Jewelry Making Outside The Box: Resinology

June 02, 2017

Building a Backless Bezel Pendant Using Magic-Glos

I'm not huge into resin but I'm awfully glad I'm not afraid of it. I have had some great successes with it and have always enjoyed using Ice Resin more that other resins.

Quite some time ago I was introduced to Magic-Glos which is a one part resin that needs UV light to cure. Joy, joy, joy, you DON'T have to mix it and get it right. YES!!! And under the light it will cure in under ten minutes, quite hard. In short, it's an instant gratification type crafts product.

When I first used the stuff it wouldn't cure for me. I was disgusted and pitched it all out. In time, I surely wished I hadn't! When Christi Friesen visited us last year for the May Workshop, she showed a great way to use it on polymer clay to get a beautiful hard finish. The trick, she said, was don't pour deep. LIGHT coats. AHA! She was right. I've been hooked ever since!

We got these very cool backless bezels in for B'sue by 1928 :

From the moment I first saw them I wondered, Hmmm! How would Magic-Glos work in those?

But yeah, they are a bit deep. I had to think about it. Determined to try I got out the packing tape and stuck the bezel down, hard, onto it, burnishing the back so no resin would leak through the back:

I then filled the very bottom of the pendant with Magic Glos, maybe only one-quarter of the way up. I was careful not to get any dirt or trapped air into it. Then, I very gingerly placed it under the UV light:

Very easy, then! Just let it go 7-8 minutes, and hard as a rock. Don't worry, it's not hot in that chamber!

I then poured a little more resin, just enough that it would hold my pretty vintage cabochon in the bezel:

And the bezel went back under the light for about the same amount of time.

This was not the first time I'd done this....here is another one I did, the one in the middle:

I noticed that when I had filled it, it was cured, and I pulled off the packing tape, it was a bit gooey. SO: I just poured on a little more resin to even it out and put it under the light again. That took care of the gooey back!

This time, on the one with the vintage cab with the flowers, the back was pretty good. NOT gooey. But I did a thin layer over it again, anyway, and cured it.

Then I flipped it over and did a couple more scant pours and domed it.

I got a nice dome. But you can see, as I did the pours, some must not have gone all the way out to the edge. So that's the down side of it: You do have to do the layers to get it to cure. But each one must be identical or you will have layering.

Honestly, upright, it looks pretty sweet. I'm definitely going to use it and make something nice. Just a part of the Magic-Glos learning curve, I guess! You learn by working with something and experimenting.

I REALLY like the results of Magic-Glos over ICED ENAMELS:

I can't wait to play around with my new components and make them into jewelry! Yes, all have Iced Enamels applied in the standard way, but instead of topping with Ice Resin, I used Magic-Glos, just to go ahead and finish them up. I think they came out great!

We don't carry Magic-Glos at B'sue Boutiques but I will tell you, the deal is that you HAVE to buy the UV light to get it to work. Without it, it does not cure. Some have said it will if you pour it outside on a bright sunny day but then you have to worry about things blowing into it! So if you want to try this stuff, bite the bullet and get a light. I am not sure if the standard UV light used to cure gel nails and manicures will work, it might. I truly believe, though, if you are going to work with resin and you don't want to wreck your work, why not use the tools they recommend?

Once you have the light, the bulb will last a long time and it's not hard to find a replacement for it, either. When you buy Magic Glos, go ahead and spend for the larger bottle too. It's a better deal and, you won't just cooking on this stuff and run out! I always have two big bottles around. It's such a quick fix or finish for so many projects!

As mentioned, Magic-Glos costs more than resin, a two part kit of ICE Resin will go a lot farther. If you are used to mixing it up and using it, you might just want to continue. I would not say that one is better than the other. If time is not important, don't worry about it. But when you need to fix something quick, you will be REALLY glad you had Magic-Glos in your arsenal along with the UV light!

And remember:

Posted at 10:19 PM in Easy Peasy Projects, Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (4)

August 25, 2015

The Joys of Swellegant

This is Linda Lee's recent order from B'sue Boutiques All SWELLEGANT, and a parrot! Isn't he handsome?

OH.....and those are her freebies received with her order....we love sending freebs or discount coupons....or both!

