How To Create A Resin Finish On A Tile Pendant

In my Etsy shop you can find a wide variety of hand-painted resin pendant necklaces. Once I began creating and selling these unique pieces of wearable art, people began asking me about the process and how to work with resin. Resin is actually quite simple to work with, but it can be troublesome and messy if you don't know what you are doing. I'm sure that different people have different methods of working with resin, but here's my process.

All of my pendant necklaces start out with a wooden tile. After I create the miniature painting on the tile and seal it, I then mix up the resin and add the resin finish to the surface of the tile.

Here are the materials that you will want to have on hand to create the resin finish:

• two-part resin mix
  
• 3 oz. plastic bathroom drinking cups
• 1 oz. measuring cup/spoon
  
• tongue depressors
• toothpicks
• paper towels
• a timer or clock that counts seconds
• a flat surface to work on that you don't mind getting messy
• lots of light

To begin with, make sure that you are working in a well-ventilated area. Set up your workspace on a flat surface that you don't mind getting messy. Feel free to lay down any paper or board to catch any drips or mess that you make. Lay out your tiles face up. Check to make sure that they are dust and lint-free. To the left is an image of some of my tiles that have been painted and sealed, and are ready for the resin finish.

Next you will want to mix the resin. Using the 1 0z. measuring device, measure out 1 oz. of water and pour it into a 3 oz. plastic cup. Mark on the side of the cup where the top of the water is. Add another 1 oz. of water and make a second mark. Pour out the water and dry the cup. Pour 1 oz. of the resin into the cup up to the first mark you made. Add 1 oz. of the hardener up to the second mark you made.

Make a note of the time. Using a tongue depressor mix the two parts. After two minutes the resin should be mixed. There will be bubbles in the resin. This means that you have mixed the resin properly. In the image to the left you can see the bubbles that remain in the resin after mixing. Click on the image to make it larger.

Next, use the tongue depressor to drip resin onto the surface of the tile. Some people pour the resin on, but I find that using the tongue depressor gives me more control. I suggest putting less resin on the tile than you think you need. If after a minute or two the resin hasn't reached the edges of the tile(like in the image to the left), add a little more. Resin is self-leveling, which means it will spread until it reaches an edge to "cling" to.

You will notice that there may be bubbles in the resin on the pendant. You can see this in the image below.


After a few minutes, you should be able to use a toothpick to pop and or pull out the bubbles. Some people use a small blow torch to get rid of the bubbles, but I do not have one and have found that a simple toothpick works just fine.
After you have removed any bubbles, closely examine the resin for any lint or dust that may have fallen into it. Make sure you have several different light sources at different angles so that you can see reflections on the surface of the resin. Once you are finished, cover it with one of the 3 oz. plastic cups.
This will keep the tile and resin protected and keep dust from falling into the resin while it dries. Follow the timetable for drying time in the instructions included with the resin. For my tiles I allow three days total drying time before I turn them into pendant necklaces.

Good luck and happy resin-ing! :)

Cyber Monday Sale - Free Shipping and Two Pendants for $25

After being on the road for 14 hours yesterday with constant rain, traffic, and a ticked-off Kasey Jones, we are home! Tell me, how is it a good idea to do road construction on a major highway on Thanksgiving weekend? Who in the NC Department of Transportation decided that one of the busiest travel weekends of the year was the perfect time to have a major highway go down to one lane? Anyway, I digress; it's good to be home and get back into a normal schedule. :)

Today I am having a Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy shop! What is Cyber Monday you ask? According to Wikipedia, Cyber Monday "refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whereas Black Friday is associated with traditional brick-and-mortar stores, "Cyber Monday" symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The premise was that consumers would return to their offices after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online that they were not able to make in stores."

So today I am offering my own Cyber Monday sale. I am offering free shipping on all items in my store except for original oil paintings larger than 8x10. You can also purchase two hand-painted resin pendant necklaces for $25, when they are originally $15 each. Please see my shop for more details, and to see all my work!

Happy shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone is having an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving! I am out of town and will return on Monday, December 1st. Have a great day!

Amazing Carolina Etsians Team - ACE Team

I'd like to introduce to you the diverse group of very talented and creative individuals that make up the ACE Team, Amazing Carolina Etsians. The ACE Team is a relatively small Etsy Team of 28 unique Etsy shops located in the great state of North Carolina. ;) Last week I was given the honor of being offered team membership which I gratefully accepted! I'm very excited to be involved with such an energetic and passionate group, and am looking forward to working with such accomplished artists.

