February 15, 2010

ICE Resin Blog Hop

I have been itching to make some more ICE resin pendants, so this blog hop was the perfect excuse for a little play date here in the studio.  First, I have been wanting to try resin with some of my bead molds.  I had a few extra molds so I thought I'd see what happens.  I used some mold releasing agent that I picked up at Michael's to make sure the resin wouldn't stick to my mold.  For the color I used a few drops of alcohol ink. I had no idea how it would come out or if the experiment would be a success.  Much to my delight when I took the resin objects out of the mold, the color and translucent quality gave the pieces a beach glass feel.  Lovin' that.

Here is a little shell.  I have no clue what they will eventually become.  I'm thinking pendants or charms of some kind.  I'll keep you posted.

The next pieces that I wanted to try were using the Patera bezels and connectors from Bello Modo.  I threw in a little polymer clay 'feather' to add my little stamp to this one.  For the connector, I just chopped it in half and hammered the side that I cut.

Same idea here with a leafy connector.  I painted on this one first with acrylic paint dabbers.  The image is photocopied on to vellum for a translucent look.

And one more, this time I cut off the loops on the branch, bent it and attached it to the bezel with a little resin.

The next two are Alice In Wonder images in Vintaj bezels and altered blanks.  The were domed with my trusty dapping block.  Here is a hint if you are working with uneven bezels, like a domed shape, place the bezels in a tray of rice to hold them steady.  This one has the rabbit image underneath and flowers printed on vellum are layered on top.  Those little gears can be found at Ornamentea.

Pull out your bench block and hammer to flatten charms for a little extra old world feel.

This is the back of the Alice charm, stamped and textured with a Cheshire smile - made with a Phillips head screwdriver!

Here is the list of blogs participating in today's resin blog hop, hosted by Objects and Elements.  Be sure to visit each one for inspiration using ICE resin.

Molly Alexander - http://www.beautifullybrokenme.blogspot.com/

Ro Bhrun - http://www.robruhn.blogspot.com/

Karen Burns - www.web.me.com/vintagefindings/Vintage_Findings/Blog/Blog.html

Keecia Frazee Deveney - www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

Mary Jane Dodd - www.mairedodd.blogspot.com/

Melanie Earthenwood - http://www.earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/

Shea Fragoso - www.whathappensnext.typepad.com/

Kerin Gale - www.remnantsofolde.com/posts/

Vickie Hallmark - www.fiberartglass.blogspot.com/

Jess Italia Lincoln - www.vintaj.com/wpblog/

Jill Liles - www.livngoodjewelry.blogspot.com/

Heather Powers - www.humblebeads.blogspot.com/ -You are here!

Art Bead Scene - www.artbeadscene.com/

Amy Purdes - www.spritecreations.blogspot.com/

Jenny Barnett Rohrs - www.crafttestdummies.com/

Stephanie Rubiano - www.soigathered.typepad.com/

Lisa Sommerville - http://www.lisasomerville.com/

Kim Taylor - www.sassycrafter.blogspot.com/

Jen Cushman - www.objectsandelements.typepad.com/jencushman/

Deryn Mentock - www.somethingsublime.typepad.com/

Kristen Robinson - www.kristenrobinson.typepad.com/

Barbe Saint John - www.barbesaintjohn.blogspot.com/

Susan Lenart Kazmer - http://www.susan-lenart-kazmer.blogspot.com/

24 comments:

Jen Judd said...

The beach glass pieces are so cool! What a great experiment-gone-right! I love the collage feeling that you got with all those little pieces and parts. I may have a new project for Craftmaggedon Two (i.e. next weekend! haaaaaaaa)

mairedodd said...

i really like these heather and didn't know about the alcohol inks... i love your alice pieces and your cheshire cat smile! what a great design mix you will have with the molded resin pieces and your clay...

Deryn Mentock said...

Beautiful pieces, Heather! That shell is really stunning. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

Gardanne said...

Wow Heather these are amazing, thanks for all the tips I love the domed bezels if you don't know how to solder what a great alternative.
Alice in Wonderland theme is great with the movie coming out.

Juli Cannon said...

Gorgeous work, Heather. I especially love that second bezeled piece.

Anonymous said...

oh man oh man. Those "beach glass" pendants are so awesome, I kind of really want one! I love that you colored them with alcohol ink but that they still look translucent. so cool, and thanks for sharing.

And yes we did have fun in the Vintaj studio, we are going to be making some projects for our gallery using our new creations!

kecia deveney said...

not only are we in the blog hop, but i think i am trailing you as you hop as i you are always right ahead of me in the comments!

i think your resin shell turned out spectactular - i love the color and can't wait to see what becomes of it!


kecia

Jenny said...

What a great idea to use resin with alcohol inks- I really love the results! Thanks for sharing, Jenny from CraftTestDummies.com

Jill said...

I really like the "Cheshire smile" on your Alice pendant - what a neat idea

Lisa Somerville said...

These are all beautiful, I love the pieces you creted with the molds and alcohol inks.

Unknown said...

Heather, these are so lovely. I can see by your images that you really had a fun time playing in your studio. Isn't that really what its all about? I heart the beach glass looking pieces. ICE Resin is really fun to cast with. Thanks SO much for participaing. -- Jen

Gail said...

Everything is so wonderful!You are just all over the place with these pieces,and it's all good.

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

All your pieces are stunning. I especially like the pieces you used your molds and alcohol ink, gorgeous!

Karen Burns said...

Love your bezels and lockets! Alcohol ink, eh? Truly does look like sea glass.

beautifullybrokenme said...

What wonderful pieces - I especially like your "beach glass". Also, thanks for the hint for the uneven bezels - I'll definitely be putting that one to use!

:-) Molly

Kim Taylor Kruse said...

I love that you tried a few new things like using a bead mold and adding a few drops of alcohol ink. Looks like your experiment was a success!

Another trick for the uneven bezels is to make a ball of clay and then smoosh the uneven bezel on top of it. I find this technique to be even more stable than the rice.

jennifer lorton said...

Wow, the beach glass looking pieces are beautiful, thanks for sharing the information. I'm off to hop some more. Beautiful work!

Ro Bruhn said...

Absolutely gorgeous, the molded pieces are a fabulous idea

melanie brooks said...

Nice work, Heather! ooh, I am now very tempted to try casting the resin in some of the many molds I have made over the years! And I love the bird and Alice pendants, too! Great work, as usual!

Alice said...

Heather, your pieces are all just gorgeous! But the color in the resin shells just takes my breath away! Amazing!

Gaea said...

OH! Wow! The tinted casted ice resin pendants are really beautiful! So oceany!

Tami Bayer said...

Your photos really show the domed effect beautifully. Love the sea glass feel of the beads and the tip about rice is great. Thank you.

Unknown said...

So very sorry I missed this, the creations are wonderful!

Dale said...

oh wow the resin beads look so great! I love that colour that you got there... so lovely-transparent. Beautiful stuff, worth trying i think!