Molding a Button Fairy – a Mixed-Media Fantasy Masterpiece by Guest Designer Sandra Strait

Greetings! Sandra here today with a fun and whimsical project with a Steampunk twist. Last month there was a call for a button fairy swap hosted by Viva Las VegaStamps! When joining this swap, I knew I wanted to create a 3D button fairy. The technique of watercolor painting with rice paper glazes also beckoned. And the translucence of Amazing Clear Cast Resin provided a perfect way to combine the two. I'm sharing all the creative details so hang on tight for the creative journey ahead!

Supplies:

Amazing Mold Putty; Amazing Clear Cast Resin; Stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps! used – Steampunk Dog Face - Item 18669, Tall Tree - item 14917, Whimsical Cloud - Item 19091; Creative Paperclay®; May Arts Ribbon; 140 lb .watercolor 8x20 inches; Silk tissue Rice Paper-Natural; Unryu Paper-Natural and Brown; Illustration Board; 9" x 12" 300 lb. watercolor paper; Faber-Castell gel sticks – Lt Blue, Black, Sienna, Orange, Yellow, Green; Acrylic Paint – Metallic Copper, Metallic Crystal Green, Metallic Black Pearl; Krylon Pale Gold Leafing Pen; 5 Buttons of various sizes; Sakura Gellyroll – Metallic Gold, White; Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Colored Pencils – Lt. Blue, Lemon Cadmium, Canary Yellow, Dark Sepia, Prussian Blue, Gold Ochre; Scissors; Thin wire; StazOn Inkpad – Jet Black, Saddle Brown; Golden Soft Gel Matte and Heavy Gel Medium Matte; and E6000 adhesive.

The Molds

First I stamped the image I wanted for my wings onto a piece of illustration board. Then I flipped the stamp over and stamped the back. I wasn't interested in the detail, just the shape. I stuck a piece of sticky drywall tape over the images for some texture, cut them out, and created a mold.

Amazing Mold Putty comes in two parts, Part "A", which is a white putty, and Part "B", which is yellow putty. I took enough of each to allow for a mold that would hold both wings and mixed the two parts together until the whole ball turned yellow and then pressed my wing pieces into the putty.

I also used molds I had already made, one from rolled paper roses, a star-shaped piece from a shower curtain embellishment, and a machine piece that I found lying around. What it is I do not know, LOL!

The Casting

Amazing Clear Cast Resin also has a Part "A" and Part "B". Equal amounts of both are poured out and then mixed together. For detailed instructions on mixing Amazing Mold Putty and Amazing Clear Cast Resin please CLICK HERE.

My wing mold was so shallow that I didn't even attempt mixing a specific amount. Rather, I lined up all the molds I would be using, plus a couple intended for other projects and mixed a rather generous amount. I filled all the molds needed for my button fairy, and had a casting of some dried fungus left over. I trimmed off all the excess resin overflow and set it aside to be used as foliage for my flowers. 

The Background

Using my gel sticks (which are the cheaper version of Gelatos), I swiped color onto the watercolor paper, and spread the color with generous amounts of water. I added more color, then more water, smearing with both brush and finger until I was happy with the result. 

With the StazOn Saddle Brown Ink, I stamped the Tall Tree image several times across the page, re-inking after every 2 or 3 stampings. Then I smeared a little more green gel stick around the foliage.

I tore a few strips of the Unryu paper and decoupaged it with Soft Gel where I most wanted to lighten (natural) or darken (brown) the color. It's a bit thicker than the silk tissue paper, and also has these thick threads that create really cool patterns when you add the gel medium.

I repeated the process with the silk tissue rice paper building up texture and a glaze that gives the piece a hazy, mystical look. 

Once all the soft gel had dried, I added more gel stick where I wanted to increase the intensity of the color, and to highlight some of the threads from the Unryu paper (It's pronounced Oon-Roo or Oon-Doo).

Matte gel was used rather than glossy because I wanted to photograph the piece, and glossy shine is hard to do. I was happy with the matte though, because it gave a softer, mistier look.

The Button Fairy and Flowers

I stamped the Steampunk Dog Face onto a piece of Unryu Paper, cut it out and colored it with colored pencils and gel pens. Then after rolling some Creative Paperclay® to a thin layer about the same thickness as my resin wings, I took the same stamp and pushed it into the paperclay, then trimmed around it. 

When the paperclay had cured, I used Soft Gel to adhere the Unryu image over the paperclay. I painted the resin wings with acrylic paint, and picked out the drywall tape texture with the gold leafing pen.

To assemble the button tail, first, I wove a piece of thin wire through the buttonholes to make it stiff. Then I wove ribbon through, using it to tie the tail to the paperclay fairy. I used heavy gel to stick on the wings, and then adhered the entire fairy to the background.

Detail of the corner embellishments.

I used a touch of acrylic paint to color the flower castings. I wanted to keep the translucency, so I just brushed on enough paint to add a bit of color. 

Putting it Together

I laid my button fairy and flowers on the watercolor painting and moved them around until I knew where I wanted them to go. I realized immediately that my painting wasn't large enough. I wanted a stiffer support anyway, so I painted up a 9" x 12" 300 lb. piece of watercolor paper with metallic black pearl.

Heavy gel medium was used to adhere the Button Fairy because of the weight. Because the flowers were resin, I used E6000 to adhere them. I went back to the Heavy gel medium to adhere the whole piece to the 300 lb. watercolor paper.

Voilà! I have a whimsical button fairy

flying across a mystical landscape!

Thanks for visiting today! For more of my work in Amazing Mold Putty, zentangle-inspired art, and daily links to tangles, tutorials, and giveaways please visit my "Life Imitates Doodles" blog.  ~ Sandra Strait

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For both written and video instructions showing how to create Amazing Mold Putty molds, and cast resin objects, please visit the Amazing Crafting Products library.