Hello, Sandra here today, to share a handy little project with you. I wanted to customize the cover of journal that I used in the 2012 Rhodia Journal Swap. Here, I'm showing you the steps to creating the resin hand that I created using Amazing Crafting Products. If you'd like to see the rest of the process, please CLICK HERE to jump over to my post on "Life Imitates Doodles".
Amazing Crafting Products Used:
- Amazing Mold Putty
- Amazing Casting Resin
- Alumilite Alumidust Powders - Orange, Bronze
- Activa Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth, 4-Inch
- Decopatch Decoupage Paper
- Paperpatch Decoupage Glue
- Sharpie Brush tip pen - Lt. Blue
- Pigma Micron Pen - .01 black
- Acrylic Paint - Canteloupe, Primary Red
- Cardboard
- Illustration Board
- Scissors
- E6000® adhesive
- Printer Scanner
- Printer paper
- Dropcloth to cover surface of work
Many Hands Make Light Work
I wanted a journal cover that expressed the fact that many hands had worked in it, and that celebrated the messiness and creativity that journaling can be.
A cast of my hand seemed a good idea, but it would have been too large, so the first thing I did was reduce the size. I traced my hand onto cardboard (which I could then use for another project), and scanned it into my computer. Reducing to about half the size, I printed the smaller version out, and used it as a template for drawing onto illustration board.
Illustration board is very light, but it's thick and made a nice
foundation for the Activa Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth.
Now, a warning. This plaster cloth is messy! It has a fine powder that gets everywhere. I recommend a drop cloth or something that covers far more than your usual surface.
The wrap looks like a large roll of bandage cloth dusted with plaster, and that's probably what it is, by and large. You cut up pieces of it, dip them in water to liquefy the plaster, and build up your object strip by strip.
I apologize for some gap ins photographs at this point. I was actually working on 4 projects at once, switching between them, because I using many of the same elements. It wasn't a good idea, in this case, because I forgot two things. To take a photo of the finished plaster hand, and more important, to put some kind of mold release into my mold.
Once I had the hand built, I let it dry for a couple of days to make sure it cured all the way through (not that it mattered as it turns out – lol).
Making and Breaking the Mold
Amazing Mold Putty comes in two parts, a yellow putty and a white putty. I pulled out balls of the same size and mixed them until all of it turned a light yellow with no swirls.
At this point the putty is ready for molding. You need to work quickly, though not frantically, because the putty will set within 5-10 minutes depending on temperature and humidity.
I worked the putty around the hand with the illustration board side down.
Remember, I mentioned that I forgot to use some kind of mold release? Turns out Rigid Wrap Plaster cloth wants to stick to Amazing Mold Putty. When I went to pull the hand out, it broke into many pieces. Fortunately, it was easy to wash them out, and the mold was fine. But my plaster hand was lost. Oh well. I could have used it in another project, but with the mold, I can make as many hands as I want. Next time I will apply some petroleum jelly or cooking spray before applying plaster cloth.
Casting the Hand
Before I poured my resin, I dusted the mold with some Orange Alumidust. My brush already had a smidgen of Bronze Alumidust and I just let that mix with orange for some variation in skin tone.
Amazing Casting Resin sets up fairly quickly, so again I worked quickly but not frantically. I poured out equal amounts of Parts "A" and "B", then mixed them together until the resin was clear and all the swirls were gone. Then I poured it into the mold and watched it do its magic. Within minutes the resin began to turn white.
When it was totally white, and solid to the touch I pulled it out of the mold, ready for the next step in my customized journal.
If you'd like to see how I completed the journal cover you can find the post at my Life Imitates Doodles blog. You can also find out how to enter my giveaway for a pack of Decopatch paper and Paperpatch glue HERE.
To explore all the products that are available, including project how-tos,
both written and video, please visit the Amazing Crafting Products website.
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.
both written and video, please visit the Amazing Crafting Products website.
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.
Join us each Monday for Mold Rubber Mondays – where we will share projects and inspiration using this fabulous product available at Amazing Crafting Products!
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what a fun project!
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