Resin Collages

My regular readers are probably familiar with my 3D resin pendants - but embedding objects in resin in only one of its many potential uses in jewelry making and other crafts. For example - it is a great medium for making collages, and because it stiffens and seals paper, creating a collage with resin is a great way to prepare paper for use in jewelry projects. Just think of all the things you can do with paper...write on it, paint on it, draw on it, print on it...plus you can use pages of old books, magazines, newspapers, photos...and don't even get me started on all the cool stuff available to papercrafters today like stamps, embossing powders, metallic inks... [caption id="attachment_528" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Detail from Resin Collage featuring current events"][/caption] One very important thing to know about how resin affects paper: if you apply resin directly to paper, it tends to make the paper transparent. So if you have a piece of paper, such as from a magazine, that has text or images on both sides, you may want to seal it with glue or mod-podge before using it in a resin collage. (Or not, sometimes the transparent, double-sided effect is nice.) Also - because resin will seep through paper and fabric, you need to have a sheet of plastic underneath your collage to protect your work surface. I used a sheet protector, and when my collage was dry, it just peeled off. I'm sure you could use other kinds of plastic, but I happen to have some old sheet protectors lying around so I used what I had. I can't guarantee all types of plastic will work as well...so try this project at your own risk! [caption id="attachment_529" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Resin Collage featuring current events"][/caption] For my collages, I tore articles out of a recent issue of the San Francisco Chronicle - politics, hurricane Gustav, and some sports clippings. I also used scraps of ribbon, and some tissue paper that had been used as wrapping for a baby gift I received. So the materials, other than the resin, are all recycled. The technique is pretty simple: mix your resin according to the manufacturer's directions. I used about 1/2 ounce of resin for my collage. I laid out a layer of paper on the sheet protector, and using a foam brush, coated it with resin (on both sides). Then I layered tissue and ribbon over the paper & covered that with resin, again using the foam brush. I made sure everything was coated well and sticking together. At one point, I peeled the collage off of the sheet protector and flipped it over so I could add stuff to the back. When I was satisfied with how it looked, I set it aside to cure. [caption id="attachment_530" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Resin Collage featuring sports news clippings"][/caption] Resin safety tip: wear a respirator and work in a well-ventilated area. I worked next to an open door, with a fan blowing fumes away from me. Once my collage was completely cured (you can tell because it doesn't feel sticky) I peeled it off of the sheet protector. I noticed that I could have done a better job of getting rid of air bubbles while I was working, but it still looks pretty good - you can read the text in most places, and there are areas that are transparent with others that are more opaque. [caption id="attachment_531" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Detail from resin collage featuring sports clippings"][/caption] Resin tip: if the resin doesn't ever stop feeling tacky, unfortunately you probably mixed it incorrectly or got the ratio a bit off. It's important to be very precise when mixing resin, or it won't properly cure. If this happens, and you really want to save the piece, mix a new batch of resin & apply a coat over the piece, again allowing it to cure - 90% of the time, this has worked for me. Now that my collage is finished, I'm going to cut it up and use the pieces in a jewelry-scale project. With mica! Related ideas you could try:

• plasticize a sheet of paper or fabric using the same technique - just don't layer anything with it
• add pigments or glitter to the resin to add some color or sparkle to your collage
• incorporate non-paper objects into your collage - resin sticks to most non-plastic, non-wet objects