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RESIN, part 1

I recently leaped off the resin cliff. I have had a kit for almost a year and was too chicken to use it (I still haven't, actually). But I got some Easy Cast and after much internet research and flailing around, I finally bit the bullet and got down to business.

I love it.

I have mostly been using this e-book for recipes and how-tos. When I saw the amber recipe, I knew my days of being a resin chicken were numbered.

And how.

There are a ton of things wrong with my first batch, like a lot of bubbling, and I will have to trim and sand each piece, and there are some seriously gross looking experiments that are not pictured here. But here are some things I learned along the way:

  1. Glitter is heavy and if you mix it in while the resin is still in liquid form, it will sink to the bottom of the mold.
  2. Shredded iridescent mylar is found with the rest of the confetti in the gift wrapping section of Michael's.
  3. Don't fill the molds all the way to the top, or you will really have to trim every single piece (sigh).
  4. Jade green resin + random shiny brown glitter = no.
  5. If you can't get the pieces out of the molds after they are cured (after 24 hours), quit messing around and put the molds in the freezer for five minutes. They'll pop right out after that.
  6. IT'S TOTALLY EASY.

As with most things I almost psych myself out of, this too was completely easy once I got going, and today when I did batch #2 I found it so much more simple.

Here's some closeups of the different styles I attempted this go around:

Faux amber (love this one!)

Faux opal (I messed this one up a little, so attempt #2 is in the second batch that is curing now – it still turned out okay though.)

Iridescent white glitter mixed with turquoise resin – didn't turn out how I hoped, but a lesson learned and it looks fine, I actually like it a lot.

Mixing the shredded mylar confetti in with various colors (and clear). I think they turned out really neat.

I don't like these ones, but: learning curve.

So, there you have it! I will probably make a bunch of rings with these, and I also have a small hand drill to drill holes and whatnot, not to mention a lot of different bails to attach. The second batch I was more careful about bubbles and did a little more color (red) and so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything turns out.

A little mad scientist-y but I like it!

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Bead Soup Blog Party (#2)

Two Saturdays ago, my Bead Soup arrived in the mail from Michelle Buettner of MiShel Designs! I finally got some pics of the beautiful soup.

Isn't the packaging nice? *makes note to self for next time* *cough*

There are a lot of lovely beads in there – quartz, chalcedony, onyx, opalite (which we actually sent each other! hah!). Can't wait to make something with them. I may go totally traditional and do a strung necklace – the clasp seems to want to be on a strung necklace rather than a chain one like I've been doing lately. OR I will totally do something with chain, who knows? 🙂

What to do, what to do… I look forward to working with these fabulous beads! They are outside my usual color palette so it will be a good challenge for me to think outside the box! Thanks Michelle!

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I went to the Gem Faire with Janelle in Sacramento and we had a BLAST. I like the Gem Faire because it seems to have booths that have more wholesale pricing than the Oakland shows. (The Oakland shows tend to have more famous artists and art beads and prices to reflect that, not that there's anything wrong with that.) Janelle bought various findings and got some great deals on shiny beads (her favorite!), and I got the following:

Not much in the way of beads, only 4 strands of stones (one turned out to be dyed lavender, my least favorite color of all time – curses upon fluorescent lighting! Oh well, they'll still work even if I thought they were white/clear), a set of cloisoinne owls (for earrings, natch!), and some resin/acrylic flower cabs. They will make great pendants! The rest of stuff is metal findings (at GREAT PRICES, very comparable to what I get at U Bead It, slightly cheaper and tons of metal color options): earrings, ring bases, bails, crimp caps, ball-end head-pins. I am stocked up for a long, long time.

AND since we went a little over a week ago, I have made practically ZERO things to show for it, aside from some rings that I glued cabochons onto. Janelle sent me several texts last week with all the fabulous earrings she has made. I have not only created a monster but the pupil will soon surpass the master, let me tell you.

I was at Walmart the other day and they actually have some interesting findings in their bead aisle – I got some non-glue bails for pieces that have a hole drilled through them. I used it for the big resin rose up there so you will probably see some sort of necklace with that soon.

And by "soon" I mean the next time I get around to posting, haha. I still have two knitting FOs to share, that have been done for approximately forever.

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Bead Soup Blog Party (#1)

So I signed up for the Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things. What a fun idea! I first found out about it earlier this year (last year? can't exactly remember) and knew that when it came around again I would sign up. I received my official partner information and my partner is Michelle of MiShel Designs! She designs fabulous jewelry and loves pearls. I put together a package of beads for her and will drop it off at the post office tomorrow. Here's what I sent her:

Haha, what, no! It is supposed to be a surprise! Once she receives her beads and shows them off, I can show what I sent, but not until then (and I probably won't until the big reveal). I hope she likes them, and I can't wait to see what she makes! I went to the bead store in Concord to get a clasp to match the pendant and I also picked up some of my very favorite style of beads to go with it (later I got home and found the exact same beads in my stash! I think I need to inventory, haha).

And when I receive my beads from HER, I will show mine! I am excited.

Here's how the blog party works:

Sign ups were last week, and we were assigned a partner. Each partner sends a pendant, a clasp, and some coordinating beads. The stuff needs to be good stuff, not just crap from your stash you're trying to get rid of. Packages need to go out by August 17 and the big reveal of what you make is September 17. I first found out about this fun swap right in the middle of the last one and was determined to participate the next time it rolled around.

So, I worked on that, and this weekend was EXTRA PAY DAY WEEKEND and I went slightly insane, but really, even though I wound up spending a veritable tonne of money, I got all sorts of things that I needed/wanted:

  1. A big fat crockpot (I already made a super successful beef stew in it, it was delicious. And gone to live in my belly.) I love my baby crockpot my mom gave me, but it is only 2 quarts – perfect for carnitas but too small for bigger dishes like stew (I was going to try to cram a stew in it but thought better)
  2. Abby's birthday presents!!!!!!!1 Abby knows PARTLY what I'm getting her, as I told her not to put it on her birthday list for our mom but she doesn't know EXACTLY what I got her, plus I got her something else that is related and fun. Maybe. I will probably also make her some jewelry. I can write that because it almost always happens, so it's not that big a surprise.
  3. JEANS!!!!!1 I love jeans, and I needed like 2 more pairs since some were too short and/or made of inferior quality so they busted out at the thigh seams. I managed to hit the 40% off denim sale, so that was nice.
  4. GROCERIES! I was tired of subsisting on spaghetti.
  5. Shirts for the fall
  6. A new FABULOUS purse that I forgot to take a picture of, it is the culmination of my heart's desire: greeny turquoise crocodile (fake-o) skin. I got it on mega clearance at Kohl's. 

Anyway, I still totally have money left if you can believe it, but I have to pay Abby back for some tickets she bought for us for an event of epic proportions at the end of the month and also pick up my prescription, yay, not.

In conclusion, here is a fabulous bracelet I made out of beads from Michael's.

They're dyed stones, but I really like them, the veining is really beautiful up close.

THE END, till next time, my peeps.