Good Morning,
Today's post is brief as we give a quick tip or two for ordering your gifts this Holiday Season.
The Alchemists Vessel shop on Etsy will be closing down after the last item has been scheduled for renewal. I believe the date is December 27th, 2014. There will be special deals for blog readers as we get closer to Christmas.
Shops on The CraftStar and Handmade Artists will remain open and new items are being added slowly but surely.
Handmade items take time. If you would like to order a custom piece, or change the length, add beads or gemstones to an existing shop item, or request a new design, please have your order requests or questions to us no later than November 15th, 2014.
All Ready-To-Wear orders can be guaranteed delivery before Christmas if ordered on or before December 10th, 2014. The Alchemists Vessel cannot guarantee delivery of items ordered after December 10th, 2014.
Bookmark, Favorite or come back often and see what we have going on.
Thank you for stopping in and having a look.
The Alchemists Vessel would like to wish you a pleasant day.
Good Morning,
Wednesday, and the middle of the week has arrived. I always liked Wednesday, you can wind up those projects, finish what has been started and plan for something new, with two more days to get organized.
Today, I want to take another little diversion and discuss a cool product, material to which my friend introduced me. It is called Apoxie Sculpt, and it is a two part colored epoxy material. Rather like play doh for adults. Not clay and not really a polymer clay either, it is sticky and gooey and an enjoyable medium to with which to work.
It comes in a variety of colors and weight packaging. I purchased the 12 color sample pack for $39.00. A little goes an ENORMOUSLY long way. You receive three packages of four colors each. It comes with brief instructions and the rest is up to you.
The colored piece is Part 1, the other is Part 2 or A and B. I have chosen red and black for the following example.
First you will need equal amounts of parts 1 and 2. I highly recommended wearing gloves during this part, the color will transfer to you fingers. Parchment or Freezer paper works well as a work surface.
Now the fun part, knead the two parts together until the grey streaking is gone and the ball is a uniform color. I do not suggest a pasta machine at this point, the Apoxie will stick to it. Did I mention this stuff is sticky? I mean it will adhere to anything!
Smash it good!
Remember, no streaks! Knead it until the color is uniform. The color has also transferred to the fingers of the gloves I am wearing. I told you to wear gloves.
Now the hardest part of all... waiting. Wait one half hour to forty-five minutes before continuing to work with it.
NOTE: The black ball is WAY TOO much for what I needed.
I said wait...
Tick. Tick. Tick.
This is where I stopped taking photos, during the process. Bad me! After the allotted wait time is up, you will have about two hours to work with material before it begins to harden / set. You can even bake it if you so choose, but I would allow it to cure over night, after you have completed your project.
NOTE: You may work with the material after the mixing is complete, however it is difficult to work with as it will STICK to everything including you, your work surface, clothing, etc. I did say this stuff was sticky right? In fact, if you plan to stick on or to something now would be a fabulous time to do that.
Using a Pasta Machine or any kind of round or flat object, roll out the Apoxie as you would clay or dough. Mold it, shape it, sculpt it. Critters, flowers, jewelry, the choice is yours. Sand it if so desired when dry. You can even paint it if you like. The possibilities are endless and the colors mix nicely.
Rolling out the Apoxie, and using a clay cutter, cut the Apoxie shape out of the flat piece. Textured with a design plate and adding a grommet and a rope of Apoxie for the bail, let dry over night. Painted it with a "dip" technique, the finished piece is lovely.
Painted with a dip technique colors included, copper, silver, blue and lime green.
Although I have stopped selling the Apoxie jewelry on line, it is still available. However we have new uses for it, and I hope the project will be one that I can share.
Thank you for stopping and having a look.
The Alchemists Vessel would like to wish you a pleasant day.
