VIVA LA VIDA... #Cre8time Inspired by Frida Kahlo with Maria Soto

Hi there! Maria here with a project I've been wanting to share with everyone. I love the artist Frida Kahlo, and after looking up some of her many quotes, I was inspired to create with these in mind. 

I created this piece inpspired by a short but very strong phrase, "Viva la Vida" which means "Live Life". I feel that we need to embrace life, live to the fullest, try to overlook all the negativity we see around us and just scream these words out to remind ourselves that life matters, that we should do our best to make the most of it today, to leave the past behind us and live life now. 

During one of my many visits at Michaels, I purchased several wood pieces and these cute little frames already have a cute cut-outs on the corners. I noticed they also have a small frame that fits over them, so I also purchased several of those too.

I sketched an image of Frida, then took out my Walnut Hollow burning tool from and began to trace around the image.

I love burning images on wood. For this piece, I decided to add shading too. Whenever I draw or paint I have to add shading and details, though this is the first time I tried it on wood – and it will not be the last because I really loved how this turned out.

I used Plaid acrylic paints to add color to the piece, then I stamped the quote using black ink. As you can see the hair was left alone, as I didn't want to cover all the shading I had done. I used wood glue to put together the two pieces.

I used gold paint to paint the sides and the back of the finished frame.

Then I coiled some colored wire over a paintbrush, added some beads and wrapped it around the cut outs on the top corners. I also added beads to make her earring, and finished with some swarovski clear crystals. 

To finish off this piece I decided to add a layer of Amazing Clear Cast Resin. Not only would this resin give it a glass-like finish, but the colors would be brighter too.

I gathered these supplies in preparation: parchment paper, wipes, measuring cups, a mixing stick, and Amazing Clear Cast Resin.

Using Amazing Clear Cast Resin is pretty easy. First you measure out equal amounts of parts "A" and "B" {please CLICK HERE to view mixing instructions}. 

   

Add part "A" to part "B" and mix the resin slowly. When completely mixed, let it sit for a few minutes for the bubbles to go away. Now the resin is ready to apply to the piece. I gently spread a thin layer of resin around using the mixing stick.

She looks AMAZING and love it!

I think I will do a collection of "Frida" inspired frames like this one.

The photos don't do this piece justice at all –
photographing the clear resin is not easy. 

I hope you like my piece – please feel free to leave a comment.

A simple quote inspired me to create this piece...

What inspires you to create?

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to stop over to my blog, "What is Creativity"

 at http://chuy-creativity.blogspot.com to see more of my creations. ~ Maria Soto

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Sealed with a #Cre8time Kiss... DIY Springtime Frame by Maria Soto

Today I want to share a nice project I made using an inexpensive wood frame that I purchased at Michael's {similar to this one}.

I really had no idea what I was going to do with this frame, so many ideas came to mind. I figured this would be a simple project, and I let my creative ideas just come to me as I worked on this piece. 

First thing I did was decided on two colors to use – since we are still waiting for Spring to come here in Indiana, I thought why not use red and yellow acrylic paints... they remind me of the warmth from the sun. I painted the frame and left it alone for a couple of days waiting for some more ideas to come to me.

One day I was working on some resin projects and had quite a bit of Amazing Clear Cast Resin left, I usually just pour extra resin into old molds but this time I thought why not use the extra resin to cover the front of this frame and make it look like it's all glass; so I took a foam make-up applicator and applied the resin over the entire front of the frame. 

   

The Amazing Clear Cast Resin is so easy to mix and use, and depending on the climate where you live, it can start to set within 30 minutes of mixing. Just remember to use equal amounts of both parts "A" and "B" to make sure your resin sets perfectly {CLICK HERE for full mixing instructions}. The photos show how the painted frame looks after adding the clear resin.

It was then that I thought about adding some flowers to the frame and I noticed the tiny clear beads I had taken out to used on my other resin projects and figured these would give the frame a bit of dimension. I added these tiny clear beads on some parts of the red areas, and next it was time to add some flowers on the resin before it all sets. I also took some paper and fabric flowers and tiny butterflies and added these over the resin, playing around a bit. I was able to move the flowers from one area to another until I was happy with the placement, as long as the resin has not started to set, you can move your embellishments around like I did here. 

Once I was happy with the look of the frame I let it set over night. There's no glass in the photo section of this frame but the frame itself looks like it's all covered in glass thanks to the Amazing Clear Cast Resin. A very simple project, but very pretty and ready for a nice photo of the kids to give to Grandma as a gift, or for me to keep at the office... just a nice "Spring" like frame. 

How would you use resin on a frame? 

I used it to embellish the frame and as a adhesive on this project. Share your ideas with us, we'd love to see how creative you are with Amazing Clear Cast Resin.

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to stop over to my blog, "What is Creativity"

 at http://chuy-creativity.blogspot.com to see more of my creations. ~ Maria Soto

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Home is Where the Cat Is... by Maria Soto

Hi there, this is Maria and today I want to share a fun project I created using some of my extra resin castings. I have a box full of pieces I've created and I wanted to work on a photo frame for my son. He just finished putting together his home office and I thought it would be nice to make a photo frame that would hold his baby kitten's picture. 

