I finished these yesterday and they cured overnight – here’s how they turned out!
Yesterday’s ornaments!
Category: Projects
Prepping for the Charleston Holiday Market
I’ve had a lot going on the past couple of weeks and I haven’t been able to make as many new small items as I expected for the Charleston Holiday Market that is starting on Friday. It’s a pretty big event, much larger than any I’ve ever done before, so it should be a learning experience! If you click on the link, you can get advance tickets for $2 off, or a coupon for $1 off admission. I was able to finally pour the resin on several new ornaments as well as the second layer of resin on a few resin ornaments and a coaster today, though.
I use stained glass for the leaves, berries and snowman and clear glass that is recycled from old windows to make these festive ornaments. I cut the glass for these ornaments and glued it down yesterday, so today it was time for the resin layer. After mixing, I pour a blob of resin on each ornament. A little goes a long way, and too much makes for more difficulty with drips, so it’s better to use too little and then add more later. I went a bit overboard with a few of these and had to wipe away a lot of drips. That also causes some of the resin to form on the underside in such a way that I have to scrape it off with a razor blade later, which is tedious and a little dangerous if you’re clumsy like I am.
I used a sponge on a stick to spread the resin around so it covers all of the top surface of the ornaments. The resin will settle itself down and look smooth once it cures, so I don’t worry about the streaks left by the sponge. I do have to use a heat gun a few times during this stage to remove bubbles. They are worse in the deep molds for the beach themed resin ornaments and coasters than the thin layer on the stained / recycled glass ornaments, though.
After the resin is spread, I place the glass blobs, chunks and chips I like to use for decoration in the resin. I also poured a little leftover resin into three new coaster molds that I decorated for the first layer of some more coasters.
Prepping for the Holidays
I haven’t been posting much, mostly because the dichroic window I’ve been working on has now been rethought as a sunset and it’s taking me some time to plan it. At the same time, I haven’t been doing much that is new and different, until this weekend. I decided to sign up for the Charleston Holiday Market at the N. Charleston Convention Center. It’s a big three day craft fair, held November 8-10. I usually do most of my holiday shopping at this event. This year, I’ll be a vendor!
When I was talking with another vendor at the N. Charleston Farmers Market about it last week, she suggested that I make some seasonal coasters for the event. So I decided to see what I can do. I haven’t used any really perishable / organic materials other than shells and beachy things, so plants are an expansion of my repertoire. I headed out into my yard and snipped some cheerful berries and greenery from my plants, then coated them with resin spray.
I then set about inserting my harvest into some coaster molds with resin. Hopefully they will turn out well – I read a few stories online of others’ experiences with plant based embedding and there were a lot of woeful tales of things turning brown. Fingers crossed that the resin spray helps deter that from happening. I even read that some folks use plain old hair spray instead of resin spray, which I may try when my supply of resin spray is depleted. I have two types of berries on hand, one from I believe a Pyracantha and some others from some Asparagus Fern in my yard.
I like how the Boxwood looks, but it is very thick and difficult to keep small enough for the mold. I used some extra resin spray on the cypress greenery in the batches I did today to see if they hold their color any better.