How to Make a Crystal Ring from Resin

 Welcome!
I love all things to do with crystals and I love working with resin, so  I decided to try making some crystal jewelry!
Enjoy! 

 Supplies needed:

1. Amazing Mold Putty
2. Amazing Clear Cast Resin
3. Violet Alumilite Dye
4. Gold and Blue/Green Alumidust
5. Gloves
6. Craft mat
7. Tape
8. Crystals
9. Ring blanks
10. e-6000
11. Scissors
12. Small paintbrush.
13. Glitters and gold leafing foil.

 Gather 3 crystals and tape together as shown.

 Next, open your containers of the Mold Putty and remove equal amounts of both the yellow and white putty. Mix together until all of the white is gone.

 Round this into a ball and quickly insert your wrapped crystals. Leave to set- about 10 minutes. 

 The Clear Cast Resin takes at least 24 hours to set, so give yourself a couple of days or more to make this project. The more patience...the better the outcome.

 A little bit goes a long way for the dust. I use a toothpick to measure what I need.

*When using the 1 oz. bottles of the dye, I generally don't cut the applicator tip which allows the dye to dispense. I do this because the dyes are super concentrated...so I use the tip of a pin to add color as needed. 

 All the resins come with mixers and measuring cups.
You will need to measure out equal amounts of bottle "A" and "B". Mix well and then add a tiny bit of color to the resin and mix again.
I used the provided mixing tool (the popsicle stick) to slowly drop some colored resin into my mold.

(I had other molds ready for any extra resin so not to waste a drop.)

Add a little bit of gold and blue/green dust into the mold now.
 Then set aside onto a flat surface for at least 3-5 hours.
This will give the resin some time to firm up some before you add the next color.
Clean cups and sticks with baby wipes. 

When ready, mix your Clear Cast Resin again. Add the tiniest amount of color or keep clear. Pour into the mold. Sprinkle with dust and glitters if desired. Leave to set over night.

 Remove the hardened resin from your mold. With scissors, trim off any stray resin strands.
With the first paintbrush, paint some newly mixed Clear Cast Resin around the base. Attach the gilding flakes to the crystal base with the second brush.
Finish the crystal with a over all coat of resin and leave to set overnight or until its no longer tacky.

 The easiest way to attach the ring is to place the crystal back-into-the-mold, and adhere the ring with adhesive. That way everything stays put as the glue sets.

 Here, I made molds from crystal clusters. I used these molds for any extra resin that was left over from making the ring. So beautiful. Like a cross between my birthstone Amethyst and Aquamarine gemstones. One of them reminds me of a galaxy too! *Swoon*

The best part about making crystal jewelry from resin is that its so much lighter to wear and if you drop them, they won't chip!
Plus it looks fabulous. Don't you agree?

See more resin jewelry idea's here.

Eye See You Halloween Resin Pendant!

 Recently I was asked if I wanted to participate in a blog hop challenge using resin and putty by Amazing Casting Products. I have worked with this company in the past and love their products! So I 'jumped' at the chance to have some fun!

The theme for this blog hop is:

 " The Great Mold Putty Scavenger Hunt! 

 What amazing things can you discover to mold and transform into your art using resin?"

 At the end of this post you will fin a link that will take you to the rest of the designers involved in this treasure hunt and give you the chance to win a a resin/mold crafting kit!

OK, ready to get started?

 All the designers received the exact same items to craft with.
I chose to make a pendant that I will wear with my gypsy costume for Halloween.

 I gathered my materials. Something to make the mold shape....a vintage tart tin. some chain with bezels attached, assorted sized google eyes and a nonstick mat or wax paper.

 The putty comes in two parts. White and yellow. I gathered equal parts of each and mixed the two together until it was a uniform light yellow color. Then I formed the shape and pressed the tin in. I quickly pressed the edges around the tins edges. The putty sets quickly, in less than 15 minutes. 

 Then I popped out the tin to reveal my decorative mold!
Following the instructions on the box and measuring cups, I carefully measured equal parts of the part "A" and part "B" resins, then combined the two and mixed thoroughly with a popsicle stick.
I poured a bit of the mixed resin into the mold and arranged a few of the eyes. I waited about 5 minutes then added the rest of the eyes and filled the mold to the brim with resin.

 I placed my filled mold on a flat surface overnight. By morning I was able to pop out my cured piece!
I painted the back of the pendant with glow-in-the-dark nail polish and used e-6000 to glue the bezels in place. All set to wear on Halloween night!


 Excited to see more? Visit the rest of the designers here and enter to win your own crafting kit.
Good luck!

Leslie Rahye's 3rd Annual Very Spooky Halloween SteamPunk Blog Hop!

 Hi Everyone!
     Welcome to another SteamPunk blog hop hosted by Leslie Rahye!
I love SteamPunk and I love Halloween so this was perfect for me!
I hope you love it too!

To make the above pendant, you will need:
A small rubber skull toy from the party store.
This came in a grab bag of spiders, snakes and other freaky things.

Make your own iPhone stand from Amazing Mold Putty!

 If you are looking for a fool proof way to keep your phone upright for photo/video taking or watching movies/ listening to music...visit my tutorial here to make your own stand in less than 15 minutes!

New! Amazing Mold Rubber!

 Have you see the NEW Amazing Mold Rubber by Amazing Crafting Products?
It starts out as a liquid mold and cures to be completely flexible!
This is a family wall plaque I made using this NEW innovative product. So much fun!
You can see the tutorial here!

