An AMAZING Touch of Color... by Marilyn Weyman

Hi, Marilyn here with another project using Amazing Crafting Products. I don't know about you, but I am drawn to color. So when I finally got my hands on some Alumilite Dyes to use with Amazing Crafting Resin, I couldn't wait to play.

My first experiment resulted in a solid color red. While it suited my purpose (see this project), I wanted to do something a little different for my next project, a miniature bust. Using Amazing Mold Putty, I made a mold for a bust from a Frozen Charlotte porcelain doll I had picked up at a vendor fair at an art retreat. I was thinking about the pretty white color of Amazing Casting Resin and how to enhance it with a little color, echoing the marble busts you see decorating museums, libraries, and other public buildings. Marble features beautiful tints of white with delicate touches of color. After a few ambitious failures (trying to use too many colors in the short timeframe before the Amazing Casting Resin solidified), I decided to simplify and use only one color. Inspired by this bit of left-overs from the bottom of a pouring cup, I had a plan.

Materials:

• molds - one for your project, one for leftover resin
• disposable gloves
• a toothpick
• a mixing tool - I use popsicle sticks
• a mixing cup - a 2 ounce disposable plastic cup
• a pouring cup - a 1 ounce, thin rimmed plastic medicine dispensing cup
• a color cup - another medicine cup
• Alumilite Dye - color of your choice, I used blue
• Amazing Casting Resin

It is important to get organized so you don't waste any precious time while the Amazing Casting Resin is still "open" or liquid enough to color. I lined up the cups I would need: a pouring cup with the toothpick I'd use to create the marble effect, a color cup with a drop of blue dye (marked with a "B" so I'd know it was the blue later), and a mixing cup with room to stir.

I also lined up a few molds I had already made from Amazing Mold Putty, two sizes of busts of Frozen Charlottes. It is important to use the right kind of mold for this technique. You want to choose one that has a large, open surface on top that gives you room to swirl the dye into the resin. A mold with a small opening would be difficult to use for this technique. Not impossible, just more advanced. You would need a bit of practice to do it. I always keep at least one empty mold nearby into which I can pour any leftover resin once I've poured my project. I always work with at least two molds at a time.

Next, get your Amazing Crafting Resin ready to mix. I pour Part "A" and Part "B" into their measuring cups, then check to make sure that everything is lined up, ready to go once it is mixed. When I know I am ready, I pour both parts into the mixing cup and start to stir with my popsicle stick, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom at least twice during the process, watching for those yellowish swirls to go away. When it is ready, I pour it all into my pouring cup. This does risk getting air bubbles into the resin but I think it is worthwhile because it gives me more control over the pour. From the pouring cup, I pour about half into the main mold I am using, quickly pour a little into the color cup, then use the toothpick to stir the color into the resin. Once it is fairly well distributed (I'm marbling so I don't care about even distribution of the pigment), I pour it into the mold. Swirl it around with the toothpick, being careful not to mix it too much.

    

The hard part is waiting for it to finish setting up, I think!
I'm always so curious to see how it will turn out.

Finally, pop the resin pieces out of the molds and see the results!

    

These weren't exactly as I'd envisioned them, so I'll try again. The next time, I think I'll try to make sure that the toothpick touches the bottom of the mold so that the color gets all the way to the face. As you can see, the blue girl has more color on the back than on the face!

I certainly cannot wait to play with more color in Amazing Casting Resin. I had so much fun mixing that purple that I want to dye the whole color wheel!

Have fun with color and Happy Crafting!

~ Marilyn Weyman for Amazing Crafting Products

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