Here are the next ten amazing members and his or her shops:

Lauren of Austin Branson Company is located in Sophia, NC. She creates children's clothing and accessories. In her shop she has everything from door hangers, to bibs, to holiday dresses. Here is her cute Black and White Jumper.

Gayle of What's Her Name is located just outside of Charlotte, NC. She creates a wide variety of handmade items. In her shop she has items for children, holiday items, teas, and more. Here is her Spice Scented Hot Pad/Trivet.

Meredith of Merriwood Designs (who actually won the most recent giveaway) is located in Burlington, NC. She creates baby slings and carriers, t-shirts, blankets, and quilts. She is currently having a clearance sale in her shop. Here is beautiful her Pink Sparrow Pouch Sling.

Patricia of Tricia's Creations is located in Asheboro, NC. She creates a variety of hand-painted items including glassware, pocketbooks, ceramics, and more. Here is her Hand-Painted Ceramic Santa Head Container.

Dana of 31 Summers is located in Spindale, NC. She creates jewelry, bags, and baby things. In her shop she currently has several beautiful necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Here is her Autumn Flower Necklace.

Debbie of Debbie48 is located in Charlotte, NC. She creates floral designs, decorative plates, hand-painted gourds, and more. Here is her unique hand-painted "Gone Huntin" Wood-Burned Gourd Birdhouse.

Elise of In The Light Glassworks is located in Asheville, NC. She creates hand-blown glass, jewelry, ornaments, candle holders, and oil lamps. Here is her gorgeous Natural Glow - Hand-Blown Glass Circle Pendant.

Jenn of Newfangled is located in West End, NC. She creates jewelry made out of paper, decoupaged objects, and collages. In her shop she currently has bangles, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings. Here is her one-of-a-kind Elegant Flower Bangle.

Esther of Jazzturtle Creations is located in Mebane, NC. She creates one-of-a-kind hand-spun yarns, unique fiber batts, and wearable textile art. She also dabbles in decoupage here and there. Here is her Pumpkin Patch - Hand-spun Art Yarn.

Crystal of Pampered Ponytails is located in Thomasville, NC. She creates notepads, matchbook notepads, mini envelopes, mini note cards, promotional items, and more. Here is her Woodland Collection - Mini Notepad/Journal.


Stay tuned for more great and talented members of the ACE Team. Remember, if you are looking to shop with the ACE Team on Etsy, be sure to search with our tag 'aceteam.' Happy shopping!

Congratulations, Merriwood's Designs!

Congratulations to Meredith of Merriwood's Designs! She has won the giveaway of the $15 gift certificate plus free shipping to my Etsy shop! What I think is funny is that of over 130 entries, the winner is someone I "know." Meredith is a fellow ACE Team member and also has an Etsy shop at www.MerriwoodDesigns.etsy.com. She creates baby slings & carriers, t-shirts, blankets, and quilts. She also has a blog. Be sure to check out her shop! She has a lot of beautiful high-quality handmade items.

A big "Thank You" to everyone who entered! Be sure to come back around Dec. 15th for the new giveaway.

Amazing Carolina Etsians Team - ACE Team

I'd like to introduce to you the diverse group of very talented and creative individuals that make up the ACE Team, Amazing Carolina Etsians. The ACE Team is a relatively small Etsy Team of 28 unique Etsy shops located in the great state of North Carolina. ;) Last week I was given the honor of being offered team membership which I gratefully accepted! I'm very excited to be involved with such an energetic and passionate group, and am looking forward to working with such accomplished artists.

Here are the first ten amazing members and his or her shops:

Brandy of E.B Spider, Accessories and Gifts, is located in Charlotte, NC. She creates crocheted and knitted accessories, ornaments, gifts, and more. Here is her medium sized Mint Cupcake Purse.

April of April's Originals, Handmade Creations Just For You, is located in Mebane, NC. She creates everything from tote bags to diaper bags and everything in between. Look here to see one of her great bags, the Pleated Bag in Alexander Henry fabric.

Kelly of Gone Doggie, Handmade Items for the Dog and Dog Lover, is located in Pinehurst, NC. She creates dog-related items like dog collars, leashes, plushes, and tote bags. Here's her WONDERFUL large Duke University Blue Devils Dog Collar. Maybe while my husband is sleeping I'll trade out Kasey's collar...

Michelle of Mychelle creates a variety of things and is located in Graham, NC. Her common theme is that she likes to use recycled and re-purposed materials. She currently has bags and a couple hairbows in her shop. Here is her Blue and White Geometric Placemat bag.

