This workshop is packed full to really get you comfortable with these techniques.

We’ll start small and work our way up to bigger projects. I create 11 pieces in this workshop so you’ll be very comfortable when it comes to creating a few of your own pieces.
I’ll show you how to make your smaller pieces into suncatchers that you can hang in your windows to enjoy.

I want you to share a few of your projects that you attempt. I'd love for you to do the same steps I do in the workshop - start with a few small pieces and then work your way up to some of the larger pieces. I cannot wait to see what pieces you share in class! I have the list of supplies and I have some troubleshooting tips for you below on working with the art resin.

Supplies: (none of the links are affiliate links - just sharing so you can easily find items I am using)

Art Resin – You can get this product as many art stores online and possibly near you. This is a link to the Art Resin site where you can check out what is available and get more information about this product (https://www.artresin.com/). After years of doing resin pours and using many different products that were cheaper from the hardware store. This is now the only product I’ll use and recommend because it was created specifically for art and is the only one on the market rated to not yellow as the cheaper products are prone to do.

Photography tent – This is the tent most like the one I have been using for years to do my resin pours in. It is available in a few different sizes, folds up so you can easily store it, and is a fantastic way to create a clean environment for your pieces to dry without dust dropping on the piece throughout the drying process. What I really love about these is they come in sizes from 12″x12″ up to 60″x60″!! So matter the pieces you are choosing to resin coat – you most likely will be able to find a tent size that would work for you. If doing larger pieces – just make sure you get a tent larger than the art you are doing. This is going to be a bit of trial and error on your part – getting a tent the right size for the pieces you might be interested in doing. Just to give you an idea – the tent I have is 30″x30″ and would be good for doing pieces as big as 18″x18″ – bigger than that and I would struggle with using the tent as you need some extra space in the tent just to workaround.

Heat gun – I’m using a small Embossing Heat Tool in this workshop since I am showing you pours on the smaller boards. If you are doing really large pieces then you might check out a large heat gun – available in the paint dept of most hardware stores. The size and brand aren’t really a big deal on these projects – you will simply be using this heat tool to get rid of the air bubbles in your finish just after you do your resin pour. If you have a blow torch and are comfortable using it – you can also use the blow torch to heat the surface to pop the bubbles. (What you CANNOT use is a blow dryer. They don’t put out enough heat and blow too much air!) Another option is you can forgo using any heat – and if you see any air bubbles in your piece – you can simply blow on the bubbles and they will pop. I also use a Mini Torch in this class some to pop the air bubbles and I really love how easy it is and the safety features on it versus my bit torch! You don’t have to use a torch if you don’t want – a heat gun is enough if you prefer.

Frog Tape – this is the painters' tape I used for taping of the sides and back to prevent drips on our final pieces. It creates a cleaner sharper line than the blue tapes and works fantastic for the resin. You can find this tape at the paint store.

Silicone molds premade – These are the little set of molds on Amazon I’m using in class to make some coasters with leftover resin.

Palette paper – this is the disposable palette art paper I’m using in class if you want to try them out. They come in a variety of sizes and can be found at any art supply store. You can also use kitchen wrap, silicone mats, and I have even seen people use a plastic shower curtain cut to size.

Silicone in a tube – from paint dept at Hardware Store – make sure you get 100% silicone when you go.

Caulk gun – from paint dept at Hardware Store – brand doesn’t matter – just get a cheap one.

Hardboard panel – I’m using a hardboard panel, slightly bigger than my project, for some of the projects to use as a hard surface for my silicone molds – I have the palette paper tapped on top of them so they are covered and will let you remove the geode from the mold. You can use these or a sheet of cardboard which I also used in class for project 2. Makes it easy to get a good surface while you are making your geode pieces. These were also easy to move around when I was ready to put them in my tent to protect them from dust overnight. You can find these at most art supply stores.

