Making a Snowman Ornament - Part Two

Hello! Susan here again with the finishing of my Beach Snowman Ornament molded with Amazing Mold Putty then casted in Amazing Casting Resin. This is a custom ornament I am making for my Grandmother.

To see the first part of this project, please click here.

This is where I left off last week. Now it's time to decorate and embellish this cutey pie. Since I need to make twenty, I was trying out other media that will set up quickly and easy to embellish. I thought paper mache would be easy. Needless to say, I mixed up a batch of a paper maché product called Claycrete and pressed it into the mold. It is still wet in the mold after 7 days, so it looks like I'll be using the Amazing Casting Resin for mass production. I think it might just be simpler to make another snowman smaller and repeat the process, just in a smaller size. This guy is about 5" tall and required quite a lot of resin.

To share my painting experimentation: I went up to the vanity cabinet and rummaged through my collection of nail polish. This is a FREE source of wonderful pearly colors to paint shells with. So I emerged with four colors to color the shells with. It was a learning curve, as nail polish is enamel and can get goopy real quick. I had to remove some of the nail polish with nail polish remover and a paintbrush so that the detail wasn't lost. I was having fun & painting everywhere with the nail polish and found out later on, that craft sand is not opaque. So I had to go back and gesso over all of the nail polish on my snowman body. So NOTE TO SELF - only put nail polish or colored paint on areas to be accented.

Please see accompanying image number to go along with photo description.

Photo #1: Painting resin snowman shell details with nail polish. Photo #2: Details painted and black gems added for eyes in preparation for sand dusting. Photo #3: Mix of white craft sand and shimmery golden craft glitter in paper plate. Photo #4: Backtracking to fix problem. Paint over nail polish on body of snowman with white gesso since it shows through the sand/glitter mixture. Photo #5: I used a paintbrush to apply Sakura Crystal Lacquer to all white areas in an even coat, then dusted with sand/glitter mixture over paper plate. I repeated this process until entire snowman was covered. Photo #6: Close up of completed Beach Snowman...so adorable!

I finished off Mr. Beach with a piece of May Arts burlap ribbon.

I present you with a Perfect FLORIDA SNOWMAN!

Thanks for visiting. I encourage you to stroll around through the gallery of AMAZING projects from the other Amazing Mold Putty Design Team members!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment, select receive e-mail follow ups on comments and I will respond. If you would like to see more of my creations, please visit my blog sbartist : painting in the dark by clicking here. See you next time...Happy Crafting : )

Winter Wonderland Box

Another hobby of mine is painting so when I found this snowflake ornament at the store recently I knew that I wanted to mold it and use it on a painted box for Christmas.  The fun thing about the box is that it can be used for a gift  to give to someone or for adding a little tissue paper inside and arranging some of my favorite cookies in it for the holiday season. 

The first thing I did was to create a mold using Amazing Mold Putty. 

I used some of the Pearlescent Powder inside the mold hoping to give the piece an even more shiny look, but when I unmolded it, it was better than I could of ever hoped! It had a frosted look! I was and still am thrilled over that.

I combined the Amazing Clear Cast according to the package directions. 

This is what it looks like when it is first sitting for the 2 minutes.  Notice how it's a little cloudy and bubbly.

This is what it looks like after it is mixed and sitting for the next 3 minutes.  Notice how it is now clear and the cloudiness is gone?  The sitting time allows any air bubbles to move to the top and pop.  That is what is happening in this picture. 

I slowly poured the resin into my snowflake mold and allowed it to sit according to the directions.  This piece sat for 18 hours.  After that I removed it from the mold and added to the top of my box using a little Tacky glue which dries clear. 

Now I have this amazing box which can be enjoyed over and over again. 

Snowflake Ornaments with Quick Cast Resin

I love creating handmade ornaments to give as hostess gifts, use in my own home, or top off a pretty package! Today I’m going to show you a really fun ornament that you can create at home!

