finally cracked the resin!

Right, So, a while ago I bought some polyester resin from ebay my usual shopping ground. I tried and tried to get the hang of resin and It was just not going to plan, if I wanted to craft with resin I was going to have to find a new way. So after a bit of research I found a very cool website that sells resin among other things crafty. I bought some to have a play and as soon as I had the new stuff everything fell into place!! It was the resin and not me!! Yay!! 

Since then I have been crafting with the resin like mad, with bloody brilliant results!! I've been making cameo brooches for the ol steampunkers. Molds and bezels purchased from ebay at very resonable prices and the resin was bought from www.metalclay.co.uk,LOVE that site and its very good value.

Then I bought some star wars ice cube molds for fun and I made some geeky jewellery. Then I got some more molds then some more!! Too much fun!! I have just got some Dr who molds too and can't wait to use them!!

Here you can see the carnage during the making and demolding process, making up the resin is FAR messier than once it's dry and ready to demold.

I will be painting the details on to some of these resin bits. Mostly R2D2, Boba Fett and the Stormtroopers.

This is what they look like as they are drying.

The best lesson I learned through all the trial and error of resin is to not be cheap!! Buy a decent resin and you will get great results. Lesson firmly learned I will only buy the decent stuff from now on!

steampunk cash tin

Ok so I'm starting to do craft fairs seeing as I have a tonne of stock from over the last few years of creating things. My first fair was the steam show at Chatham dockside, steampunk village! I could hardly do a steampunk event without being properly kitted out and my bright blue cash box was just not going to cut it!!

So out came the graffiti paint I had bought from Graff city. BEST SPRAY PAINT EVER!! Cheap and very very effective!! The whole thing was sprayed black first.

Then once that was dry, out came the gilders paste. I have fallen in love with the gilders paste and will be using it over and over and over. It gives such a great finish and is extremely easy to use but I wouldn't say it was cheap at around £9 per 27ml tin although it does go very very far!!

Once it was gilded enough to my liking I headed for my bronze charms and findings collection of which I had loads left after my steampunk wedding. Time to embellish!  I got all the bits on ebay if you wanted to buy some, at very reasonable prices too.

I also used some brown leather that I had bought in thin strips, It's for bike handles and was an ok price, again on ebay. I hot glue gunned that to the top, back and bottom of the tin to make it look like a vintage suitcase. I have been toying with the idea of sticking brad heads to it and banging a philips screw driver into it to make it look like screws but have not got round to it yet. ah one day I hope. 

I also sprayed the change draw in the mega cool copper graffiti spray too!

I added a bit of black felt to the bottom of the tin as it just adds a tiny bit more texture and class to the overall finish, but I didnt take a picture of that one! My bad!

I even steampunked the keys by adding cogs and glueing them on. Again no pic sorry.

Tea dying lace. Cheap and cheerful technique!

Here is a really simple and easy dying technique. I wanted some creamy brown lace so easiest and cheapest way was to tea dye it!! As you can see I got a bowl and 3 tea bags, put the kettle on and grab yo lace.

These were all the different types of lace I decided to try and dye (some don't dye very well and it was a bit trial and error as usual)

Mix that up to make some yummy tea, no milk or sugar tho! 

The longer you let it stew the richer the colour gets.

Chuck that lace in and give it a good stir!!

Now walk away and come back in half hour or so. I left it in for longer but it's not essential.

Grab a spoon and scoop it all out! I did not rinse these after I just hung them over the tap and waited till they were dry. And hey presto, creamy brown lace, perfect for your steampunk creations. (I will be posting them later)

Real fingertip in a jar! Yes, gross, but fun!

Ok So most people would find this a bit gross, not me! Ok so the story is... a good friend of mine cut the tip of his finger off about 6 years ago and as any normal person would be bagged it and put it in the freezer to keep! When he saw I was making things in little bottles he asked me if I could put his finger tip in a lil bottle for him and I had no reason to refuse!! So a few months later he comes to see me and has a lil bag, a tiny glass bottle and a small bottle of formaldehyde (I have no idea how or where he got it from)

The first thing I did was to put on some rubber gloves, there was no way I was touching it without them!! And I tried to squeeze that mother into a bottle but as the fingertip was soo old and had been frozen for years the bloomin thing was rock solid and was in no way going in that bottle. So I had to get creative.
He was adamant that I was not cut or remove any of it, to fit it in the bottle and I'm glad he was. 

In the end we decided to try and soak that sucker in some formaldehyde to see if it softens the finger up any. And the good news was that it did!! After 2 days soaking time, I donned the face mask, goggles and gloves again and jammed it into the bottle, POP in it went! Just soft enough to squeeze it in!!

I topped it up with the formaldehyde it had been soaking in and corked that sucker up tight. He was over the moon his fingertip could go on display in his house and he would never be without it again!!

TIL: I didnt make this but I had to get creative to get it in the bottle. Enjoy!! Hmmm maybe I'll take up takidermy next?