Guess How Much I love You by Sam McBratney was a mainstay in our household when Sammi was little. Who could resist the floppy rabbit and the famous line depicted in this pendant? Well, we couldn't. It isn't strange then that I chose that for the focus of the jewelry the very week I came back from taking that same child back to college, a new college at that. My heart is not broken, but it is a little chipped, so this piece of art was cathartic for me.
With my idea in mind, I got some of my supplies ready. I already had the bezel and Ice Resin in my studio. If you haven't used Ice Resin before, you should give it a try. It is my favorite resin out there and is very user friendly if you follow the instructions carefully. I had a great teacher in Nancy Wethington!
My stamps for this project are in the picture about and below. Above is "starry night" that I stamped onto an old background paper with some spot colored watercolor. It was stamped twice in Lamp Black (touching perimeters) since the bezel was a little wider than the stamp. Below I stamped "to the moon & back"on white cardstock in Lamp Black ink (right image). I then took the stamped image up to the printer and reduced it 40% (left image).
I dried and trimmed the image to fit in the bezel before adding Perfect Paper Adhesive to affix. The fact that the stamped paper had some other color to it before stamping, added some interest to the sky. I was quite happy with that.
I cut the words apart and used the same glue and a toothpick to affix them to the background sky. It's important at this point to let everything dry.
Once dry, I like to give it a quick seal with Krylon to make sure the dye ink is not reactivated by the resin. I noticed while I was spraying the imperfections in the bezel's perimeter. These were Bali bezels and they all seemed to have that handmade look to them. I embraced the imperfection.
Now, the fun part starts. I am not a jewelry expert by any means but anyone can do it with some patience and the right studio ingredients. Handy items are: disposable plastic gloves, plastic plates, baby wipes, disposable medicine cups, and disposable stirrers of some sort. Below you see a medicine cup that I've used a Sharpie on to delineate the two amounts to pour. Part A is poured first to the first line and part B follows to the second line.
Gentle stirring for 2-3 minutes mixes them together so that they have tan egg white-like consistency.
There may be small bubbles no matter how gently you fold the two parts together, but I've had most of them disappear once poured or drizzled. If they remain, they can be popped later.
Before the next step, be sure your bezel is on something plastic. The resin will not stick to it as it dries in case there is spillage. This particular bezel is not as deep as some, so I prefer to drizzle the resin using the wooden stick. I have more control that way so that it doesn't seep over the edges. If that happens, your best bet is to use a baby wipe to take the excess off before it dries.
Thanks so much for visiting RubberMoon and me! See you on Valentine's Day in this very spot.