Lately I've done some videos with Swellegant (a knock-out, simple patina system where you can patina anything!) on RESIN, PLASTIC PEARLS....and SEASHELLS!

and

Here are some resin flowers I did in the video:

And some shells and pearl cabs...

Here's a necklace made with some of the shells...

Used it on the locket, too.

Mary Beth Quigley-Spiker of Q has been sharing some collage photos of things she's been working on using Swellegant....

GORGEOUS STUFF. And then, she sent us some pix of different looks doing using different Swellegant products:

Yep, we carry this line proudly at B'sue Boutiques

Find it here on our website.....there's a fine stock of everything:

Swellegant Patina System at B'sue Boutiques

If you haven't tried it yet, come pick some up and start playing!

Posted at 07:04 PM in American Made Brass, Designer Finishes, Easy Peasy Projects, Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (3)

October 26, 2014

With A Little Help From My Friends....and Flowers

There are some folks whose heart you touch.....and then, in the simplest of ways...know just when to touch yours back. When that happens, it just plain gets you through the day.

Once and again, out of the blue, someone sends me flowers. We all enjoy them here in the office. When they start to 'depart', I like to see what will happen if they just go their own way. I don't just automatically pitch them unless I already know they are the sort of flower that probably won't dry unless I press them.

Pressing flowers is great, but I just don't have time. So....

Usually I just try and let them dry in the standing water til it's all evaporated, and their colors have intensified, edges ruffled, and they are quite nicely preserved.

This bouquet did amazingly well! Beautiful pink roses and pale green hydrangeas, my favorite comfort colors.

How DID my friend know?

I continue to enjoy them just as they are.

Another bouquet that preserved nicely was the amazing arrangement that the attendees of our workshop last May brought to me, at the event:

There are alot of miniature roses and preserved greenery in this large vase. When it started to go, I simply placed it in a deep windowsill in a sunny window.

This material is PERFECT for embedding in resin.

By the way.....have you seen artist Oksana Bell's work?

Let me turn you on to some of the best resin embedding work I have ever seen:

RESILIN at Etsy

For a fact, Oksana has a singular talent.

I'll use some of my drieds to make some easy-peasy pendants this winter. Our bezels and mounts are perfect for that, and we sell some cab molds at B'sue Boutiques that will work out for some of the material, too:

These are simple to use and faves:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/product-p/mold06054.htm

Great for putting in bits and pieces, I like also to embed small shavings from the drill, tiny jumprings, odd bits, and itsy bitsy watch parts.

These botannicals will trump all of those things, though....if I can get the hang of it!

Posted at 04:36 PM in Featuring Artists Whose Work I Admire, It's My Life, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 13, 2014

Creative Inspiration In Unexpected Ways....WHAT IF?

I wanted to share with you an experiment made by my creative friend, Ioulia Kakoulidou, who lives in Greece. She has taken free form bits of copper and brass, some blanks, and beaten them, with a slight dap, some a slight roll. Here are some more:

First she has applied ICED ENAMELS, which give the background sort of a graniteware appearance.

To see how to do that:

Once applied, she has added bits of vintage scrap paper and dried flowers, and then a very LIGHT layer of Ice Resin to seal.

These make my heart SING! What if you glued them randomly on an assemblage blank....drilled them and make pendants....drilled them and made funky little brooches and pins (hey! it's TIME for brooches to come back, I say!)...

Or did smaller ones and made them into art charms....or drilled the centers and riveted them randomly to cuffs or blanks.....EEEK! Why can't I be in my workshop today?

Another piece is a lampwork bead piece I saw today at Pinterest:

I am so remiss, I got so excited I didn't write down the artist's name. I'm not a lampworker, though that IS on my bucket list! But what I see here is CLAY.

Even a polymer clay novice could craft beads like these and have a BALL....and make a similar creation.

So I thought I'd do a quick search on Pinterest for more inspiration for CLAY, which IS a medium I work in, derived from lampwork glass. WOW. Here's the link to the many photos I found:

Lampwork Glass Inspiration for Clay Workers

If you have been following the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group you probably know that this is our big clay weekend with Christi Friesen! All the spots are filled, but Christi will be visiting me here in my shop in East Palestine on Friday morning, and we'll be doing a video interview. Through out the weekend we will be doing video snippets of happenings at the event, and will have another video to share with you later on.