Gloves – I recommend you wear some disposable gloves while working with the resin product. It is messy if you get it on you – which I always manage to do a bit – so having gloves on makes it much easier to clean up and keep it off your skin. You can get disposable gloves anywhere they sell medical supplies and usually at the art and paint stores. I got mine from the Home Depot in the paint department.

Wood skewers – I get these from the grocery store. They are the wood sticks you use to make shish kabobs.

Craft sticks – these I use a ton of in class for mixing paints. I love them. You can usually find these in the craft stores pretty easy and you’ll want to get a pack of 2. I got 2 packs of 100 and used about one full pack in class of the jumbo size sticks. The little sticks just seemed too small and I thought would be messier for me.

Crushed or tumbled rock/glass – I am using Ashland Decorative Filler in class from Michale’s. It is a crushed stone type product that you usually find in floral departments in the craft stores. They are used to fill glass jars of floral arrangements.

Paintbrush – I’m using a cheap 1″ brush in the video for acrylic paints

Paint for sides – I’m using small tubes of cheap craft paint in the video – I encourage you to experiment and decide what you’ll want to use to finish off the sides of your pieces. I also used Rub N Buff metallic wax and Gold Leaf on the sides of the resin pieces and love them too. Here are the guild glue and the brushes to go with the gold leaf.

Various hard surfaces such as cradled boards from the art store – these are used in the bonus projects. I was using 8″x8″ with a short side of about 7/8″ on the projects in class since I had that size in my art closet. You can use any size and any depth you prefer for your projects.

Products you can use to color your resin:

-You want to do some testing of different products here and you want to consider colorfastness also – this is why I start out class with the mini-projects – so you can do your testing on these before you move onto larger pieces

. -When you add color to your resin – you want to add no more than 10% color – to keep your resin stable. Usually much less is needed and I usually just use a few drops. The more paint you add to your resin – the less translucent your final color will be when you pour it on your project.

Fine Glitter – don’t get the chunky glitters – they just sink to the bottom of the resin piece when you pour it. You want the really fine glitter.

Metallic powders (blick ones I use) – I love these!! You can use any metallic powders you can find at the craft store or art store. I have a few brands of powders I’m using in class. Here are the Perfect Pearls also on amazon. These add color and shimmer and the shimmer is what looks so beautiful for a goede.

Other pigment powders or mica – you can use any other art pigments you have available to you also – just look around at the art store and see what appeals to you. These might not have the shimmer like the metallic powders do – but I like to add some glitter to these and then they sparkle too.

Inks – you can use India inks, acrylic inks and alcohol inks. Here is a look at the gold and silver inks I was using in class.

Acrylic paints – I like the more fluid paints – but you can use any you have available to you. ( I did see on another person’s project that the glitter acrylic paints – like you can get in the craft paints – don’t really work well and cloud up the resin. So if you want a color with glitter in it – then it is best to use a solid color acrylic paint in a few drops and then add the glitter to it like I do in class.)

Posca pens – these are some of my favorite art pens for lots of things I do in my art. They are really handy for drawing geode lines on your resin pieces. These come in lots of colors and a few different tip sizes.

Troubleshooting Resin

I have a few of my favorite tips for troubleshooting your resin:

Drips – In class I show you how to use the frog tape to tape off your pieces – this is such a life save for getting rid of all the drips you are going to encounter while using resin. I tape off the sides and bottom of my pieces – or anywhere I’m not wanting the resin to settle – then after you have let the resin dry for about 8 hours – remove your tape. 8 hours is perfect – the resin is hard enough not to be sticky – but still pliable enough for you to remove the tape and get clean edges. If you forget and leave the tape on til the piece has cured – then you are going to have a really hard time getting that tape off if at all.

Mistakes – mistakes are easy to fix – by adding another layer. You’ll see my add layers on top of layers I don’t love and end up with a beautiful piece. If you pour a layer you don’t love – don’t despair – you can add another layer tomorrow.

