thanks for being part of the hop!!

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    1. Thank you, Ann! It has been fun trying out something new. I started to try resin years back but didn't get too far. I am inspired now to try some new things.

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  4. Your "first" attempt was pretty done good Marilyn! I found it tricky to work on a small scale, but I really like the products!

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    1. Thank you, my friend! It was a little tricky and it took me a while to get comfortable with my skills! (Not that they are great now...lol.) I was ready for a new frontier!

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  5. Very neat stuff! Have never worked with resin... another thing to add to my "to do" list. Where is the giveaway? didn't see it here. MJ

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  6. Thanks, M Jo! Thank you for reminding me about the giveaway! Everyone should have a rafflecopter entry box at the bottom of their blogs. I will get that taken care of. Thank you!

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  7. Love your projects! Actually, resin scares me, but you have made it look easy! And, thanks for asking about the fires; they are quite a county over, thank goodness, though we can see the smoke from here.

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    1. Thank you, Terry. Glad to hear the fires aren't too close! I am praying we all get enough rain to help out the firemen. They are over worked and I hate seeing people and animals displaced or worse! I was a little intimidated by the resin at first. I kept trying to touch things and got resin on my fingers. The gloves and I don't get along too well! Anyway, I think I ended up learning a few things. Now I would like to try the clay!

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