Framing Up a Special Friend... by Susan M. Brown {sbartist}

Greetings Amazing Crafters! Susan here today to share a photo project with a special handmade embellishment using Amazing Casting Products! 

A few weeks ago we heard that my brother in law's dog had gone to the big dog park above. Rusty was more than just his dog... he was the family dog - a gorgeous golden retriever with a heart of gold. I have several photographs of Rusty that I had taken back in 2009 for use in one of my "Wreck this Journal" projects. He was such a good sport in partnering to help me with some creative madness. So I set out to make a framed picture keepsake for my brother in law.

For this special commemorative gift I used a 5"x7" Deflecto Beveled Edge Frame. The edge has a tint of green – it even looks like real glass {but it's not... perfect for clumsy me}. I cropped my photo to 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" to fit the frame and printed it out on my color laser printer. I mounted my print to a sheet of black cardstock for the backside and trimmed to the fit the frame. I just needed to use a hole punch to punch holes where the screws secure the photo between the two plexiglass panels.

Now for the fun part...

embellishing and personalization!

I need to add a custom piece to finish it all off. For this I got out a little metal dog tag that I have in my stash of items to mold. I mold this using Amazing Mold Putty to make a custom embellishment for my framed photo with Rusty's name. Amazing Mold Putty is quick and easy to use and cures in about 15 minutes {CLICK HERE to view mixing/preparation}. 

Now to prepare for a bit of resin. I brushed the mold with Alumilite Bronze and Silver Metallic Powders to add color that will adhere to the poured resin.

I prepare a small batch of Amazing Casting Resin {CLICK HERE to view mixing/preparation}. I added no dyes - the grey color is from the metallic powders swimming around during the curing process... a little happy magic that happens in small castings.

When cured I remove the tag. I'm really happy with the metallic sheen from the metallic powders. I punch the hole through and gently sand the edges on the back. I use some metal stamp letters to hammer "RUSTY" into the tag. I was going to hang the tag from a section of a dog collar I picked up at the Dollar Tree - but it was a little out of sorts with the simple design of the frame. So instead, I finished off with a silver brad tied onto the frame with some black fibers. I want our special friend to be the focal point.

Remembering Rusty...

This one of a kind special gift turned out amazing and I hope BIL loves it. I'm glad I made a mold of the tag - I'm pretty sure I'll be making a few more of these for other family members too. Rusty was a traveling dog and he never missed a family gathering.

How will you combine photos

with Amazing Casting Products?

Please leave a comment below to share your ideas -or- please, ask us questions! If you would like to see more of my creations, please visit my blog sbartist : painting in the dark by clicking here -or- check out more videos on my YouTube channel here. ~ Susan

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

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Our AMAZING creative friend Katie Smith, of Punk Projects is hosting a fun craft challenge for the summer and ACP is proud to be one of the sponsors. Play along for your chance to win weekly prizes and a grand prize at the end! There's still a little time to get some photos, squeeze in some Cre8time and enter this week's challenge.

This week's "Make Things!" theme is... USE PHOTOS!

Design some DIY Doggie Bling... AMAZING Inspiration by Isabel Villarreal

If you have a family dog or cat, you know how much fun they are to spoil and shower with gifts. I have two dogs and foster a third, so I know how easy it is to spend tons of money in an effort to show everyone who'll listen that my pets (and by default, me) have great taste, style and flair. And there's nothing like a collar charm or personalized tag to add pizzazz. Trust me, I have spent countless dollars on every kind of tag and charm that's ever been made only to have them lost. With Amazing Crafting Products you can make beautiful and inexpensive tags and charms to show off your pet's personality.

I started with a metal tag that I got as a memento for participating in a 5k run. It has engraving on the front, but the back of the tag was nice and smooth and made for a great base. Amazing Mold Putty is super easy to use and it's also the perfect solution for making duplicates. Once you have a mold you can use it countless times. I used Amazing Casting Resin to make the White tag (it dries a solid White color) and Amazing Clear Cast Resin mixed with Alumilite Silver Metallic Powder to make the Silver tag. Once they were cast I cut the backs off of some novelty buttons, cut some colored craft paper and letters from a magazine to make these adorable personalized tags. As a final step, I used Amazing Clear Cast Resin as a top coat to seal the layers.

The best part? The tags are not metal - they're resin, so they're very light and as a bonus there's no loud jingling. Just fun, flashy bling for your pet!

What kind of bling will you create for your furry friend?

I'd love to see what you create! Please upload and share your creations to the NEW

user GALLERY on the Amazing Mold Putty Website for all the world to see.

~ Isabel Villarreal

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Little Green Men

Okay, so not exactly the little green men you were thinking . . .

My son, who is a lego fiend (we have lego creations on every flat surface in our home - no really, EVERY flat surface) not to mention the tubs and tubs of miscellaneous lego pieces we have lying around. 

When my son decided he needed to amass an "army of lego dudes" what else could I do but break out the Amazing Mold Putty and go to work?!  Any of you with children in this age group know the cost of these mini figures.  Well I knew I couldn't buy him an army of them . . . but I could make them. 

So here's what I did:


I mixed my Amazing Mold Putty using a 1:1 ratio of "A" and "B" (click on the link at the end of this post to go to their website for a tutorial).  I made a mold of a mini figure and his hat (separately).

The mini figure I did like I would any of my other molds, but the hat was a little more difficult.  I put the hat in one-half of the putty I mixed for it and then stuffed it with the other one-half.  I made pen marks on each of the mold halves so that I would be able to line them back up when I went to pour my resin.  I then mixed my Amazing Casting Resin (use the link above for detailed instructions) - equal parts A and B. As soon as parts A and B are thoroughly mixed you can begin pouring into your mold (It will turn an opaque milky white when it is completely hardened unless you are using clear).  I poured enough so that it seeped out slightly but did not completely overflow (this seemed to be the best way to do it - after a few tries).

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Above is a look at the soldier "dude" before I sanded him and painted him and below is a look after I sanded him and then after I painted him.

 

 

Here is one showing his hat in a little more detail:

 

 

This was the first one I made.  They got better as I went.  The one on the package was a fun way to accent a gift for a friend's birthday.  No matter how many times I say it, I can't emphasize enough how versatile this product is and how much fun you can have using it!  I made a bunch of mini figures and left them unpainted so I can choose how I want to paint them for a specific party gift. And . . . my son loves his army!

 

 

Thanks for checking out my project! The Amazing Mold Putty and Casting Resin  can be found at your local craft store or the  Amazing Mold Putty website . . . check out all of their products. Be sure to comment and ask questions if you have any.

~ Make Today Count

Wendy
www.scrappinwendysway.blogspot.com