OMG I am a pushy parent.

I took Fletcher to a dog show today and together we entered Most Handsome Dog and Dog Judge Would Most Like To Take Home categories. I couldn’t enter Best Specimen of breed because he’s got a spot of alopecia and a tear drop tattoo on his face which as far as I’m aware people in prison have those done one for each person they’ve murdered. And I forgot to enter Best Rescue Dog. Booo. Oh and I have a rather sore one-arm tan weirdly- don’t know how I just got sun on one arm as I was out all day.

Anyway the judge didn’t even look at him despite everyone in the crowd cooing over him. I was quite disgruntled he didn’t even get 4th place, and I vowed to go to every Dog Show I could to get some rosettes to put on the wall above his bed. Then it hit me, I’m going to be one of those pushy parents who expects top grades from their kids whilst riding a unicycle, singing show tunes and playing Grade 6 Clarinet at the age of five! I didn’t realise I had such a desire to win, but seriously, who could resist my Fletchiboo? 😛

Next Sunday I’ve found another local dog show (ha!) and he and Penny have entered the online one for our local Greyhound Rescue kennels here, we’ll show ’em!

***

In resin news I tested under the 100w bulb and it took 2 hours to set and not be tacky, however it was still extremely bendy due to the warmth so even thugh this is a fast time, it will need popping in a cool place for a good while longer- not one hour setting I’m afraid!

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Further resin tests

I tested the quick set resin last night under a 25w energy saving bulb. By their very nature they don’t emit as much heat as standard bulbs, but it got up to temperature. I had to raise it up at one point too, but I found that it could be demoulded after 2 1/2 hours- not the 1 hour I was looking for. Also by this point it was still very flexible and not ready to be sanded. I’m taking it to the other extreme and trying it with a standard old 100w bulb (now banned from sale) that I have lying around to see if this makes an improvement, and then I will explore standard commerically available bulbs.
Oh and I made this last night too from those pieces I didn’t know what to do with last week!

Resin Jewellery Kits

I seem to be blogging every day now, check me out!

Anyway, I wondered if any of my UK blog readers would be interested in a resin jewellery kit?

Usually this would RRP for £34.99 seperately when my site is working:

6oz of new Resin Obsession resin (cure time 6-8 hours- not 4 like I said in previous posts!- or 1 hour in an environment 65-70 degree C), comes with two measuring cups, RRP £12

1 bangle mould and one multi-mould (ideal for earrings and pendants), RRP £5 and £5.50 respectively

My book “Create Your Own Resin Jewellery”, RRP £12.99

I will also throw in 5 stirring sticks and cups and 5 peg bails to fix into your pendants for free!

I am pricing this at £30, and you get free UK delivery too!

All you need extra is a teeny bit of vaseline to wipe around the moulds to help release it as this is epoxy resin rather than polyester. You will also probably want some various jewellery findings depending on what you are making and some fine sandpaper to make the pieces all smooth and lovely. My book uses polyester in its instructions but the projects can all be easily adapted to use this resin.

So if you’re interested, please e-mail kerry@penny-dog.co.uk and I will advise of how to pay (Paypal). Limited stocks are available, so it’s first come first served!

Resin experiment continued…

When I went upstairs to check on the new Resin Obsession fast set resin last night, it had gone really bendy, like it still hadn’t cured yet. I can only imagine I didn’t stir it well enough, so at the minute I can’t tell the difference between this and normal epoxy resins. I will give it a go again and time it in the heat box once I have a bulb for it and then we will really see.

However, taking it out early did create something you can only do with epoxy, rather than polyester that I am used to- The bendiness meant I could fold it over and give it it’s own “bail” . I left this overnight and it finished setting that way, meaning no drilling needed, just slip a piece of cord through and voila! I think I have another tutorial to write!

Pretty new moulds for me and the new resin is here!

I’m in the process of testing the 1 hour set resin. At the minute it’s not setting fast, but I’ve not got a bulb for my heat box yet so it seems to be pretty similar to normal epoxy resin, albeit with more of a syrupy consistency. It’s also odourless which will appeal to a lot of people! I’m not selling this yet as I’m waiting on news to get my website back up and running, though if it is going to take a while I will list it in my Folksy supplies shop.

I got some new moulds today! One produces a nice domino size thick rectangle. I originally bought it to make beeswax thread conditioner bars from the beehive but it makes really nice resin pieces. Just testing the new resin in it at the minute!

I also got this shape, the idea being to fill the top in a different transparent colour to make it have a sort of stained glass look. First attempts did not go well however!

And my favourite. This is a mould that makes 3D diamond shapes! I am really pleased with this necklace and earrings set and will have it up for sale soon.

I’ll keep you posted about the epoxy resin once testing is over!

New moulds in the PennyDog shop!

There are now more stocks of Resin Obsession moulds in the shop (www.pennydog.com), sorry these have been out of stock so long! I’m also expecting some more top up stock within the next week, so things can only get better!

In addition to those you may have already seen, I have introduced another two moulds to my stock list, firstly a coaster mould. This looks like it would make a nice trinket dish if moulding on the positive side of the mould, though I haven’t tried it yet! Moulding on the negative (normal) side, you can create coasters- here is my example of what it makes!

I’ve also got a new multimould in stock which has hearts and stars for pendants, magnets, keyrings, etc, here’s some of the things I’ve made with that:

And here are the moulds themselves, I’m selling these at £4.50 each. (clicking will directly link you to the product page):

 

Resin Moulds now available!

When I first started in resin jewellery making, I was amazed that the flexible type moulds couldn’t be bought here in the UK. It’s also one of the main keyword searches that people use when coming to my website- but it was something I didn’t offer. The best- and also best known- mould “brand” is Resin Obsession, run by Cindy Carter in the United States. Her moulds are great and I’ve been using them almost from the very start. Her range of moulds is so thorough and ideal for all resin jewellery (and ornament) makers, but of course airmail isn’t as fast as we’d like- we buy moulds and we want them straightaway!

So the solution. Cindy has very kindly allowed me to be her UK supplier, so I can now confirm that a small range of moulds are available to buy in my shop! Depending on the success I may be stocking a larger range in the near future- and all moulds are delivered by first class post in the UK so you will receive them 1-2 days after ordering- hurrah!

Click here to see