Resin - fun and games with additives

I spent this past weekend doing a lot of experimenting with quick curing resin. So I thought I'd share a few of the more noteworthy ones here.

I had a few ideas floating around in my head about what I wanted to try such as using different materials in the bangles..... not quite what you'd call embedding as there's no placement of materials in the mould but instead, stirring an additive material directly into the resin before pouring to add colour and interest.

And oh what fun I had..... one of the dry materials I had chosen caused the most incredible foaming reaction. Don't have a photo to show - really wish I did because it looked just like that expanding foam you use to seal around cavities - it just kept expanding and expanding - out and over the top of the mould and almost completely enveloping it before eventually stopping so I could think about rescuing it. What I learnt was that even materials which you'd think are bone dry can still contain moisture! Well anyway, it's produced a very interesting bangle. And with so much air trapped inside it, its lightweight too!

I'm calling this my Floam bangle - a disaster turned into triumph. It's actually quite glitzy but the photo hasn't picked up the glitter in it.

Here's another couple of experiments I tried - this first one using metallic coloured glass shards which were predictably too heavy to stay suspended in the resin and they are all sitting around the rim. This was a simultaneous pour job - tricky to do but it produced an interesting result.

This one is also a double pour, but one after the other instead of simultaneously. You have to work ultra fast doing this with quick curing resin but I think it's worth experimenting some more with this technique.I love these colours - another piece to add to my wardrobe, I think (see this earlier post).

I also played with a ring mould - nothing fancy here, just colour and pour. Just a bit of fun!I still had problems with bubbling - more noticeable on the translucent red than the opaque ones - must have been a fair bit of moisture in the air yesterday. Another thing to remember - make sure you're not working in humid conditions with PU resin!

Thought I'd also add a reminder here that there are still a couple of places left in my next resin workshop on 8th November. Email me to register your interest or check out my website for further details.
Oh, and I've updated my resin bangles page with some newer photos - why don't you check them out.