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Thursday 18 March 2010

Experimenting With Resin And Mumblings

On Friday last week, then the whole weekend to follow i worked on lots of small items i want to have on my stall at kensington. These were tiny items like mushrooms, horns, bones, dragon skin and a whole load of other little things. My idea is to sell them in packs so people can scatter them around their witch and wizard houses.
On Monday i baked them... well more over baked them and the whole lot burned apart from the dragon skin/hide. Dont know how this happened and have accused everyone for touching the oven.
So quite sad to have lost so much valuable time and two massive trays of work. I didn't get to do a lot last week apart from those few days, so a whole week was wasted with nothing to show.

For a few days ive been experimenting with resin. The resin i have is Solid Water by deluxe materials.


I didn't have the colour dyes that are sold to go with resins so have been running experiments on alternative ways to colour it.
Perhaps everyone already knows but i discovered artist oil paints work with resin. You just need the tiniest amount in your mix and can create any colour of your choice.
This brand of resin dries really clear and has a high shine. I think if my memory serves me right it takes a lot longer to dry than other resins.
I also found it was so much easier to fill the test tubes and small glass items with resin unlike scenic water and liquid fimo. I didn't use a syringe like everyone suggested and just used a cocktail stick to drip the resin in.

Heres a picture of my testers.





I didnt make a lot because i was worried something bad would happen as it all dried like chemiacal reactions against the oil paint and polymer clay.
They are now all as hard rock and perfect with no chemical reaction, so will be making a whole load more this way.
The bowls are to become penseives on wooden bases and are hollow below the resin. I've left the hollow gap to add lighing trough the base. Hoping the light idea works!


I've also been trying to make dragon books and pleased with them so far. These are
my testers.
I've spent hours again experimenting trying to create a look of leather.
Quite a few of the book trials are total failures but at least through my tests ive found a way that works for me and learned a lot.
The eyes in the centre were paper (found the images online) that ive built up with liquid fimo and baked.
Once the book was totally complete ive added resin to create a high shine on the eye.
Will be making a load more of these because i love them to bits.
They are made with a combination of materials like tissues, polymer, ink and resin.



22 comments:

  1. Don't you just hate it when "someone" messes with your equipment? ;-) I know exactly how you feel.

    Love the Dragon books! Really cool and great texture.

    Just keep working......

    Tabs

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  2. Hi Nikki,
    Sorry to hear your baking didn't go well, all that work, its awful. But your books are brilliant, I'm hoping you will put some in your Etsy store, one would look great in my Wizards bookstore ;0)
    B&Q are currently stocking black leather look wallpaper, I think it will be perfect for minis, I will pop a pic on my blog to show you, perhaps you can turn it into something amazing, correction... I know you will turn it into something amazing :0)
    Julia xx

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  3. You're so amazingly talented person, I love all of your stuff, you better open the Etsy-store soon :D

    Ira

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  4. it looks fabulous! I like the dragon eye books.
    Too bad it went wrong with the baking, but is there really nothing you can do with it, by painting or using it as a base of something else?

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  5. You always surprised me...the books are brilliant!!
    I have never work with solid water...seems so interesting.I will try it ;)
    Un beso

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  6. Nikki love the books! I think one with loads of paper, like a really big fat book would look fab too! The eye idea is great. Has inspired me to redo my Hocus Pocus spell book, have been itching to have another go at it for ages and seeing this has motivated me!
    I use oil paints with scenic water and its always stayed true to colour, as has food colouring. The pensieve idea is fab , Im still trying to come up with a design for my Harry Potter house one , want to incorporate it into the bookcase along one wall, so that a cupboard opens up with the Pensieve in, easier said than done Im sure! Must be stressful working on the show stock, especially knowing your work will be SO popular and be grabbed up the second those doors open.....no pressure but you just know it will!!!!! Kate and John xxx

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  7. Wow, those books are amazing! Sorry about the oven fiasco. It just means the next batch will be that much better! :)

    Cia

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  8. What a loss just because "somebody" had been fiddling with the oventemperatur... I love every bit of your fantastic work, but the dragon books are fabulous. I´ll have to make an order from oyu very soon. I really need some magic stuff... like a dragon skull, some bones, a dragon book and lots of more stuff...

