Introducing our AMAZING Featured Artist for April... Myléne Hillam of Mill Lane Studio

Happy Friday Amazing Crafters! Today we are excited to resume our "Featured Artist" series here at the Amazing Casting Products blog. Each month we feature one artist who will share a special project and some inspiration using Amazing Casting Products. 

Our featured artist this month is a friend to us, who is a jewelry and resin artist from the land down under – Australia. Myléne Hillam is an amazing jewelry artist who happens to love working with resin and will be joining us as our Featured Artist for April. Her love for jewelry shines bright through her beautiful and unique designs. She has projects featured on Cut Out and Keep, Favecrafts.com, and AllFreeJewelryMaking.com. Myléne is also specializes in mixed media and papercrafting... and even tasty treats – we can't wait to see what Myléne dreams up using Amazing Casting Products.

A little bit about Myléne...

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As a designer, I have the kind of job that many crafter's dream of: I get to create and play with new craft products. With a job that allows me to craft all day, it’s no wonder that I love what I do.

Like most crafters, I’ve dabbled in many crafts over the years but in recent times, it’s jewelry-making and working with resin that make my heart sing. Of all the crafts I’ve tried, none has captivated me quite like resin has. There is something about mixing the two liquid components together to produce a solid resin that just spellbinds me.

After casting my first bangle some eight or nine years ago, I was hooked and that passion/obsession for resin has helped me experiment with lots of different techniques and has increased my knowledge and skills. I now teach four different workshops on a regular basis from my studio. Sharing my knowledge with others is one of the most rewarding things I do and I love watching students’ faces as they master the basics to create their own resin jewelry. 

 

Along with working with resin, I’m a jewelry designer and I recently authored two jewelry-making books: "Fabulous Jewelry from Findings" and "Stylish Leather Jewelry". I’m also a regular contributor to Craft Ideas magazine where you’ll find some of my leather and resin jewelry designs.

When I’m not creating in my studio, you’ll find me getting my hands dirty in the garden. Spending time in the sunshine and fresh air clears out the cobwebs when deadlines are looming.

To find out more about my work (and get a free jewelry-making tutorial or two), visit my blog, Mill Lane Studio: http://milllanestudio.blogspot.com.

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Thanks so much for dropping by! Check back next Friday for more from our Featured Artist Myléne Hillam... you don't want to miss it! CLICK HERE to head on over to Myléne's Blog Mill Lane Studio to see more of her fabulous work!

Have a fabulous day! :) Sb

Myléne Hillam... an AMAZING Featured Artist Spotlight

Greetings AMAZING Crafters! Today we have a fun questionnaire that we posed to our Featured Artist Myléne Hillam of Mill Lane Studio! Have fun getting to know her a little better and enjoy the eye candy, too! :) Sb

A little bit about Myléne...

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As a designer, I have the kind of job that many crafter's dream of: I get to create and play with new craft products. With a job that allows me to craft all day, it’s no wonder that I love what I do.

Like most crafters, I’ve dabbled in many crafts over the years but in recent times, it’s jewelry-making and working with resin that make my heart sing. Of all the crafts I’ve tried, none has captivated me quite like resin has. There is something about mixing the two liquid components together to produce a solid resin that just spellbinds me.

Ever since I can remember, the night sky has held a fascination for me: I love watching the moon as it rises and travels across the sky; I love looking for shooting stars in the heavens; and I remember gazing skywards when Halley's Comet passed by the earth. I'm totally spellbound by astronomical events so I created these Galaxy bangles to celebrate the wonders of the universe.

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Some fun questions for the inquiring minds...

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What did you want to be when you grew up?

"At school, I enjoyed all the hands-on arts subjects and creative writing. But I didn't set out to be an artist or a writer. In fact, I've worked in an office environment all my working life, but all the while, my love of creating stayed with me and I crafted whenever I had the time. And now I find myself living the creative life as both an artist/designer AND an author. My Art and English teachers would be proud! I guess it shows that no matter where your career path takes you along the way, you can always find your way back to the things you are passionate about and the things you are good at."

Coke or Pepsi???

"Neither. I like to get my caffeine fix from chocolate and tea!"

What inspires you?

"Dreams! My subconscious often conjures up weird and wonderful things and sometimes, the best creative ideas. I mean, how many good ideas come just as you are drifting off to sleep?!! But sometimes it's the materials that I'm working with that provide the inspiration – things will just fall in a particular way on the work bench and an idea is born."

What is the TOP thing to do on your "Bucket LIST"?


Image of a sunrise captured from the International Space Station, 
by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman - Oct. 29, 2014.

