Being Susan M. Walls-Beverly

Out of my comfort zone

In this series, Susan, Lori and I decided it would be fun to trade places, and try our hand doing projects that the others usually specialize in. For this attempt I am trying out a resin project using a product that Susan works with all the time- Ice Resin. Specifically, I was trying to make belt buckles, but I also have some additional ideas for what to do with left over resin and those can be found at the end of the video.

Well friends, Susan is a much better Susan M. Walls-Beverly than I am ;). 

For my project, I would have to say this post will be more about what NOT to do when making a project using resin. Fortunately we have Susan who is very GOOD at resin, and she can show you the right way to do things!

So here is my check list on what not to do with resin:

• First and foremost, if you are filming your resin project for a project- make sure you hit record rather than pause during the appropriate filming parts ;)
• Be prepared as to where you are going to dry your resin piece. It must be a level surface, and you should not, I repeat should not, place it near the area that you are working. Resin takes a good 24 hours to dry without spillage, and if you decide to sneak in a few minutes of project time, you do not want to knock over your project and/or step in it.
• If you want to use resin on paper or paint, use one of the non-stick craft sheets. Make sure the sheets are clean. Resin will pull up any paint or ink left behind on the craft sheet.
• Make sure you use less resin than you think. Thin coats that layer are less susceptible to over spilling. Resin will harden and potentially cause your project to stick to the item it is drying on, if the resin spills over.
• Trim your projects first. Cleaning up a little bit of left over resin is easier to trim than trying to trim the paper along with the resin.
• Don't use a project that is curved for your first project with resin. Filling something flat is infinitely easier than filling a curved surface!!
• Give it a go and Enjoy!

I followed up with some more experimenting on my blog. You can find the post here- http://ursula-smith.com/more-resin-ideas/

Thanks for visiting the Cre8ive Klatch. If you wish to see more of my ideas, tips, techniques and experiments, you can find me here:

Ursula-Smith.com/Blog

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Ice Resin Play: Darned Bubbles! From Susan's Art Circus

Hello all!

This is Susan from Susan’s Art Circus. As well as being a painter, mixed media artist and a dozen other things, I am the resident jewelry maker in the Klatch group.  After, and before, being an Ice Resin© design team member in 2012-13 I have played in resin. I love it! And I've started a series of posts over on my own blog with that obsession in mind. It’s all about playing with and experimenting with Ice Resin© and  today I bring an installment of that series over here all about molding putty…

Now there are two posts that came before this one today and you can find them here:

Ice Resin Play: Molding Putty Part 1

Ice Resin Play: Molding Putty Part 2

But today I want to talk about a couple different brands of silicone molding putty. Two brands and two things in particular…time and bubbles.

My favorite molding putty is, of course, from Susan Lenart Kazmer. (if you aren't familiar with her work go see...it's extraordinary!)

You can mix it together in equal parts and use it immediately after pulling out the item you’re molding. This means you can mix, mold, wait about 15 minutes, pull your mold off of your item, and pour resin right into the cavity. This is what it looks like after the resin has a 24 hour cure molding with Susan’s product.

You can see it’s clear, detailed, and beautiful. First try. This took approximately 24 hours total with the bulk of that going towards allowing the resin to cure hard enough to remove the mold. You could manage it in 12 hours if you're really in a hurry.

Now let me show you how another brand, which I won’t name, works if used the same way. I will preface my statements with the fact that the purple product works very similarly to the yellow. It mixes the same, takes the same time period to be able to pull out your molded item, and will mold with great details. But there’s a huge time difference in order to get a clear cast which, for me when I’m busy producing for shows or my shop, means I’m losing money with the time it takes. There is only one of me so every minute counts.

Here is a new mold made with the purple product that has had the resin poured into it.  Both making the mold and pouring the resin happened within about an hour’s time.

Notice anything? Here is another picture taken about 45 minutes after pouring the resin into the mold.

 Notice now? The type of material that this molding putty is made from de-gasses into the resin causing multiple bubbles to form. 

Sometimes this might be a happy accident but, for me, this means I have to make another piece. The only way to insure this doesn't happen is to let the mold cure for 24 hours before pouring your first resin into it. And sometimes even that doesn't stop it completely and you will still get more bubbles than you want or need.

So, for me, I use the yellow/white Ice Resin brand of molding putty and get some wonderful cast pieces in a time frame that I can manage.

No it's not a sheep or a doll...it's a piggie! 

If you try out any of these techniques please come join our group Facebook page at: 

Cre8ive Klatch

...and let's chat!

Until next time,

Susan