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  9. Those books are BRILLIANT!

    I am in need of dye for scenic water, so thanks for the tip about the oil paint! Of that I have a-plenty.

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  10. Sorry to read about that trays... I love your ideas! You show so many great stuff I would love to have at once with me:) I can only hope you will have some leftovers after Kensington and put them in your etsy shop, so that I would be able to buy some :)

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  11. It's rather awful that you lost so much work. :o( Great stuff too! However, you have oodles of time to make more and the dragon books with eyes are fantastic!!!! I hope I can grab one and a few other of your fabulous things at Kensington (all being well!).

    I know what you mean with regard to resin now! lol If you had said Solid Water I would have known! lol I have that too, but have never used it.

    Michelle xxx

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  12. Awww Nikki I know what its like to have the oven burn pieces of work ((( hugs )))). I burnt some hands once and used them in the Hecate scene I made for CDHM ages ago. I but the charred limbs in a fire LOL (I know gross) cant you use them for something like that aged, decrepid etc.
    I love your new books and I am sure that the resin experiement will go well.
    Debie xxxxxxxx

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  13. I bet you said Grrrrrr at the burnt offerings, I think I would have screamed!
    I absolutely LOVE the red dragon eye book!!! and am going to HAVE to have one of them! as I imagine will many more peeps that see them, hope your prepared to make quite a few!!!!

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  14. what a shame about the burnt offerings Nikki, its happened to us all but that doesnt make it feel any better !
    I love the dragon books , they are fab :0)
    I must admit I have a panic every time I see how well you are preparing for Kensington.I'm
    still not ready for Miniatura and havent even thought about kensington yet.....yikes !
    julie :0)

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  15. The Dragon Books are fab Nikki, the colouring and overall effect is wonderful.
    Blooming shame about the oven though....it does make you curse thats for sure and its usually the good stuff that gets burnt.
    Moonies are another thing i always keep pinkies crossed not to appear after baking.
    Your Table is going to look fantastic.
    Julie
    xxxxxx

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  16. Nikki thank you for the message you left. I am going to use just plain old resin. I will not be able to find anything as 'outlandish' as scenic water in my neck of the woods!

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  17. Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm a big fan of your work! Today I actually went to the city to buy myself some Fimo Clay, a lookingbox and some painting, thanks to you... (that's a good thing). You are a great inspiration! It was one thing I wanted to ask you about, I know it's alot but, I really liked the skulls and the eyebook. So the question is " could make a tutorial about how to make them?"

    I'm going to keep on reading your blog, and can't wait for the next prodject!:)

    Benedichte

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  18. Wow I love your new books. Don't worry about the bad week I once was baking dolls in the oven and ruined £600 of stock ouch!!!!!

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  19. Hi Dikte. I wont be able to do a tutorial because its too time consuming and dont have much time at the moment.
    I will pop over to your blog now.
    Nikki xxx

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  20. Thanks so much for sharing your exeriences with all sorts of materials, it's really appreciated out here amongst the mini world!!
    Glenda

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  21. I can relate unfortunately. Made a beautiful little batch of peaches yesterday and they turned an olive brown due to my toaster being too hot. I also tried to make pickled peaches and used the regular resin with the little drops of catalyst and screwed that up so that they looked encapsulated in air or glass so had to soak them in acetone and start over. I've now bought a different resin but haven't worked up the nerve to try it yet.
    The dragon books are wonderful!

    Jody

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  22. Nikki, the books are just exquisite! Love them! I know what it's like working on something new and then having it completely go to pieces, but it's all a learning experience, isn't it? That's why I take a week from time to time to test out things and jot them down in a notebook. I have two part resin that I haven't played with yet, but I've never heard of Solid Water. Wonder if it's in the States? I'll have to check. By the way, I posted here a few days ago, and I guess it didn't register for some reason. But I wanted you let you know how awesome this new work is! {+:

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