Supplies:
May Arts Elastic Plaid Ruffle in Red and White
May Arts Metallic String in White
May Arts Burlap String in Natural
Creative Paperclay®
Skipping Stones Design Stamps – Rustic Tiles, Christmas Swirls
Core’Dinations Cardstock
Echo Park Patterned Paper
Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmer Mist in Chalk
Amazing Mold Putty
Ornament or Circle Punch
Hole punch
Eyelets
ink
Glue



To begin, we are going to create a mold. Following the instructions on the mold putty, combine the two parts and mix. Press into a disk and then press the acrylic stamp of your choice into the mold. Allow to set completely.



After about 15 minutes the mold will be ready. Remove the stamp from the mold. It should look something like this. If you need to, use your fingers before it sets completely to smooth out the edges.



Create a ball with the clay and press it into the mold making the back as flat as you can. Be sure to press evenly with enough pressure for the clay to pick up the pattern in the mold. Remove the molded clay from the mold and allow to dry completely.



Once the clay portion has dried, mist the front with the chalk Glimmer mist and allow to dry. Turn over and adhere the ruffled ribbon to the back of the ornament.



Using a small dab of glue, attach the metallic string to the back to serve as the ornament hanger. I LOVE this stuff! It is just so sparkly and fabulous!



Now you are going to create the tag for the front. Cut a piece of Core’dinations Whitewash cardstock to 1 ¼ inches. Punch a hole in the end and set eyelet in place. Stamp ‘Wish’ on tag. Tie with burlap string to accent and glue to the front of the ornament.



Punch an ornament shape (you can use a circle if you don’t have an ornament punch) and adhere to the back of the ornament. This is a great place to sign your work!



I really wish you could see how pretty the shimmer from the Glimmer Mist is ,but my camera just couldn’t quite capture it! Now you can attach your ornament to a gift, a bottle of wine, or hang on your tree! Merry Christmas!



You can also use this mold to create a similar ornament using the Clear Cast Resin and a bit of Allumilite Blue dye!

Moldmaking 102 - Casting from the Mold

Today I bring you the work of my wonderful friend Melony Bradley of Mel Designs. While digging through some vintage jewelry I found a bunch of pieces I could take apart. One piece in particular made me very happy. It contained several vintage Zinnias. I knew Melony could make some fabulous things with them. Honestly she is one of the most creative people I know. You could give her a potato sack, some ink and in 24 hours she would whip you up a haute couture gown. Below is the mold I sent to her with a small ball of clay.

She used Jacquard's Cernit Clay in white to make

a zinnia from the Amazing Mold Putty mold. 

She pinched off a dime sized piece and conditioned by hand.

Then rolled it into a ball before pushing it into the mold.

Push the clay out of the mold and you have this adorable little zinnia.

(But, if you want you can bake the clay directly in the mold.)

Now bake according to manufacturers directions. She coated the dried clay with Lumiere paint the zinnias. Viola! totally cool necklaces. If you want to see a full tutorial CLICK HERE or on the link to her blog at the top.

~ written by Niki Meiners

Making a Snowman Ornament - Part One

Making a custom ornament using Amazing Mold Putty...

Hi my name is Susan and I'm bringing you my next "AMAZING" adventure with Amazing Mold Putty. Today I am going to share a custom ornament I am making for my Grandmother {actually 20}. I make ornaments each year for her to give as gifts to her painting students - an annual tradition we have. Last year I wanted to make a beachy snowman, but didn't have any way to go about creating it. But I do now and I am so excited to share it with you!!!

I started by making some simple paper forms using brown paper bag, then covering them with masking tape. I joined the three circles and base together with some wire for stability. I dug out some polymer clay and conditioned it to roll it out in thin layers and make more pliable...then I covered the entire snowman form in polymer clay. I added some shells for details and then baked in oven to cure polymer. Here is my resulting base beach snowman for casting in Amazing Mold Putty. I will add that I added some super glue to the shells before casting in mold putty so that they would stay in place during the casting process.

To cast my snowman in Amazing Mold Putty, I followed the simple illustrated instructions on the packaging. If you want a more in depth how-to of mixing Amazing Mold Putty please click here. For this project, I needed to make a lot of putty to cover the entire piece, making in smaller sections and overlapping due to the quick setting cure time. In the following photos I will show my results, including some imperfections as a result of adding on and not blending sections together quite enough.