So of course....I'm totally thinking polymer clay this week.

But I'm ALWAYS thinking assemblage, as it is my first love. One of my fave pieces done by a member of our group is this one, by Janine of LillyAngelJewellery at Etsy:

Lots of pretty bits from our website, B'sue Boutiques in this one, combined with seashells from her own stash. I love working with shells.....every time I see this photo, and it's a piece she sold long ago....it gives me new artistic hope and the drive to get busy!

That's what sharing your work is all about, you know. It lifts someone's day, helps someone who is stumped, creates a new path. It's a gift and a blessing.

Be generous and bless your fellow artists with bits of inspiration...share your photos! Cast your bread upon the waters....and it will return to you.

Posted at 09:52 AM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Featuring Artists Whose Work I Admire, Jewelry Making, Mixed Media Technique, Polymer Clay, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 16, 2014

The Importance of the A-HA! Moment

A-HA moments are simply critical moments in an artist's journey.

It could be a pivotal move when discovery is born, either from learning a new technique from someone else, inspiration born from a museum exhibit, a book, or a Pinterest board....or a happy accident.

Above you see an almost-unhappy accident, but an A-HA! moment just the same.

This was Rob's A-HA moment.....he realized that micro torches have a lot more guts than are at first apparent, and that you should NOT over-fill them.

One of my big A-HA moments was when I realized I could engrave in decent script with a Dremel engraver. I built a whole line of gift jewelry on that little trick, back in the 90's.

This is an old line sheet from 1996.....look and you will see some of the pieces are engraved:

Here is a video on how I do that:

Another big A-HA! moment that I had was when I learned how much stuff you could do with resin.

24-25 years ago I bought very heavy watercolor paper and painted it with textural puff paints and acrylics......I added charms, tore the edges....and topped it with resin.

I also sprinkled glitter down into it, I threw in old watch parts.....I made virtual slabs of resined paper......paper with heavy, thick resin on it. I would sometimes cut it and then use gold leaf on the edges, or a marker. Sometimes I would layer the pieces and make an assemblage.

I long to do that again. But I must say, I never LOVED resin until I took a class four years ago and made this piece:

I shared it and more about that class in the video last week:

In this frame of the video, we are putting resin on paper.....this time the 7gypsies tissue paper that we offer at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

This week, many wondered, what DO you do with resined tissue paper?

Perhaps now they are playing around with it, and having their own A-HA! moments! Yesterday, I made this pendant to show something I did with the resined tissue:

I cut three random, ragged pieces, hole punched them and tube riveted them, and hung them on this torched and beaten heart blank. We have LOTS of heart blanks at our website:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/heart_shaped_blanks.shtml

That enamelled circlet ring on the necklace was a bit of a revelation, too. I discovered that by mixing maybe four parts of ivory ICED ENAMEL with a pinch or two or TURQUOISE, I could get the look of graniteware that had been fired on to metal.

There's so much to be said about those grand A-HA moments! I'm sure you've had many. I have many more to share! Why not share some of yours with us here?

Members of the B'sue Boutiques Design Team have also had their special A-HA! moments, too. I'll be sharing those with you in my next blog post!

Here's to many A-HA moments and many happy accidents that make a turn in the road that takes you to the next level in your work! And be safe in your workshops: tools are important, but never be cavalier in using them. When filling a torch, less is more. You can always add more fuel later. ;-)

Posted at 02:57 PM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Jewelry Making, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (2)

March 14, 2014

No New Video Today....But Lemme Share Some Cool Experiments

Marcia Tuzzolino of Aurora Designs and a member of the B'sue Boutiques Design Team, wrote her first tutorial for the B'sue Boutiques website:

Adding Texture and Dimension Using ICED ENAMELS and Mica Chips

Marcia shared her experiments with several techniques she developed at the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group while back and we were blown away. You will be too----so much so that you'll have to get out your ICED ENAMELS and your heat tool and get busy!

I was completely inspired and so I did my own take off on the cuff thing:

I didn't use the Mica Chips but instead, I used the Shattered Opal Iced Enamels

First, I put down the Ivory Relique Powder over the ICED MEDIUM and melted it. Then I did a little more medium and sprinkles of the Silver and Gold Relique and just built up layers.

