Workbench Wednesday....Resin

Hey...

Check it out..

A clean workbench.

That won't last for long.

I am working on resin components.

I like to do resin when the weather is warm so it sets up faster and the garage doors can be open to let the fumes out.

I am using a variety of purchased molds.

I also used handmade silicone molds.

Some are made from silicone mold compound and some are made form 100% silicone in the tube from the hardware store..

There is a trick to using it for molds.

 I will share it with you some time.

I even used some plastic packaging I saved from some scrapbooking and jewelry components..

For right now, I am showing you the resin madness on my workbench.

I am very messy when I work with resin.

It gets all over it seems.

So I try to work on the trays so my counter is not covered with little resin puddles.

Those of you that have worked with resin may wonder about the color of my resin.

Here is my little secret.

While I do use clear resin from the craft store, I also use resin from automotive supplies.

I buy it by the quart.

It is reasonably priced.

It is amber instead of clear.

If I am painting the pieces, the color does not matter anyway.

And sometimes I LIKE the amber.

When I went to use resin this time, I noticed 2 of my partial quarts had hardened and were useless.

Sigh.

So I decided to use this whole quart this week.

I did multiple moldings of many of these molds.

See anything intriguing?

I always love this kind of photo on someone's blog.

It is like an artist's version of Where's Waldo...

My eyes dart all around taking in the shapes and possibilities.

One trick I learned is for when your resin pieces are a bit sticky when you unmold them...

I put them on a tray and pop them in my craft dedicated toaster oven on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.

If they are still sticky after they cool, I do it again.

Usually that fixes them right up.

Here is one of the molds made from the silicone from the hardware store.

Not pretty, but effective.

I like this silicone for making bigger molds since the 2 part silicone mold making compound is expensive.

It seems to work almost as well as the purchased mold compound.

Any spillover can be easily broken or snipped off once they cure.

These animal heads are my favorites this time.

Inspired by Sandy Martin in the Winter 2015 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, I have been dying to do this.

I am loving these and cannot wait to add paint and work them into some fun designs.

What is on your workbench right now?

Thanks for stopping by....

                 Linking up with these great blogs.