Linework mistakes – easy to fix. I show you in class 2 different paint pens you can use and how you can easily erase them if you mess up. Posca pens you can fix with a little bit of alcohol. The other paint pens I used and be removed with a little bit of odorless brush cleaner or any other cleaner you are using to clean up oil paint on your brushes.

Mixed too much resin – I definitely do this – and I always have a Plan B just in case. I showed you in class a few ways I use up extra resin including using small silicone molds to make coasters or other goodies, and by having a bonus project ready to do just in case I had too much resin mixed up. The last thing you want to do is just throw away that resin – it’s expensive. Have a side project ready to add to if you end up with too much resin mixed up.

My resin didn’t cure – there are a few reasons resin won’t cure correctly:

You didn’t mix the ratios correctly. If you are using the Art Resin – you need to measure it out and use equal amounts of each of the 2 parts of the resin. Don’t guestimate. Measure it out.
Another reason your resin didn’t cure correctly is you didn’t mix it long enough. Make sure you mix it for the entire time it requires. While mixing make sure you scrape the sides and bottom also to get all the resin mixed.
Don’t mix resin and hardener from different brands. If you have some leftover product and you are trying to use it so you mix different products together – they most likely won’t be compatible. Make sure you use the resin and hardener that come together.
Forgot to add the hardener. Don’t pour the resin by itself – it needs the hardener to harden!
It’s not finished curing. Don’t touch before it is cured. Follow the manufacture’s guidelines.
Too much moisture in resin – so this happens mostly when you are adding the paints to your resin – make sure you keep the maximum amount of paint or ink added to 10% or less. Any more than that and your resin won’t be stable.

My resin didn’t stay workable for the full time it should have:

If you are working with the resin and you think you have at least 45 minutes to work with it – but you notice that it is not workable after about 30 minutes you could have:

Resin is too warm – so it hardens faster – if it is over 75 degrees in your environment – then your work time is shortened.
If you use the heat gun frequently on the piece to mix the colors – you are shortening your work time.
If you warm the resins in a water bath for some reason – that will shorten your working time.
You mixed more than the maximum amount of resin at one time. The resin is a chemical reaction. Mixing more than the maximum recommended amount will cause the mixture to heat up more than expected.

My resin work time is longer than expected:

This could occur if you mix the wrong ratios of resin to hardener – you most likely will have an issue with this piece curing.
The temperature is too cold. If your environment is less than 70 degrees – then it could be too cold for the resin.
You mixed less than the maximum amount of resin at one time. The resin is a chemical reaction. Mixing more than the minimum recommended amount will cause the mixture not to heat up enough for a proper mixture.

Bubbles are in my resin:

You want to make sure you are using your heat tool or torch when you are working with your wet resin to get all the bubbles to rise to the top and pop. If you don’t do this step – you will have bubbles in your finished cured piece.

Resin cured but is still tacky:

Make sure you don’t touch your piece before it has been allowed to cure for at least 24 hours. It is usually hard to the touch after about 8 hours – but really better not to touch the surface til the next day if you can.
Excess humidity could cause this – make sure you are not working in a humid environment – you may need to run a dehumidifier if you have excess moisture.
You used the last bit of resin that was stuck to the side of your cup – that resin may not have been fully mixed correctly.

Resin and/or Hardner has yellowed:

This can occur when the Resin is past its date. Do not use a resin that has started to yellow. It will only continue to yellow from that point.
It can also happen when you store your resin incorrectly. It should be stored in a cool, dry environment. Away from direct sun.
You opened the resin and then stored it. Once you expose your resin to air – the shelf life is now much shorter than a sealed set. Try to have a plan to use your resin within a reasonable amount of time once you open your containers since they don’t last forever once opened.

Resin is cloudy:

This can happen if you have contaminated it with water.
It could also mean your resins are too cold and need to be left out in a room that is warmer, or warm in a water bath for a few minutes. Be mindful of the warm water bath – this could also shorten your working time with the resin if they are too warm.

DENISE LOVE

Artist & Creative Educator

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