Then I did a bit more medium and added the Shattered Opal flakes

The instructions from the manufacturer say only to drop the opal flakes into the resin to set, not to heat set them as you do the rest, but of course....

Being the experimenter that I am, I threw caution to the wind. I melted them onto the cuff. It worked fine...happy accident!

Finally I added two spare layers of ICE RESIN (one at a time, apply, cure....then apply and cure again) to the cuff. After that, I painted the inside and sealed it, but this time with Jewelry Shield

As you can see from the last photo....I'm wearing it! The layers of Relique and Mica look like the mysterious surface of a glittering moon.

I've used this cuff from the B'sue Boutiques website

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Brass-Cuff-Raw-Brass-Dimpled-Design-Tapered-6493

Here are some other experiments I began this week:

One of our spoon blanks layered with Raspberry Relique and Gold Glitz!

TWO etched brass pieces topped with ICE RESIN! I did one last time Kate came and taught me to etch, and the key I did in the video last week.

SAY!

Did you SEE that video yet? It's like a FREE 35 minute class to tell you all about how to etch on brass safely. Kate Mulligan of Mulligan Stew Jewelry worked out all the kinks in the process and we did the video together last Friday.

I'm positive it's our best video yet!

Here is a link for you:

That video is a hard one to follow!

I had plans to share how I made this cuff with Iced Enamels and to clear up a few things regarding its use in this weeks video....but then the brass started to arrive:

Thirty five pounds showed up with our Iced Enamels order coming in today at noon.....so!

I figured we'd better get sorting and get that Iced Enamel on the website right away.

What came in? Propellers, owls, hearts, charms galore, ring blanks, more blanks, raw brass, plated brass....lots of the silver stuff.

We're dancing as fast as we can.

New video next week!

Posted at 03:44 PM in American Made Brass, Designer Finishes, Easy Peasy Projects, Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology, Style and Color, Things I've Learned From Others' Blogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 01, 2014

The JOY of Resin

It's fun to take a day and just do a whole bunch of different stuff with resin. We did a video yesterday (hang in there, I'll get you the link) but first, I had myself a real resin party.

I put resin tops on these pieces from the Tea Stain Patina video made a few weeks ago......sheesh. When you do a top from Ice Resin it's like turning on a light....the piece just begins to live!

Here are my tissue decoupaged crescents with Iced Enamels accents from the last few weeks' videos:

Boy does the resin make a difference! I did a few more of the flowers we did in other videos....and got to playing around with possibilities. Like, what if I did an assemblage on that top blank:

I just love that tissue Here are a couple more styles:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Tissue-Paper-7-Gypsy-Tissue-Paper-Decoupage-Birdsong-Designs-20-x-30-Inch-Sheets-12861

and here is a new one with numbers on it, we got it yesterday:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Tissue-Paper-7-Gypsy-Tissue-Paper-Decoupage-Numbers-20-x-30-Inch-Sheets-12921

Here's what happened with that left over resin at the end of the video....I poured it into molds and made funky cabochons:

Some of them need trimming. I promise I will do a video on this soon.

I even mounted some of them:

That bottom one really glows. I need to put some color on that raw brass mount, though!

The top round ones fit really well in a 25mm mount. We have a couple with prongs as shown here. Here is where you will find them, among others, at B'sue Boutiques:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/bezels_mounts_frames.shtml

Find the molds here:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Resin-Jewelry-Molds-Cabochon-Design-25mm-11623 The 25mm high domed cabochon mold is my fave as you can use it SO easily.

Here's something else I used it in:

That piece is for sale on my new Etsy jewelry shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/179773323/bsue-boutiques-heart-pendant-with?

I used ICED ENAMELS on it, as well. I did that in yesterday's video, too:

Even though I have to admit it's an error and the enamel should have covered the whole inner part of the heart, I sort of like the fact that it didn't....looks sort of distressed, which is the whole design style of Iced Enamels product, anyway.

Now what if I set a cabochon on top of that heart instead?

Hmmm. Might be cool, you can see the enamel coming up through the bottom. I'd ring it with a bit of rhinestone chain. Here are some more miscellaneous components I made:

Backless bezels in the middle! I love using the heavy flat back rings we carry on the site.