NOW FOR THE CASTING with the Quick Set Amazing Casting Resin:

Please see accompanying image number to go along with written instruction/description.

Photo #1: Polymer Clay model is completely covered in Amazing Mold Putty, except for the bottom. This was achieved in a layering process. Photo #2. Base left open to pour resin or other media. Photo #3: Polymer snowman removed from mold after mold cured. Some of the shells came off my original during mold removal, as it was a very snug fit. Photo #4: Detail of inside of mold. You can see that there are inperfections from in the layers of mold putty. I could mix up some more mold putty and fill these inperfections, but I go ahead with casting resin the way it is for now. Photo #5: Since the mold was tricky to release, I cut apart mold for ease of release, cutting only about 2/3 of the way through. It's recommended to dust the mold with some type of release agent, especially if there is a lot of fine detail. This can be corn starch or shimmer powder. I am using Alumilite Iridescent Powder - this will add a pretty pearl shimmer to my resin snowman.

This next series of images are describing pouring of resin, curing and repairs.

Photo #6: After preparing mold with release agent, I placed mold on a level surface and secured halves with rubberbands and placed into a plastic cup upright prior to mixing parts A & B. Photo #7: Then I measured 3 ounces of both parts A & B together in a plastic cup and mixed for one to 2 minutes. It will look a little milky/cloudy at first, but then it will get clear. When completely clear, you feel it getting warm, then it's time to pour. Photo #8: Resin changes to a milky white color as it cures. This Quick Set Resin is opaque when completely cured and can be painted. Photo #9: Completed resin cast removed from mold. Curing time is 10 minutes, but with this quite large Amazing Mold Putty mold, the cure time took a little longer for the resin to cool down and harden completely. I left this to cure and cool for about 45 minutes to an hour. Photo #10: As you can see, the result of the imperfections of my mold casting in layering mold putty. This is not a problem - the Amazing Casting Resin can be painted, sanded and drilled. Photo #11: Using an emory board and small filing tools for paper and chipboard, I cleaned up the resin snowman. Photo #12: A detail of the shells, which have come out beautifully, and the pearlized sheen from the Alumilite Iridescent Powder is beautiful just like this.
 

The sanding and remaining imperfections add to the charm of the piece.

This is just the beginning of course. I will be painting, adding embellishments and some other finishing touches to my special ornament project...including making twenty more. I will also share some other media cast using this same mold. So please save the following date and...

Please come back on November 29th for part two

and the completion of my "Beachy Snowman Ornament" project.

I encourage you to stroll around through the many AMAZING projects from the other Amazing Mold Putty Design Team members for some great tips and ideas!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment, select receive e-mail follow ups on comments and I will respond. If you would like to see more of my creations, please visit my blog sbartist : painting in the dark by clicking here. See you next time for part two of this project and to see the finished ornament on November 29th. Happy Crafting : )

AMAZING Double Pouring!! By DeeDee Catron

Hey all!! DeeDee here!! Still so excited to be part of this team -- my mates have been showing you some AMAZING PIECES!!!! I'm so thrilled to see such fab work coming from these gals! and so RAPIDLY, too!!

Today I wanna share how I achieve a dual colored piece via double pouring...

Here is the item I decided to recreate (along with it's mold)! Mix equal parts Amazing Mold Putty parts "A" and "B", then form over piece and allow to harden... it is actually two pieces glued together.. but that seems like an extra step to me.. pouring two pieces then gluing them together... why not pour twice and be done? Well with this resin...  DONE! :D

After my mold is created.. I start by mixing equal parts "A" and "B" of the Amazing Casting Resin that will dry WHITE. There are quite a few ways to color your resin.. and two of my favorites are Alcohol Inks and shaved pastel.. Today I'm sharing the alcohol ink... easy peasy.. just put in a single drop of my ink and stir until there are no more swirls and a nice uniform translucent liquid is achieved. 

Then I pour slowly into my mold.. making sure that my pink resin

doesn't run over the edge into my 2nd color area.

Allow to harden ... usually 10 minutes is plenty... then I mix another batch of the Amazing Casting Resin - again equal parts "A" and "B".  No need to color this time (though you surely could!) and pour on top of the hardened piece!

