Tag: crafts

Park Circle Farmers Market

I’ll be at the N. Charleston Farmers Market every Thursday in September and October (weather permitting). Come check out my booth!

Third layer of the sea

Today I added the third and final layer on my most recent batch of coasters – the water layer. Usually I do the water layer second, but I wanted to see how it would look if I applied it last. Hopefully we will see good results (in the next day or two, after it cures). For now, these are the basic steps I took in pigmenting the water and layering it in the coasters.

Mixing the “Natural Blue” pigment into the resin.

I mixed up about 8 ounces of resin, then poured about 2-3 tsp in three cups for the three different colors of resin. This turned out not to be anywhere near enough resin and I ended up mixing another batch of 200 ml later.

Dumping some of the “Caribbean Blue” pigment into the resin.
Mixing the 2nd pigment.
Three shades of blue. The third one is “Majestic Blue”. Sometimes I use a green, as well, but not today. The bold resulting colors using these pigments amazes me!
I poured the three colors into the mold over the first two resin layers that have already cured.
Close up view. It should be fine that the water/blue layer is over some of the sand since the sand is opaque. I will mix the colors in a later step and make sure any empty / clear spaces are filled.
Pouring more clear resin over the water / blue layer. Once the clear resin is on top, I can mix and move the colors around a bit to make it look more like water.

After pouring the clear layer, I gently blow the resin with a heat gun in order to remove any air bubbles that form. A few are OK, but I think too many bubbles detract from the final look of the piece.

I use a small craft stick to mix the blue colors in a circular motion.
Continue to mix the colors in a swirling motion.
Done mixing
Ready to cure.
Covered for the next 24 hours or so to keep dust out while they cure.

I need to stay close to the coasters I poured for the first hour or so after I pour them in case some bubbles emerge that need to be removed. For this, I use a heat gun, though many people prefer a craft blow torch. Hopefully everything will cure / harden nicely overnight and we can see how they turned out tomorrow evening.