"My bucket list has just one thing on it… but it's a biggy and it's one I never expect to do. I want to see our beautiful planet with its glowing blue halo from outer space. It always takes my breath away when I see an image of the earth taken from space. It makes me marvel at the size of the universe and how diminutive we are in the scheme of things - it really puts things in perspective!"

If you could print any phrase

on a T-shirt, what would it say?

It's pronounced Millaine! 

"Of course that would mean nothing to the average person in the street, but it would be great if people knew how to pronounce my name."

If you could mold ANYTHING with

Amazing Mold Putty, what would it be?

"Kate Middleton's engagement ring. Can you imagine

the fun we could have recreating it in resin?!!"

What style of music gets your creative juices going?

"I like to create in the peace and quiet where I can be alone with my thoughts. That's when my mind wanders and I'm at one with what I'm creating. But when deadlines are tight and the pressure is really on, I listen to my library of tracks featuring the sounds of the rainforest. Hearing the birds sing and the frogs croak whilst a gurgling stream bubbles – now that's music to my ears!"

Please stop by my blog Mill Lane Studio or join me

at Mill Lane Studio on Facebook for more inspiration.

   

For more jewelry ideas and inspiration, please check out my jewelry-making books: "Fabulous Jewelry from Findings" and "Stylish Leather Jewelry". 

• • • • • • • • • • • • 

Thanks so much for dropping by! Check back next Friday for some inspiration from our Featured Artist Myléne Hillam... you don't want to miss it! CLICK HERE to head on over to Myléne's Blog Mill Lane Studio to see more of her fabulous work!

Have a fabulous day! :) Sb

Wear some #Cre8time Steampunk... by Featured Artist Myléne Hillam of Mill Lane Studio

Hi Amazing Crafters! For today’s special project, I’ve designed a bright and fun necklace with an avant-garde feel. This bold, colorful piece puts an entirely different spin on steampunk. I chose Amazing Casting Resin for this project because it will cure quickly so you’ll be able to cast the necklace and put it together in an afternoon – you’ve got to love a project that looks great but comes together quickly! The moulds I’m using are actually silicone beer bottle markers that I found at my local kitchenware shop. If you can’t find them locally, shop for them on Amazon.

Here’s what you’ll need to cast the cogs:

• Amazing Casting Resin
• Alumilite Dyes: Violet, Red, White
• Amazing Gold Metallic Powder
• Silicone beer bottle markers
• Packing tape
• Adhesive tape
• Measuring cups
• Stir sticks
• Soft bristled brush
• Drill with 1 mm drill bit
• Ruler and permanent marker

To assemble the necklace, you’ll need these jewelery-making items:

• 8 - 6x5mm drum beads
• 2 cone beads
• 16” strand haematite bugle beads
• 4 - 3mm silver spacer beads
• 2 silver wire guardians
• 2 silver #2 crimp tubes
• 2 silver split rings
• Silver hitch and ball clasp
• Silver 0.21” beading wire
• Tools: split ring pliers, crimping pliers, flush cutters

Brush the outside surface of some of the bottle
markers with Alumilite Gold Metallic powder. 

Use a piece of adhesive tape to remove the excess powder

on the bottom surface of the powdered bottle markers.

Turn all the rings outside-in.

Cut a piece of packing tape and position the bottle markers on it. Press them down on to the tape. You won’t be able to burnish them because the silicone doesn’t stick very well to the tape but try to make sure they have good contact with it to minimize leakage.

Measure out ½ oz (15mls) each of Parts "A" and "B" of Amazing Casting Resin. Add 2 or 3 drops of Alumilite Violet dye to Part "A". 

Mix the color well and then add Part "B" and mix Amazing Casting Resin according to the package instructions. CLICK HERE to view mixing/preparation.

Pour the Amazing Casting Resin into the bottle markers, 

filling as many as you can with the resin.

Set the cogs aside to cure.

Remove the cogs from the tape. If there has been any leakage, you should be able to easily remove the flashing from the silicone by pulling it away.

To demold, pull the silicone ring away

from the resin. It will release quite easily.

Use the Stanley knife to trim away any other resin on the top edges.

Make a batch of red cogs using Amazing Casting Resin with Alumilite Red dye and a white batch with no colorant. As a guide, it takes approximately 1/5 fl oz (6 mls) to fill each silicone ring.

Select the cogs you’d like to use in your necklace. You’ll need nine to complete the design featured here. Measure and mark the centre of each cog.

Use the drill to drill each hole. If you’re using a Dremel, 

use a slow speed so that you don’t melt the resin.

Now you’re ready to start stringing the necklace!

Cut a 24” (60cm) length of beading wire. String on a crimp tube and the wire guardian. Thread the wire back through the crimp tube and then pull up the loop. Make sure the wires lay flat inside the crimp tube rather than crossing over each other.