After it's dry, demold and VIOLA!!! Here is the original.. my mold and my finished dual color piece with NO gluing! 

One other tip... I always have a couple of extra molds laying close by to dump "left over" resin... and some of the effects have SUPER neat!!

Hope you'll venture into coloring your resin and trying double and maybe even TRIPLE pours!!!

Over 'n out! ~ DeeDee

Elephant Receipt Holder

Good morning and welcome to another project using the Amazing Molding Putty (you can purchase it on the website or Michaels and Hobby Lobby carry it also).  I just love using this product and what better way to make anything I WANT!!!


Anyway, onto this week's post.  My new job requires me to participate in Bingo at least once a month.  I really have never played Bingo much outside of at the fair, (because my youngest LOVES it) and some in grade school.  Before I got my job I had never set foot inside of our local Bingo Hall.  After you have purchased your Bingo package you are required to sign your receipt and keep it visible at all times so if you do "bingo" the attendant has proof of your purchase.  (This way you can't cheat???).  Anyway, many of the "regular" players have cute little receipt holders they have purchased or made themselves so I decided to make one for myself.  You all know how much I love elephants and they are supposed to be lucky too, so I used one that hubby had bought me a few years ago.


I created a mold of it using my Amazing Molding Putty from this elephant:

and here is my mold

and then I poured the mold with the Amazing Casting Resin...love this stuff also.

When it sets up it will turn white...

When I took the elephant out of the mold it wasn't

completely set up yet, so I was able to add a piece

of wire into it's back using my paper piercer to

start the hold and then gently pushed the wire into it

after it completely set up the wire becomes a permanent part of 

the elephant and then I painted it with black acrylic paint to give it an onyx look

I attached an alligator clip to the wire

here is another view of the elephant

and now my receipt is attached and I can go play Bingo

I hope I've inspired you to create something with the Amazing Mold Putty cuz the possibilities are endless.  If you'd like to see more of my creations, click here.  SO until next time, have a great day.

Hugs

Brenda

Resin Rings from Wooden Things

I am so excited to share my project with you today!!! I love making my own jewelry and have recently been inspired to try some ideas with the Amazing Mold Putty and Amazing Casting Resin!! When my boss, who recently returned from a trip to Dublin Ireland brought me some wooden stamps inspired from the Chester Beatty Library's collection of Illuminated Manuscripts, I knew exactly where I wanted to take these nifty souveniers!!!

For this project you will need:

a DEEPLY cut stamp/item that will allow you to make a flat mold at least 1/8" deeop

Amazing Mold Putty

Amazing Casting Resin

Allumilite Pearlescent Powder

base to curve ring on

Alcohol Inks, Acrylics other colorants

wire and beads

Apply Allumilite Powder to wooden stamp to
encourage it to release from Mold Putty.
Mix part A with equal part B to create Mold Putty.
Press stamp(s) into Mold Putty and let set for 3 minutes.

Released stamps will have a shimmer from the glitter. You can either wipe that out
for the normal finish, or leave it in for a Pearlescent finish. 

 Mix equal parts Amazing Casting Resin per instructions on the package.
Pour into molds.

 And wait...the clear liquid will start to cloud and all of a sudden it will
take on the opaque hardened consistency seen below.

Once the resin is set to where it will "click" when tapped and will somewhat
easily allow itself to be removed from the mold but still warm, unmold and
begin to shape the resin piece to curve. I used the side of my mold putty
canister to begin the shaping.

It is easier to punch a hole in the resin before it is completely hardened.
I used a Japanese screw punch to make a hole for wire.

 I completed the shaping of the resin on my own finger since I was making these rings for myself.

Curved rings from wooden stamps! What fun!!!

It's simple to color the resin with Alcohol Inks--here I've used Bottle.

Copper Mixatives adds a beautiful contrast to the copper.

The flower was painted with both acrylic and alcohol inks.

To fashion the cast resin into a ring, I strung sterling wire
the holes and wrapped the wire to make a ring to fit my
finger. For the flower ring, which only had 1 set of  holes,
I added beads to the wire to make the ring part more
substantial and comfortable.

Thank you for looking! I hope you enjoyed my projects!