Say it with Resin...

If you've ever wondered how you can personalize a card with a chipboard letter and resin,
 here is where you find out! :)

Multi-Colored Resin Bangles

 Now that School is out and Summer is "officially" here, I knew I needed to spruce up my jewelry collection so I made up some fun colorful bangles!

To start, I mixed up some Amazing Mold Putty, and pressed it on the outside of a old plastic bangle mold that I found at a garage sale. The inside of the mold had someone's resin mishap and was unusable. Then I added some more mixed putty to the inside of the mold.

 Before letting set completely, I flipped it over to look
for any creases or air pockets I could fix.

After about 10 minutes, the mold was ready for resin.

Using the measuring cups provided, I poured "A" and "B" Amazing Casting Resin. Then I added about 3 drops of Alumilite dye to the "A" resin. I do this because once you mix "A" and "B", you have a short window to thoroughly mix and pour before the resin begins to set. I mix the resin and dye with the popsicle stick provided, scraping the sides as I work. Then I quickly pour both into a paper dixie cup, again mixing quickly, before creasing the corner of the cup to serve as a spout.

 I pour as close to the molds opening to avoid resin drips. If dripping occurs, quickly change sides. Make sure to leave room in the molds to add colors. Let each color set before adding a new color. I clean each cup out quickly with a baby wipe and then a dry napkin.

Then I'm ready for the next color batch. 

It takes approximately 15 minutes for each color to set.

 When your molds are filled and the resin is hard to touch, you may pop them out and begin carving off the rough edges with the the open blade of precision scissors. This is easiest to do when your bangles are fresh from the mold because the resin is still not completely cured. Hold the scissors the same way you would curl ribbon for a present. Go all around, inside and out until you have a smooth edge. If you have waited too long and the resin is much harder, keep working at it with the scissors, it will just take a bit longer.

 

  Once you have finished with all your bangles, place them on a bit of wire mesh or a old baking rack outside. Spray evenly on  both sides with a gloss sealer/finisher. Let dry until it's no longer tacky.

 

 Then enjoy your bangles and have a colorful summer! 

 For these bangles I used Red, Yellow, Blue and Green Alumilite Dye.

To achieve the white, I simply left the Amazing Casting Resin to set, uncolored.

~ Michelle Frae Cummings

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Use this COUPON to shop at the Amazing Mold Putty

website HERE and receive 25% OFF your purchase.

Please use coupon code " summerhaus " {no quotations}.

Coupon expires June 30, 2013.

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Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Seaside Inspired Resin Ornaments

Hi Everyone, Michelle here to show you some Seaside Inspiration made from Amazing Crafting Products! We decided to keep up our tree from last Christmas because with the lights on, it adds a nice glow to our living room.

I had also always wanted a seaside inspired tree with glittery sea shells and mermaid ornaments!

Now that Summer is here, I decided it was the right time to start decorating and made up these easy ornaments from sea shells and plastic toys. 

 Here, you can view how I made the molds and poured the resin. I used the following Amazing Crafting Products for these ornaments: Amazing Mold Putty; Amazing Casting Resin; also Silver and Pearlescent Alumilite Powders.

 I simply brushed the powders into the molds before pouring the resin and added a bit of wire before the ornament had set so I would have a instant hook.

What are you creating for your summer seasonal decor?

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Don't forget!! We have a COUPON to shop at the Amazing Mold Putty

website HERE and receive 20% OFF your purchase.

Please use coupon code " amazingmay " {no quotations}.

Coupon expires May 31, 2013.

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Making Rubber Stamps from Embossing Folders!

  I belong to a card making group that usually meets at my home once a month. This month was my turn to host a demo. So I thought I would teach my friends (and you) how versatile Amazing Mold Putty is.

I demonstrated how to use embossing folders to make rubber stamps! It's fun to do after you have embossed your card or tag, then further accent it with a matching stamped image!

 To get started you'll need to mix equal portions of the "A" and "B" Amazing Mold Putty until you no longer see any white swirls and you have one uniform color yellow.

Make a pancake of your putty, about 1/4" thick. 

Then select your chosen embossing folder, open it up and gently press your pancake onto the non-raised design side. You want your putty to go into the design. Flip the folder over and look for air pockets under the putty, if you see any, you'll need to gently press the putty in place. Use a craft roller to smooth out any finger prints and make for a smooth finish for later.

 Let your putty set for about 15 minutes then remove easily from your folder. Neat huh?

 Here are some examples that the girls and I created. We just used basic distress inks. For a more precise image, chalk inks would work even better.

Also, for a more user friendly stamp, I would recommend to mount the Mold Putty stamps onto cling mounting foam. That way you can use them easily with a acrylic block. 

The rubber of The Amazing Mold Putty makes for easy clean up.

Just wipe with a damp cloth and you are done!

This can also be done with embossing plates and brass stencils. 

Thanks for coming by, and happy crafting! 
Don't forget to visit The Amazing Mold Putty blog for more creative idea's!

 -Do you love to create and work in 3D? Are you imaginative and think out of the box? Can you take crisp, clear yummy and enticing photos of your work? Then you could be one of our next group of "AMAZING" Guest Designers on the Amazing Crafting Products Creative Team. CLICK HERE for more details! DEADLINE is MAY 22nd.-