Design Table Tuesday

On my design table today is resin. Lately, this clear liquid of the craft gods has been calling my name. I especially like the way you can layer with it. I am still trying to figure out the best way to use good quality, “chunky” glitter, which I have seen in books and magazines and like. Yet, when I use it, I cannot get it to look professional enough. Instead, it looks sort of like I just got out of preschool.

Speaking of resin, I just received a copy of Jen Cushman’s award-winning book, Explore, Create, Resinate. I am so looking forward to reading this! Look for my review soon. I have also been eating up podcasts from both Rice Freeman-Zachary’s Notes from the Voodoo Lounge, and Art and Soul Radio. I have found these to be very interesting and inspiring to listen to,

And, be sure and check out Deryn Mentock’s generous tuition giveaway for her Build Zone workshop. It is posted on the Create Mixed Media website. Hmmm- only one week and four days until the workshop begins! Do I seem excited?

Everything in its Place

Over the summer, I moved all my mixed media items onto one pantry shelf in our kitchen. Since my son was home from school, this allowed me to work on projects between doing various things with him. I also wanted to test whether, with my addition of resin and Apoxie, I needed to work near the kitchen sink since there is no sink in my studio space upstairs.

The Build Zone  workshop I am enrolled in begins on October 1, and there is an accompanying supply list. Some of the supplies I had on hand, but others I had to purchase. As they arrived, I began to feel disorganized.

One thing I love about my new Lazy Susan tool caddy is that it matches our shelves!

Beyond basic hammering, coiling, and making jump rings, I have not done a huge amount of metal work so my previous collection of wire or metal work type supplies only took up a tiny amount of room in a small caddy. I have avoided drilling and soldering and have subsisted with only a rubber mallet for hammering/hardening metal.

 The majority of my mixed media supplies fit in this cabinet. 

I also came to the realization that it is easier to have all my supplies in one room. Otherwise, I have to run upstairs or downstairs every time I want something. I determined that I needed one area in my studio for my mixed media supplies and another area for the metal work supplies.

I tend to work standing up, and I also wanted a counter height surface that I could solder on. I discovered this microwave cart at Target. I like that it is metal, not plastic, so it won’t melt from a soldering mishap. Though I will be using a ceramic tile with a soldering block on top to protect my work surface, I covered the top with aluminum foil just in case.

Hopefully there will be much inspiration in my new space!

My SIster-in-Law Opened her Etsy Shop! Midwest Maude Etsy Shop!

Please check out her beautiful designs!

midwestmaude: Midwest Maude Etsy Shop!: My little Etsy shop is finally open! I am super excited and I really can't believe this day has come. It has been over two years in the mak...

Bezel Madness

For some reason, I have become obsessed with crafting bezels. Surely, I could focus just a bit on the rest of the necklace as well? Well, truth be told, I am sort of holding off to see what I learn in my Build Zone workshop and see if I want to apply those new skills to future pieces.

Antique mercury glass is now preserved in a resin heart, I also used an antique salt bowl as a bezel with an image from an antique book and a heart key.

Skills like the soldering I am terrified of! Last night I was worrying about which room of our home would be the least likely to erupt in flames while I am soldering. However, I will confess that I am equal parts excited about trying it out.

Today I have some Apoxie Fixit curing. I am excited because I am working on a Nicho pendant. (Yes, yes another pendant!). Nichos are a traditional Latin American form of folk art where religious and other spiritual items are displayed together in or on recessed shadow box often made of tin or wood, with a glass door that can open.+ I have seen some necklace versions of this here and there, and really wanted to make my own. 

+I got most of my history of Nichos information from Mexico Arts and Culture, by Leigh Ann WIlliams. 

I Think I’ve Got it!!!

I finally think I got the hang of clear epoxy resin! And it took me only a month. I had to fill these both with a small amount of resin first to close their open backs and let that part cure. Trust me, this is not the easiest technique to learn. However, by my 500^th time, I figured out better how to moderate the flow of resin with a craft stick. I also discovered that contact paper makes for a bit better sticky surface to hold the back closed than clear packing tape. At least for me!

I cut Mary’s face from a photocopy I made of a Holy card and added some flat backed crystals to her crown before I covered her with more resin. I added additional tiny crystals to the outside, but am not certain she really needed it- I just love lots of sparkle! I really like the way she came out and I’m considering using her as my focal pendant for my Build Zone Workshop with Deryn Mentock, that I blogged about earlier. 

My other piece got its start as an antique piece of hardware from a 19^th C. house. I made it into a bezel, adding the bright gold Medal. I like this a lot too, and can see it paired with some copper wire perhaps because of the rust tones to it.

I am also excited that my Aves Studio Fixit resin clay arrived! I have been eagerly awaiting its delivery. Now I can start playing with it again.

Workshop of my Dreams

I am like a child on Christmas Eve, bursting with excitement! Why, you may ask? Because tomorrow is the first day of registration for Deryn Mentock’s The Build Zone. I have been drooling over Mentock’s designs since first discovering her items in multiple issues of Belle Armoire Jewelry. I was struck by her beautiful pairing of vintage elements with religious symbols. I immediately hunted down her blog and Etsy store (stalked her?) to get a closer look at her creations. (Example one, example two, and example three). 


One thing I am sort of scared of is that we will be using a small micro torch (butane torch) for soldering and maybe other techniques. I have always shied away from doing this, but I am now going to be forced out of my comfort zone once again. This summer has been full of me doing things I never thought I would!

Speaking of which, I seem to finally be having better luck with my resin designs. I am about to do a second pour where I add in some images, and dome some of them.

In other news, I have become aware of some issues surrounding copyright with images used in collage art if you plan to sell your collaged items. A woman I know named Katie Cahill from my Facebook Apoxie Clay group posted an excellent blog article about this.

Images from antique books I own

I have been making sure that any Holy Card images I use are in the public domain (most are due to the original art being so old) and trying to purchases antique books here and there published before 1929, so the text and images are in the public domain. From there, I photocopy images to use in my work. This is just something to be aware of if you do a lot of mixed media work that  you sell or hope to sell.

Making Me Crazy

I have been working for several weeks on a few different resin pieces. I have viewed a few DVD lessons that include resin pieces in them. I have also read two jewelry books featuring resin designs. One of my favorite resin jewelry books is the new Kristen Robinson’s Tales of Adornment. You can link to this book through the Amazon widget on the right-hand side of this page; or link to my review of this book on Amazon here.

I purchased two-part Ice Resin. I used packing tape to seal the back of an open bezel as directed. I have tried two different types of packing tape. Both have led to the back leaking resin.

I have been having an extremely frustrating time with it and have had to use Attack on it several times to remove the resin and begin again. This is a big pain because the resin takes 2-3 days to fully cure.

The only thing that seems to be working for me is using the resin to make a really cool effect on paper. I have used Holy Card images, coating them in the ice resin with a sponge and letting them dry overnight.

These images are in the public domain 

 The altered Holy Card on the left has to be one of my favorite images of Mary. Just stunning.