Amber Rose

Hi there, for all you resin jewellery lovers meet Amber Rose

Amber Rose was created during a very unique and special workshop at Earth Spirit Crystals in Nuneaton, Warwickshire back March.  It was a bitter cold day outside but inside the workshop the atmosphere was warm, light hearted and a little emotional for all concerned as we were creating some very special and unique memory jewellery.

Amber Rose was my demonstration piece made using a variety of R F Bright Enamels Chemset Resins and includes a piece of Amber set into orange transparent resin. These resins are superb quality with such clarity, click the link to find authorised stockists.

I am writing a project on how to make a piece like this very soon so if you like it, keep them peeled or join me for a Resin and Mixed Media Jewellery workshop at Earth Spirit Crystals on 12th August.

Amber Rose will be off  soon to her forever home with a very special lady.  

Bye for now

Fi 

Powertex: A window on Jurassic

One of our many "favourite" locations on the English South Coast is the cliffs along Burton Brandstock and eastward to Lyme Regis.  I love the contrast between the types of rock and their the colours and the little secrets of the past they reveal.  I remember one of our visits to Burton Bradstock not long after a cliff fall.  I was in awe of the rock formation, the layering and the little windows the fall had opened up in to the past.  

So with that in mind and having also loved working with Tracey Evans on our Jurassic themed shows on HOCHANDA TV where my remit was a on jewellery, I decided to create a piece of wall art using the Stencils and Ammonite Moulds and remembering that fabulous holiday and location.  

Before starting with the frame, I got out my Powertex Ammonite Moulds (they come in three sizes) and mixed various colours of powertex with 3D sand to make a collection of ammonites.

For this piece I used Powertex Yellow fabric hardener to paint over the frame which was from my own stash, we all have stashes don't we? 

I then added some 3D sand and more yellow Powertex to make a fairly stiff paste.

Using a palette knife I spread the paste onto the painted frame in a vague linear patter until the whole frame was covered.  I then painted some more yellow Powertex loosely into the linear grooves and dropped on some 3D small balls for added texture.

Next I mixed more sand into yellow Powertex to make a fairly sloppy mix, rather like wet plaster.   I poured this into the cavity and then arranged my pre-prepared powertex ammonites.  

Some I laid flat and others i places a varying angles, as they may have done naturally.  I dropped in some more of the 3D small balls.

I then tool some Powertex Easy Structure - boy I love the texture of this stuff!!!

I used the three sizes of ammonite stencils from Powertex Jurassic Stencil.

I laid large one in one corner and carefully pressed through the East Structure.  Then in the opposite diaganal corner I did the same but using the small and medium stencils.

Next I used some Green Bister (mixed into a fluid with water) and sprayed across diagonally to add some weathering as seen in the image to the right.  I also added a few squirts of Red Bister.

As well as spraying evenly, I did a few short squirts to leave some blobs of bister randomly.  I felt this added to the natural weathering and formation of my cliff seen.  

I then left the piece to dry naturally overnight.

Once the piece was dry, I dry brushed over the non stenciled corners with a little more yellow Powertex that I had slightly lightened with Ivory Powertex, to give the impression of a shaft of sunlight passing over the shadows of the cliff as it revealed it's secrets.

Finally I used Powercolor Red Ochre, Colortrix Bronze Gold and Colortrix Power Pearl Red  Pigments with Easy Varnish to bring out the highlights and features.

I hope, if you got the ammonite moulds and the jurassic stencil from our Hochanda shows, that you have had fun using them and that maybe this project will inspire you to create some more.  

Don't forget to share them with us on our Powertex Addicts Facebook page! We love to see what you create!

Bye for now...

Fi 

Drying Flowers with the Microfleur

As promised this is a guide to drying and pressing your flowers using the Microfleur for the Fuscias and Forget-me-Knots Projects in 

Making Jewellery Magazine Issue 106

Hi there, did you get your copy of Making Jewellery issue 106?  For those who did, thank you for the many messages of support I really do appreciate each and every one.  As a thank you and as promised on my facebook page, here are a few tips to pressing and drying your own flowers.  In this example I am using Forget-me-nots as they feature in the design and are in flower at the moment.

Please note that comprehensive instructions come with the Microfleur press, these tips and how to's are from my own experience using the press.

I use the Microfleur flower press.  This comes in two sizes - 5-inch and 9-inch square -  and is available from Amazon at around £25 for the 5-inch and £40 for the 9 inch. So it is an investment but if you love your resin and working with real flowers it is a worthwhile purchase in my opinion. 

Below is the Microfleur 5-inch.  It is a neat and sturdy press.  The clips each side hold the sandwich together as explained below.

Sandwich layers

The press is layered as such: outer base, cotton pad, 100% cotton fabric.  Onto this you place the flowers to be pressed, then repeat the layers in reverse, i.e. cotton fabric, thick pad, then the top cover. 

Tip 1:    Check there are no little bugs on the flowers, apart from the fact I dread to think of them being incinerated, they also raise the temperature of the flower heads and you risk them over heating.

Using a sharp pair of scissors carefully remove the flower heads and place down onto the cotton layer.  I use some individual heads and some on stem.

Tip 2:  Make sure that when you pick your flowers, they are dry and not covered in rain drops or dew.

Tip 3: Try to put the flowers in the same direction, I have found it works best to place them face down.

One you have placed all the flowers in position, complete the sandwich layers as above. Then place a clip on either side of the press.  

Next place in the microwave and heat for 10 seconds, then check progress and repeat until sufficiently dry.  Watch carefully as it is very easy to nuke them!  I did mine for 30 seconds in total in 10:10:5:5 second blasts.

Once done, remove the clips and the top outer layer and let press sit either on a warm windowsill or in the airing cupboard for 24-hours.  [I do this because the very centre of the flower heads are thicker and take a little more drying than the petals.] The flowers must be 100% dry before you can add them to your resin or they will continue to decompose within the resin and your resin may also go cloudy.

This photo shows the flowers after they have been dried.

Tip 4:  I keep my flowers in a sealed plastic box with a little silicone sachet and in a box to keep them out of the light. This helps reduce any fading.

Tip 5: Waxier and larger more dense flowers may take longer, I suggest you place a single flower to test before doing more. 

Tip 6: I also keep a diary so I can refer back to see what settings and time worked best for each flower type I do.

The benefit of using the Microfleur is that the beautiful colour is retained and you they are ready to use within a day or two as opposed to a few weeks or months using the traditional method.  

If it is pressed flowers you are after you cannot, in my opinion, do better than invest in one of these presses.  I use the 5-inch far more than the bigger and costlier 9-inch (although I do have both) as it fits in the microwave more comfortably.

So that's it, have fun and don't forget to share your makes on my Facebook page and look out for more tips and tricks on here and on my Instagram page. 

Bye for now

Fi