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Brass-Ox-Heavy-Patterned-Circlet-Make-Chain-Versatile-20mm-11338

There are many styles like this throughout the B'sue Boutiques website that will work this way.

Did you know that you can DRILL right through resin too?

YUP.

Now then what if I did this....

Or....maybe, this:

or maybe this instead?

HMMM!!

Well, I gotta run.....but before I do, here is the link to the video. Grab a sandwich, it's a bit long, about 35 minutes. In this video we wrap up all the stuff we'd been doing in the two videos previous. It covers a WHOLE lot of ground...

yet there is ton left to be said. We'll get to it!

Posted at 03:31 PM in American Made Brass, Designer Finishes, Books in My Library, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology, Style and Color | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 09, 2013

Sentimental Creative Memories Can Be Life-Changers

You know....this piece qualifies as Sentimental Journey jewelry (as well as a lot of other things). Let me explain.

I'd pretty much lost my artistic groove after my bout with cancer in 2006. In some strange way, jewelry making now frightened me, possibly because I had used a lot of glues and lacquers to make assemblage, and that, for many years. I knew I needed to take what I used to know, be brave, and start over.

I had made friends with an Ebay customer who had dealt with some very difficult health challenges. She found that taking classes helped her stretch and keep moving. After reading METALCRAFT DISCOVERY WORKSHOP (North Light, 2005) I met Linda and Opie O'Brien of Burnt Offerings. They filled me in on what was new in the world of craft and even suggested some routes I might take.

This is me with them on one of my summer-day visits when they still lived in their place up by Lake Erie. They have now retired from the teaching circuit and live in a fabulous artists' co-op in the Berkshires. I love these guys.

Linda and Opie told me that the IT girl in the world of craft was Susan Lenart Kazmer. They knew her well....told me of her beginnings, her dedication as an artist. I actually had her book, MAKING CONNECTIONS. My own work had actually appeared in a publication by Lark Books published before I fell ill, just a few pages away from some of hers.

At the urging of my friend from Ebay....and the O'Briens....I decided to go that year to Glenny Moir's ART AND SOUL artisan retreat in Hampton, Virginia.

The last class I took was Susan's.

The class was about mixing and pouring ICE RESIN

The window opened. Light poured in.... I jumped through that window.....ran.....and never looked back.

Susan is a caring and attentive teacher; we learned numerous techniques but when it came to casting, I'm afraid my ADHD brain was already on its own creative circuit, going its own way, playing at my desk. I couldn't stop filling bezels with resined paper and bits of debris on my work surface.

There is Susan, teaching the class....me taking pix and then off doing my own thing. ACK, I hate that I do that. I could have learned so much more, but I always take another fork in the road when I get on a tack.

So....long story short, as she was instructing us about how to cast resin, I made the necklace. I felt so in my element, as though I had been on a long journey, got lost and all of a sudden, found my way home.

That's one of her signature bezels, given to us as part of our class kit. The backing piece is a bit of B'sue Boutiques brass that I patina'd via my gingerbread method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctp5xFW7XJM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hwY6gwL30

The wire is my take-off on a little wire embellishment she showed us. The pendant is hung on a twig I had in my doofus bag, brought to the class....wrapped with some sari ribbon I bought from her assistant that day.

Inside the bezel is a bit of resined paper from an old math book, watch parts and some copper scrap from my desk.

Here is the back:

The piece went together like Kismet. I came home feeling validated! Yes I WAS still an artist! How wonderful to realize that I was no fraud, just selling all these bits and pieces, and watching everyone else do the work. I was ready to develop my own NEW body of work.

Taking a class from a teacher who inspires you can force you to take a turn in the path you were on, or rediscover a path you have lost. It can open new doorways, create new revelations. This was not the first time I'd played with resin. I'd done it for 20 years--at least! It was not til Susan's class that I finally GOT it, and realized, sheesh!

Brenda Sue, YOU are a *mixed media artist*.

This piece is extremely sentimental me. It was a sign by the road that pointed me in the right direction. Do you have a piece like that?

May 16-18 we will be hosting Christi Friesen for the FIRST ever B'sue Boutiques artisan retreat. I have not taken a polymer clay class before, but I believe in starting at the top when you can. Just as I started at the top when I went to Art and Soul and met Susan, I'll be starting at the top when Christi comes here for the weekend to teach the class. And no, it ain't my first rodeo with clay. I expect I'll be having many NEW ones after Christi comes.