I have made other projects using this cat head mold that I created using Amazing Mold Putty and  Amazing Casting Resin – please CLICK HERE to jump over to my blog to see how I created this fun mold with another mixed-media cat themed creation.

When making molds using Amazing Mold Putty you have to keep in mind it's going to last you a very long time, so chose fun things to mold – things that you know you can use in many different ways. That's the fun part about making your own molds... you can use them in any way you chose to.

I used a wood photo frame I had on hand, painted it and used some stickers to mask the bird and branch with flowers on the top of the frame. I then used some letter stamps to add a phrase to the frame "Home is Where the Cat Is", which is perfect for us – we have three cats and they have made our home a better place to be.

I added Amazing Clear Cast Resin on the entire frame once the paint was completely dried. I used it to adhere the resin cat's head to the frame and the little yarn ball and piece of yarn that goes around part of the frame. I thought the yarn would add a nice dimension to the frame. The resin looks like glass on the frame. I tried taking lots of photos indoors and outside to try and capture how the Amazing Clear Cast Resin looks amazing on this frame, but it's pretty hard to photograph. I took this frame to work, and everyone loved it. 

The cat's head was made using the Amazing Casting Resin. I can't say this enough, but I love using this resin to cast most of my molds – because its not only fast and easy to use, but you can use just about any type of paints to add color after the resin is cured... or you can add color to the resin when mixing. It really is a great product to use. 

I hope that I have inspired you to go and bring out your old molds and see how you can create new ideas with them... please be sure to share them with us via social media. We love to see what everyone creates with #AmazingCastingProducts.

What would you cast in Amazing Mold Putty

to customize your keepsake frame?

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to stop over to my blog "What is Creativity"

at http://chuy-creativity.blogspot.com to see more of my creations. ~ Maria Soto

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So Many Ways, So Many Ideas, it's Amazing!!! AMAZING Inspiration from Maria Soto

Hi there, it's me... Maria Soto sharing with you some other ways to use the Amazing Clear Cast Resin. I have to say I enjoy using the Amazing Casting Resin a bit more when casting items from molds, because it cures faster and lets face it – it's hard to wait hours to see the casted piece. However, I love using the Amazing Clear Cast Resin for other things besides casting objects.

I love to use the Amazing Clear Cast Resin as a sealer, and also as a type of permanent glue in many projects. Below I share a few projects showing examples. We know that if clear cast resin cures with a dull finish, another layer can be applied and used as a sealer to brings out an amazing shiny finish.

I was so inspired by several CHA designers that created some incredible Banners of Hope that were displayed at the 2014 winter CHA a few days ago. I was not able to create and submit a banner, but felt the need to create something, and so I did, I created a HOPE frame. I made this as our family has endured the pain of losing a family member to cancer as well as cancer survivors. I made this in their honor and with HOPE that a cure is found to end all types of cancer.

In the middle of the frame, I used Amazing Casting Resin colored with Blue and Violet Alumilite Dyes; and I also used it as a glue to hold together the duck tape flower and the Rowlux partial flower. The Amazing Clear Cast Resin was applied on the entire frame, including the center, to seal and bring a shiny finish to the entire frame. I added all the other embellishments to the center of the frame after pouring the clear cast resin so it was too used as a glue.

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As I worked to finish this mask, I noticed it needed a lot more shine, so I used the Amazing Clear Cast Resin to cover the entire mask. The Rowlux flowers were easy to remove since I used Maya Road brads to keep in place, but the vellum flowers on the other side were glued – so I just brushed some resin on the vellum flowers. Below, you will find two comparison photos and a photo of the finished mask. You can see I added some crystals after the resin was applied; allowing me to use the clear cast resin as a sealer and glue at the same time. 

At this point the Amazing Clear Cast Resin was just applied to the left side of the mask to show the difference with and without the resin application.

Another view, you can see how the left side of the mask looks all shiny. I will say that the Viva Decor Inka Gold paints used on this mask give it a shiny look, however, I was looking for a stronger shine and protection. I feel that the Amazing Clear Cast Resin was the best product to get these results. 

Here is the finished mask, ready to wear!!!

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Amazing Clear Cast Resin can also be used to add shine and "POP"

to paper embellishments like this dimensional flower.

I had a lot of Amazing Clear Cast Resin left so I poured some on my Amazing Mold Rubber mold from my button frame {click here to jump to see post}– to cast pieces that I would be able to use later on. I found out that when you use the Amazing Clear Cast Resin on the new Amazing Mold Rubber molds... it comes out with a beautiful shine; unlike when you use the mold putty molds. These pieces look so transparent and shiny – I can't wait to used them later on future projects.

I hope that this post will inspire you to use these amazing products in other ways, play around. Take chances... sometimes accidents lead to new creative ways to use them and this I find very exciting!

Please share your creations using

Amazing Crafting Products with us

by posting photos in our User Gallery. 

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Thank you for stopping by. I invite you to stop over to my blog "What is Creativity"

at http://chuy-creativity.blogspot.com to see more of my creations. ~ Maria Soto

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Don't forget to subscribe to our blog on the right side bar:

Twitter at @AmazingCrafting | Facebook at AmazingMoldPutty | YouTube at AmazingMoldPutty