Place the crimp tube inside the second hole of the crimping tool and squeeze it gently but firmly. It should create two channels, one for each of the beading wires. Tug the wire to make sure it’s secure. 

Position the crimp tube in the hole nearest the tip of the crimping pliers and squeeze again to bring the two channels neatly to the centre.

String two spacer beads on the beading wire. Draw them up to the crimp tube, making sure they pass over both wires. Trim the short wire as close to the second bead as you can. String 6.5” (16.5cm) of haematite beads on to the beading wire and then a cone bead.

String a cog and a drum bead.

Continue stringing cogs and drum beads until you have strung nine cogs and eight drum beads. String the other end of the necklace to match. Finish with a crimp and wire guardian.

Open a split ring and connect the end of the necklace to one half of the clasp. Use the second split ring to attach the other side of the necklace to the other half of the clasp.

Ready to wear!!

For some extra bling, glue pointy-back crystals to the holes in some cogs. Or go for a more steampunk look, by brushing Alumilite’s Silver Metallic, Gold Metallic and Pearlescent powders on black dyed cogs. The pearlescent powder will look like pewter – adding to the industrial look.

Or string the cogs on bracelet memory wire and make a really bold avante-garde piece instead. But most importantly, have fun with this idea!

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Please stop by my blog Mill Lane Studio or join me

at Mill Lane Studio on Facebook for more inspiration.

   

For more jewelry ideas and inspiration, please check out my jewelry-making books: "Fabulous Jewelry from Findings" and "Stylish Leather Jewelry". 

• • • • • • • • • • • • 

Thanks so much for dropping by! Check back next Friday for more from our Featured Artist Myléne Hillam... you don't want to miss it! CLICK HERE to head on over to Myléne's Blog Mill Lane Studio to see more of her fabulous work!

Have a fabulous day! :) Sb

April Showers Bloom Amazing May Flowers...

Hello Amazing Crafters! Welcome to May! April showers have passed and Spring is here! This month our amazing creatives will bring you projects and inspiration to get your Cre8time garden in full bloom.

We would also like to give a huge thank you to Myléne Hillam of Mill Lane Studio for joining us as Featured artist last month. If you missed all of Myléne's amazing creations... CLICK HERE to see the posts – her creations are truly out of this world!

It's National Scrapbooking Month and Mother's Day is just around the corner... join for "Flower Power" week as we share an amazing variety of floral projects using Amazing Casting Products. 

Where do you find blooms to mold?

Vintage jewelry, furniture hardware, buttons, magnets, candle holders, cupcake toppers, or stacking your own funky flowers... the world is your garden!

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#Cre8time in a Bottle... AMAZING Inspiration from Myléne Hillam of Mill Lane Studio

Hello Amazing Crafters! Today is my last article as Featured Artist on the Amazing Casting Products blog. Over this past month I've been sharing some resin jewelry ideas with you – but today I'm stepping away from jewelry and I have created something that is a little bit more exotic.

The inspiration for this project comes from a gift my husband gave me many years ago - a beautiful Egyptian Perfume bottle. Its elegant shape and delicate 24K gold lattice embellishment make this a gift I treasure immensely.

A while back, this beautiful bottle was the inspiration for my line of Vessels and Vials – a collection of mini "Genie Bottle" pendants and earrings. Each one is a little masterpiece in its own right and whilst many of them went to new homes, I also created some to frame and hang on the wall in my studio!

Today's inspiration post takes me back full circle to the original Egyptian perfume bottle my husband gave me. Instead of creating pendant sized pieces, I'm recreating full-size perfume bottles in resin. My stash of jewelry findings provide everything else that I need to assemble them.

I was a bit nervous undertaking this project because I had no idea if I'd be able to remove my precious bottle from the Amazing Mold Putty once it had cured. But I took a deep breath and proceeded anyway!

To see how I created these fabulous faux bottles

please jump over to my blog HERE.

I hope this project inspires you to take a look at some of your collectibles and see what you have in your china cabinet that might be worthy of reproducing in resin.

Thanks for spending time with me this month as I shared my passion for resin with you – it's been a blast!  ~ Myléne

For more inspiration, please stop by my blog (http://milllanestudio.blogspot.com),
visit my website (www.milllanestudio.com) for class information,
or join me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/milllanestudio/).

   

For more jewelry ideas and inspiration, please check out my jewelry-making books: "Fabulous Jewelry from Findings" and "Stylish Leather Jewelry". 

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Please subscribe to our blog on the right side bar:

Twitter at AmazingCasting | Facebook at AmazingMoldPutty | YouTube at AmazingMoldPutty