The class will max out at 35 students and it will be another life-changer, so....my advice?

COME AND JOIN US. Write me through the website at B'sue Boutiques for details.

Now, then: If I could dream, I would dream that Susan Lenart Kazmer might come this way, someday....and that maybe some of *you* might show up.

Y'know, since I took *her* class and got busy pushing out videos at You Tube some of *you* have hopped on planes, come here, spent a weekend learning right here in my shop....with ME. I've been told that was a creative breakthrough for those artists. Amazing. WELL: imagine how fine it would be to attend a class of your peers in a low-key, focused study of something you can REALLY use in your journey.

Wow.

Your own personal Sentimental Journey.

Thanks to Susan Lenart Kazmer for being the amazing person she is, sharing her knowledge through two great reads, MAKING CONNECTIONS and RESIN ALCHEMY...and for being my teacher that day.

I have never been the same.

Posted at 04:15 PM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Featuring Artists Whose Work I Admire, It's My Life, Mixed Media Technique, Polymer Clay, Resinology | Permalink | Comments (3)

November 02, 2013

Let's Take the Confusion Out Of Brass Colorants: My Top Essentials List

Let's face it: we probably all have big junky bins of product in our workshops. We bought it on a lark, never took time to learn how to use it, and every time we look at it, it just makes us mad that we wasted our money on it, for whatever reason.

YET: there ARE things in those to-do bins that are worth your time. If you have paints, inks, patinas and other colorants, and you use metal (especially brass stampings) I would have to say it's time to plot a course and get busy. Those colorants can be creative life-changers.

Let's just make this short and sweet. I do use brass stampings alot, and I like to give them my own personal look. Best way to do that is to finish them myself. SO:

I am going to name for you the products *I* will not be without in my workshop:

1. A creme brulee style mini torch for putting fast patina on brass. Here is a video to tell you all about that:

Heat Patina with a Torch

2. A variety of simple acrylic paints. For me, black and several shades of brown are NUMBER one, colors after that.

3. GILDER'S PASTE: You can buy a whole truckload full of Gilder's Paste colors, but I have found that most people use the ones I have on our website the most: http://www.bsueboutiques.com/gilders_paste.shtml

For me, I don't even need all of THOSE. Gimme white, patina, black, African Bronze and German Silver, and I am satisfied.

4. SWELLEGANT: I like EVERYTHING in this line and NOTHING in it is expensive. Here is a tutorial to help you get started:

Swellegant Patinas, Dye Oxides, Metal Coatings

For me, the essentials in this line are:

Metal Coatings: bronze, brass, copper

Patinas: Tiffany Green and Darkening Solution (with this Darkening Solution, you don't need LOS anymore. Get rid of the LOS stank factor, this stuff is fast on copper AND brass (silver too)

Dye Oxides are really good for adding a little color on polymer clay and also for dyeing chain. They are rather matte. Pick the colors you like best!

Clean up with the metal coatings is simple. Keep them well sealed. Use gloves with the Patina, saves skin irritation. Low odor, smells kind of like vinegar. DYE OXIDES: believe it, they **are** dyes. They stain. Protect your surface and wear gloves.

Swellegant Patinas, Metal Coatings and Dye Oxides F/S

4. Lumiere Halo and Metallic Paints by Jacquard

Originally these were paints for FABRIC but experimenting, I found they were great for a wash of color on metal. I love to use them with a sponge. They are really inexpensive. We carry the Exciter package, which gives you nine colors for a pittance. They are water based and clean up is SIMPLE.

I would get BOTH sets....but if you can only get one at first, get the METALLICS:

Lumiere Paints

4. Alcohol Inks Alcohol Inks render vibrant color on metal, and yet allow the details in the design of a stamping to show through. I think those two things are their strongest selling points. I heat-set mine, but am told they will dry naturally overnight, as well. I am a BIG fan of the SPECTRUM NOIR paint pens:

Video by B'sue on Using Alcohol Ink Pens

Ranger Alcohol Inks are also excellent. I just love the control you get with the pens, however, which you will find here:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/inks_utee_accessories.shtml

We carry the 24 piece BRIGHTS and the 24 piece DARKS set. We also carry the 6 piece ESSENTIALS (neutrals like white, grey, black, interference colors). These are the ones I want in both of my workshops. There is a Pastel set, sorry, it is too wimpy for me. You can also get them in sets of reds, purples, pinks, blues, greens, yatta yatta. I don't think you need every nuance of every color in the world, so for me, invest in the two sets, learn to blend color and be happy. Although I would probably use the greens and browns sets. Hmmm.

