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