Part One Part Two Mix Add and Alchemy!

Recently I attended a week-long workshop in Durfort, France called Souvenirs Bijoux Deux and was lucky to have access to the knowledge and experience of Debbi Stauffer Simon. She is an encaustic painter and a Swarovski sales manager but she is also an instructor who works in various two part epoxy molds, clays and resins. She imparted a wealth of new techniques with resin that have me excited to explore and learn more, and to create some new projects and classes for the spring. Here's a tempting overview of some of the ideas we explored. Many have yet to be incorporated into finished pieces but I'm sure you can see the fun and potential in these techniques.

Making molds

We found so many great things at flea markets in Paris and outside of Durfort for mere Euros. With our special finds, we had more than enough inspiration for molds to fill. Here's a brass lion plaque I bought that I turned into a lighter bronze resin piece that I can mount on stiff backing and bead around. Bronze powder is added to Ice Resin and it sinks to the bottom of the mold. Debbi shared a lot of great mold-making tips with us!

Debbi showed us the tricks to making two part molds, and how to keep the resin from flowing over if your mold is uneven. Here's a lock mold and two different locks created from it. The bronze on the left is treated with a substance used in scrapbooking that, once it is sprayed with an activator, turns to natural rust patina. So cool.

Bronze powder

Bronze powder is added to Ice Resin after the resin has been thoroughly mixed and has settled a bit. It is real bronze and the more you add to the resin the heavier your finished piece will be. Here's a mold, the finished piece I created and the bronze powder. There are other metal powders too.

Marble powder

Another thing we learned to do with our molds is add a powder that mimics the look of marble. We prepped our molds with some mica powder or acrylic paint rubbed into them, to give colour to the white marble-look resin. You can also swirl acrylic paints directly into the marbled resin to get that veined look of marble. Here are some finished pieces that I need to make into jewellery that shows them off. 

You can also add acrylic paint or powders to raised patterns on flat texture plates then pour leftover resin on top. Once it's dry you can cut it out and add it to a bezel. 

Low temp melting metal

Debbi showed us how to cast metal that can be melted in a small spoon crucible and poured directly into molds. The cameo on the left is a different metal than the rougher metal poured into the lock mold on the right. I set the cameo into Ceralun and embellished with crystal nail caviar, a new product from Swarovski.

Apoxy Clay 

Lastly, we had so much fun with Ceralun, Swarovski's crystal clay. This technique is really fun. Mix the two part apoxy clay as per directions then transfer a photo onto the clay. Let it dry overnight and then scrub off the paper and finish with some wax. The large piece on the right was created by riveting bezel wire together as a frame to hold the Ceralun. The picture is from a 1930s French women's magazine called Lisette. 

The last photo shows a soldered silver wire bracelet that a circle of Ceralun was applied to, stamped with a vintage stamp I bought at the flea market, coloured with mica powder, then crystallized. It dried overnight and another circle of Ceralun was added on the opposite side of the wire and I applied crystal nail caviar to that side. The circle actually flips back and forth. The middle piece is bronze resin in a lock mold, and includes some chain mail and dangles. I gave it to our hostess to dangle in the window of La Cascade, our home for the week in Durfort. The last piece is Ceralun with a transfer of a piece of paper I bought in the book town, Montolieu. The shape was created with bezel wire and rivets. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of some different resin techniques. Inspiration comes everywhere, and cool things to mold are everywhere.