5. Vintaj Inks by Ranger. These are a Ranger-made product with the Vintaj logo and brand. They are GREAT on metal, but rather opaque. They dry fast, you can heat-set or not. They look almost like enamel. You can do small bits with a brush, large bits with a sponge. They may also be distressed, which is really cool.

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/inks_utee_accessories.shtml You will find them in this section.

Honestly, I hardly ever use any but the Weathered Copper set, the Rusted Hardware set, and the metallics. So if your budget is limited, start there and then add as time goes one.

Sealants? Most everything is good with Krylon matte spray lacquer. Don't use Renaissance Wax on Gilder's Paste; it IS good over Swellegant and natural patinas like the torch. Swellegant Clear Cote is an EXCELLENT matte coat that is practically invisible. RESIN works nicely if you want gloss....of course, my resin of choice is always:

ICE RESIN!

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/resin_patina_supplies.shtml

So there you go. This blog post doesn't cover everything there is to know or will be known on these products, but to my mind they are the ESSENTIALS.

Sometimes you can feel a bit overwhelmed with so many products and you can't spend for everything. DON'T! You DON'T need the whole line. Buy a few of the basics and PLAY. Everything here is easy as pie to use; the only thing with any learning curve is Swellegant and cheeze, you can learn *that* in a half an hour.

Here's a video on how you can use them over resin flowers, too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T4bPEnNdpY

I hope this list of essentials helps!

Posted at 03:59 PM in Easy Peasy Projects, Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Jewelry Making, Mixed Media Technique, Resinology, Style and Color | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 12, 2013

Beautiful New Resin Work

Kermit said, it ain't easy bein' green....but in a case like this, I might have to differ.

Here you see a beautiful cuff bracelet in progress from UK Artist, Liz Fox, of Darkenrose Jewellery at Etsy. The resin work looks so luminious you might wonder if it's not ceramic, except for the brass that's showing.

At the same time, it's not just colorized brass with a resin top....I beg you to look more closely:

Taking note of the butterfly perched on top....this piece started out as a brass FILIGREE.

With a nod to the plique-a-jour technique developed by gifted enamelists of years gone by (one that comes to mind in particular is Lalique) Liz has meticulously filled every little stamped out brass 'cloison' with drips and drops of shaded resin.

The process is painstaking and takes a number of days to complete.

Also, we have the work of Oksana Bell of IFgal at Etsy:

Oksana dries and carefully arranges botannicals, wild flowers, sprigs and the like in clear layers of resin to make lovely pendants.

As you can see, with the above pendant she has also drilled/pierced the resin and laced it with leather, to give the edge a scalloped appearance.

We are grateful to have Liz and Oksana as members of the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group at Facebook Both regularly share their new projects; both are using resin, but in very different ways.....uniquely and expertly.

Currently our group has over 1,300 members, but we always have room for more. Most members are beginner level to intermediate although we do have members like Liz and Oksana who have mastered certain media. This is a sharing and giving group: Just this week we discussed jewelry photography with a very long thread, as well as another about the use of PayPal in your online businesses.

We invite all those making handmade jewelry and handmade components in ANY media to join us. While the group is sponsored by B'sue Boutiques Jewelry Supplies where we specialize in over 7,000 brass stampings with top of the line finishes and brand name mixed media products of the best sort---you do NOT have to be using our goods to participate at the group. We also invite you to post your links to your online stores where you sell your work.

Also invited are lovers of vintage jewelry and collectors of vintage pieces. We respect and learn from the old designs and are very interested in learning more about the history and culture of all sorts of jewelry making. So if you collect or sell vintage jewelry, you too are invited to join us!

We hope you will come right over and ask to be part of the group. And many thanks again to Liz and Oksana for sharing their beautiful and inspiring resin creations.