Ice Resin with Bri

Hello everyone, Bri here. 

 This month I have been playing with Ice Resin.  Crafters Cupboard stock this product - if it's out of stock, let them know you want some by emailing customer service@crafterscupboard.com.au - they will be happy to order it in for you !    

First up, safety. Ice Resin is an epoxy chemical, what ever brand you use it is essential that you follow the manufactures instructions when using resin. Please make sure you read the instructions, visit the manufacturers web site and do your research first before using this product. It's not hard to use but you must be careful. Ice Resin is one brand of epoxy and the material safety data sheet for Ice Resin can be found here.

The Ice Resin that I used comes in a handy syringe that contains the epoxy and hardener, which makes measuring a breeze. You must use this product in a well ventilated area and you must wear gloves. I personally have very sensitive skin but did not have any issues with the resin where I got a little on my hands. 

I found I had about 30 minutes "working" time before the resin started to become unworkable and dries clear and glass like within 24 hours (depending on the temperature). 

Ice Resin can be used on all sorts of materials from paper, metal and fabric to dried flowers, wood, feathers and mica powder, buttons, glitter, leaves and more. 

Now for the fun creations, I found a box of wooden domino's at the second hand shop and drilled a small hole at the top. 

I covered the domino's with several layers of gesso. I then covered them with a range of mediums from Treasure Gold, Fresco Chalk Paint, Acrylic Paint to Alcohol Ink. 

Treasure Gold

Fresco Paint

Once the domino is covered in a medium you can then decorate (I do apologise for the quality of this photo). If you use any paper on your domino's you need to ensure that the paper is completely sealed using matt medium, otherwise the resin will be absorbed by the paper making the paper discoloured (which may be an effect you might want) Secure any metals, beads, buttons etc with matt medium as it dries clear.

    

For my next project I took a bottle top caps and after a bit of trial and error I flattened them through my sizzix machine. You will need to experiment with your embossing / die cutting machine to figure out what plates to use, I used plate 2 on my machine and got a nice rolled edge. In the centre of the bottle top was a plastic seal which needs to be removed once the bottle cap was flattened.

    

Next I used a piece of scrap paper from a recent journal page I completed and stuck it into the centre of the  cap. I then stamped an image from a new stamp set by Paper Artsy (Jo Firth-Young, Jofy Plate 31) onto tissue paper. There are four stamps that fit perfectly into these caps. Secure the image with matt medium and give 3 or 4 coats of matt medium to ensure it is sealed completely.

    

Lastly, before mixing up my resin I grabbed some scrap paper and made some paper beads! Oh my goodness .. straight back to my childhood! I just cut some paper and rolled it around a bamboo stick, securing the finished bead with matt medium. Remembering that paper is porous I sealed the beads with clear embossing powder (you can also use clear nail polish). 

  

I was now ready to cover my projects with resin.

Mixing Ice Resin (instructions from the Ice Resin web site):

1. Work surface: Non-stick craft mat or plastic garbage bag (not a grocery bag).
2. Twist off the cap from the center tubes.
3. Wait a moment while the air in the tubes reaches the plunger top.
4. Apply equal amounts of pressure to both tubes with your thumbs as you push the resin into the craft cup.
5. Gently mix for 2 minutes with a craft stir stick, carefully scraping the sides as you mix.
6. Allow mixed resin to sit for approximately 5 minutes to allow any bubbles to dissipate.
7. Use the same craft stick and drip resin into the bezel or pour resin directly from the cup until you are satisfied with your dome.
8. You can use your craft stick to skim off the top any bubbles that form.

Ice Resin is quite thick and will hold itself when poured. I found that I could get good coverage over the dominos even despite how flat they are and that there were no "edges" to contain the resin. Pouring into the bottle caps was very easy. 

I had some resin left over so I covered several different types of paper (dictionary, napkins, scrapbooking paper) using a sponge, covering both sides of the paper.  You can leave the papers on your craft mat to dry and they peal off when cured / dry. 

    

Once the resin is poured your projects will need 24 hours to cure / dry, I left everything on my craft mat, it all peals up when dry and only takes a quick scrub to remove any left over resin. To finish my pendants I secured both the bottle tops and dominos with jump rings and attached them to pre made 43cm necklace cord's. 

 

Here I used my dictionary paper beads in a bracelet.  

Ice Resin is such a wonderful product and I have loved using it in my craft projects this month. All my left over resin paper will be used in art journals and cards that I create.

Until next month .. happy crafting everyone. 

 Bri