Iced Up

I'm not referring to a sudden change to wintery weather....although it has gone from glorious summer to chilly and wet again over the last few days.....but to the Media Mixage Ice Resin which I have been working with this week. 

It's always good to have something different to work with and I've had a lot of fun making some jewellery pieces for a change. It took me back to when I used to use resin many (many!) years ago to make all kinds of moulded objects, but there's no comparison to using Ice Resin which is jeweller's quality, easy to work with, practically no smell and 100% crystal clear. It really does give great results.

Here are a few pieces I've just finished today.....

 

....this one is using the largest Fleur De Lys Bezel. I used the corresponding die to cut a backing paper to glue into the recess before adding the little metal heart, key and some metal glitter flakes and pouring in the resin. I filled the bezel almost to the top edges and then let it set for a few hours before mixing more resin and dripping it gradually onto the surface. This gave the lovely doming effect to the surface without the risk of the resin flowing over the sides. Top tip which I gleaned from the Spellbinders website!

This pendant was created in the largest triangular bezel.....

 ......it's a little tricky to see all the detail in the photo, but I collaged some papers, dictionary words and the gentleman image from one of the Media Mixage paper pads before adding the cog, key and a teeny heart that I cut from red paper. I had already prepared the crown and key hole by dabbing with Distress Paints and sanding back once dry. Once I'd poured in the Ice Resin I was able to carefully position the embellishments to the top and bottom and add a few extra drops of resin around them to glue them in place. I propped the crown up from behind until it set. Once hardened, the resin is very strong, so the added extras are not going anywhere! I added a ball chain and some chain tassels - all the embellishments are from Tim's Idea-ology line.

Using one of the square bezels I made this pendant featuring a MME paper - I liked the quote - to which I added a little bird cut from the same paper.....

 .....I drew a pencil line or two as a twig for him to sit on. A few extra words were cut out and added, as well as some Martha Stewart glitter stars and Microbeads. Once "Iced" and set (this does take a looong time, so make sure you put the pieces on a flat surface that you can move to a safe place whilst they cure or you won't be able to use your worktable for several hours!) (oh, and don't be tempted to keep poking them with your finger....just walk away and forget them!) I added some chain pieces to a jump ring and hung the Philosophy Tag, bird and pearl drop from the bottom of the bezel.

Here's a close up of the bezel.....

....you can really see how smooth the glass like surface is.

This is a piece that I tried with a different technique using one of the metal blanks which I texturised in the Artisan Explorer before creating the patination with acrylic paint sanded back once it was dry. I then added paper and a vintage photograph behind the little frame and pushed a tiny metal heart brad through. The matching die allowed me to easily cut papers to size and shape and I used one to back the piece with. As a change, I decided to use Crackle Accents over the collaged image. In retrospect I wish I had just brushed Ice Resin over the surface as the crackles are a little too obscuring of the photo....I put the accents on quite thickly which increases the size of the crackles. But never mind, it's still an interesting effect.....

.....I used my Cropodile to punch holes in the metal frame and added a metal flower to the top using a small snap - both painted with Distress acrylics. Chain was strung across both top and bottom with the pearl dropper and tiny key as additional charms.

Finally, this is my favourite piece so far, and it shows just how strong the resin is when attaching other metal items to the bezels. You will probably recognise the wings as those from Tim's Idea-ology range and they are pretty heavy. However, they are held in place really securely by the resin.....

.....I used aluminium metal sheet for the backing in the bezel - cut with the relevent die and texturised in the Artisan Explorer. I tore some paper to partly cover the metal and added the heart cut from a Bo Bunny paper. I also used a Bo Bunny brad at the top and a gold gem as well as words cut from a dictionary. Here's a close up......

......the words read "The courageous heart has wings" and was inspired by the phrase that I mentioned in my previous post (on a wing and a prayer). 

I've really enjoyed making these pieces and I'll be showing how to use the Ice Resin etc at my demonstration at Dainty Supplies on Saturday, as well as stamping, painting and inking....I'm worn out already just thinking about it!

By the way, the setting for my pendant photos is the scarf that Jacqui brought me back from India - isn't it lovely? 

Well, that's my coffee break over with, so I had better get back to the Doo Lally room again now as I have a big mess to clear away before I can start on the rest of my work. No wonder I've taken a long time over my coffee!

In other news.....my new Christmas stamps (both general and Doo Lally Pip) will be out very soon and I will be posting some of the designs on here as soon as I can. Can't wait to share them!