Good evening Amazing Crafters!
Susan here for another
Mold Rubber Monday. Today I am sharing a bangle inspired by some acrylic bangles I saw in the mall using the gorgeous Decopatch tissue from Frog Dog Studio
April Mixed Media Kit – our partner in crafting. I've created a bangle mold using
Amazing Mold Rubber... and haven't had a chance to use it yet. This was the perfect project - since I was not paying $18 for the bangles at the mall when I can do it myself.
While on a rare excursion to the mall with other half - there was a new stylish store that I've never seen, so I persuaded my other half to run in. They had all sorts of colorful clothes and accessories... and I spied these bangles – the same exact colors and nearly the same pattern of the Decopatch Tissue in the FDS kit. The cost of one of these bangles {$18} is about the cost of an entire box of Amazing Clear Cast Resin; which would produce at least a dozen handmade bangles if not more. Please scroll all the way to the end of the post for items included in the Frog Dog Studio
April Mixed Media Kit and
April Add-On Kit:
Amazing Mold Rubber comes in 2 parts, Rubber Base and the Catalyst. I will be creating a large mold so I am mixing up the entire container. This mold took about 1 1/2 containers due to the size required to completely cover the bangle over a two pour process. I always mix the entire container and prepare several molds simultaneously. Amazing Mold Rubber will completely fuse to itself, so if you run out mid-pour, you can let it cure and fill the rest with another batch later.
To mix the entire container of Amazing Mold Rubber - its so simple. Peel back the protective seal on the Rubber Base and then pour the entire bottle of Catalyst into the rubber base. Stir gently and completely until there is no swirling and the catalyst is completely incorporated into the rubber base. The color will be a light bubble gum pink. I use a plastic knife from take out to stir – as the back edge is flat which can be used to scrape the edges completely when mixing.
I used a pyrex bowl as my mold box - it was the perfect shape. I hot glued a wooden lid from a liquor bottle in the center of the bowl, centered the bangle around it, and poured the mold rubber into the center first, then around the outside of the bangle. The photos reflect the mold poured halfway. There was an airbubble trapped on top of the wooden lid, so I peeled it away – and resulted in having to trim more away than anticipated. No worries... the next pour will fill it in.
My reasoning for filling only halfway was because this was how I resolved not gluing the bangle to the bowl to keep it in place. I did hang around for about 45 minutes to see if the bangle shifted while the mold rubber began to harden, but it did not. YAY! When cured I completely covered with a second batch of mold rubber filling 1/4" over the items.
After the second pour, I let the Amazing Mold Rubber cure for a couple days before attempting to remove because it's a fairly thick mold in a glass bowl. I gently heated the bottom of the bowl with my heat gun to loosen the glue; ran a knife around the outer edge of the bowl and twist – a mold is born! Now to free my items - another occasion I could have used an extra set of hands. Amazing Mold Rubber is so flexible that I was able to bend the sides back and peel the bangle out.
The edge of the bangle is completely flush with the top of the mold so I shouldn't have to do any sanding or repair after casting in resin. I think the wooden lid will make a nice cabochon.
My original bangle shape and wooden lid along with mold.
I gathered my Amazing Clear Cast Resin, and items from the April Frog Dog Studio Kit. The Jaquard Pinata Manilla Black Ink is from the March FDS kit. I used this to prepare a separate matching bangle using a different process – I will be sharing this very soon. For this bangle I trimmed sections of Decopatch Tissue to 7/8" strips the width of my bangle mold.
I prepared a small batch of Amazing Clear Cast Resin mixing equal amounts of parts "A" and "B" {
click here to view preparation}. I stirred slowly to combine completely to minimize air bubbles. I set aside to let rest to thicken up a bit while I selected mica fragments and vintage watch parts to place onto the resin coated paper. After about 15 minutes, I painted a thin layer of resin onto the tissue using a foam brush. I'm working on freezer paper - which has a non-stick surface.
After about 5-10 minutes, I gently peeled up the strips of resin painted
tissue, turned over and painted the other side {miraculously... I had
painted the backsides first - LOL}. I painted this side a little thicker to accept the mica fragments and watch parts. I set these aside to cure overnight.
The Decopatch tissue has a lovely translucency from the light clear cast resin coating – and now it's more durable for placing into my bangle mold. While the clear cast was still tacky, I dropped on some vintage watch parts and Stampendous Mica Flakes.
Now the tricky part {I could have used four hands for this}... placing the tissue resin paper into the mold. I gently pulled open a section and pressed the tissue into the mold, rotated and positioned more, and repeated until it was inserted all the way around. Then I made slight adjustments to make sure it was all flat and the two ends met and I measured perfect, there was about an 1/8" overlap.
With my batch of Amazing Clear Cast Resin prepared, I gently spread open a section of the mold and poured the resin in. This was a messy proposition and unfortunately was unable to photograph as this process ended up with both hands a sticky mess. I rotated around and I filled the resin completely, removed the excess resin on the top of the mold and set aside to cure.
Needless to say - I didn't anticipate that the way this mold totally encloses the resin that it might take longer to cure... so the delay of the post was waiting all day to pop it out. I didn't want to impress fingerprints into the pristine surface by trying to pull it out if it is still soft. Patience pays!!! I have one more strip prepared and ready to pour another, too! I think this is a success and will look nice layered with a couple different types of bangles or could stand alone as a statement piece.
How will you customize your
Amazing Clear Cast Resin Bangle?
If you would like to see more of my creations, please visit my blog
I hope you have a creative evening - thanks for visiting!
See you tomorrow with more Amazing Crafting Products inspiration.
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(1) **Alumidust Powder - Red Plum; (1)
StazOn Midi Ink pad - Claret; (1) StazOn Midi Ink pad - Blue
Hawaii; (1) iZink Pigment Ink bottle - Gold; (1) Stampendous Mica
Fragments Jar, Pearlized; (1) Dusty Attic Chipboard set - Birds; (1)
Stampendous Mini Clipboard Canvas pack; (1) Set Canvas Mini's - Canvas
Corp; (3) Sheets of Decopatch Tissue Paper; and (16) Tim Holtz Clear
Fragments (random sizes/shapes). ** Alumidust is one of the many additives from the Alumilite Corporation. Valued at over $45.
(1) Amazing Clear Cast Resin – 16 Fluid Oz Box; (1) Amazing Mold Putty – 2/3 lb Box; (25) 1 oz Measuring Cups; and (50) Wooden Stir Sticks. Valued at over $47.
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