Stefanie of Stefanie's Bownanza creates hair bows, braided & woven headbands, korkers, streamer bows, hand-painted bows, bow holders, and more. She is located in Asheboro, NC. Here is her Thanksgiving Woven Headband with Detachable Tommy the Turky Bow.

Jackie of Survivor's Therapy is located in Pinebluff, NC. She creates pillowcases, grocery bags, and more. Here are some of her beautiful Handmade Cotton Pillowcases.

April of Moore Magnets is located in Siler City, NC. She creates magnet boards and other fun stuff. She is also my fabulous supplier of wooden tiles for my hand-painted pendant necklaces. ;) Here is her Brown and Blue Wall Mount Magnet Board.

Beth of UberArt is located in Greenville, NC. She creates a wide variety of journals and pendants. Here is her beautiful Amber Gothic Pendant.

John and Emily of McCoy Toys, Hand-Crafted Toys, Games, and Puzzles, is located in Asheboro, NC. They create wood toys, games, and puzzles. Here is their fantastic Wooden Train Set.

Bernie of Laksaware, Handcrafted Scrubbies and Other Wares, is located in Stallings, NC. She creates scrubbies and other kitchenwares, diningwares, bags, and cases. Here is her brightly colored Cherry Berry Kitchen/Dish Scrubber.



Stay tuned for more great and talented members of the ACE Team. Remember, if you are looking to shop with the ACE Team on Etsy, be sure to search with our tag 'aceteam.' Happy shopping!

NEW - Fine Art Resin Pendant Necklaces!

I've been a busy bee getting ready for upcoming holiday art and craft shows. Today (and probably tomorrow) I have been and will be listing LOTS of new hand-painted pendant necklaces in my Etsy shop! I have numerous different designs ranging from cartoon dogs to Christmas ornaments. I have also added a new shape; the rectangle!

In addition to ones that I have already made, I am also offering custom-made pendants. One of the custom listings is for a custom portrait of your pet. You can find the listing here. Basically it's a tiny acrylic portrait of your pet that I create based on a photo you give me. The other custom pendant that I have listed in my Etsy shop is for a pendant painted with your business logo. I made one for the K9 Circle as an example.

If you're looking to do a little Christmas shopping, why not swing by my Etsy shop? ;)

JPLC 4th Annual Shopping Extravaganza Tuesday Night!

Looking to cross some loved ones off your holiday shopping list? If you live in or around the Triangle area, head over the the Johnson Pond Learning Center in Fuquay-Varina tomorrow night, located at 6523 Johnson Pond Road. From 6:30-8:30 you browse the wares of over 40 different vendors all in one convenient location.

Several of the vendors, myself included, will be hosting raffles but you'll have to come out to see what fabulous goodies you can win. ;) I will be there with a plethora of new hand-painted resin pendant necklaces that are not yet available online, along with some original oil paintings, reproductions, note card and envelope sets, and more!

So whether you want to get a little Christmas shopping done or buy a little something for yourself, come pay me a visit at the Johnson Pond Learning Center tomorrow night. I hope to see you out there!

It's Giveaway Time!

It's that time again. Time to win some free stuff! :) This month's giveaway runs from Saturday, November 15th to 11:59pm EST Friday, November 21st and the prize is a gift certificate for $15 plus free shipping! The gift certificate can be used in my Etsy shop, www.alloverart.etsy.com, where I have a wide variety of items. I have several hand-painted fine art resin pendant necklaces, fine art prints of some of my original paintings, note card and envelope sets, original oil paintings on canvas, and more!


Here's how you can enter:

1) Go to my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite item.

2) Come back to this post and leave a link or comment telling me what your favorite item is, as well as a way to contact you in case you win. This could be an email address or your Etsy shop.

3) Only one entry per person, unless you blog about my giveaway. If you blog about the giveaway, be sure to leave a link to your blog in your comment and you will be counted twice.

4) I will assign each entry a number. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. I will announce the winner on November 21st on this blog, as well as contact him or her.



Good luck!! :)

A Step-By-Step Journey Through The Creation Of A Pet Portrait

I have just completed another commissioned oil paint pet portrait on canvas, and this one I can share with you! In anticipation of sharing what is now one of my favorite portraits, I took photographs of the work in progress from beginning to end so that I could share with you what I do from the moment a client contacts me to the delivery of the painting.

Step One: I am given a photograph, either digital or print, to work from. It is important to keep in mind that the better the photo, the better the portrait. (For tips on taking great pet photos, click here.) The client and I discuss how he or she wants the portrait to look, and I get started. Here's the original photo I had to work from for this portrait.

Step Two: Next I sketch out the portrait on gallery-wrapped canvas with staple-free edges. I usually begin painting the background and lay down a wash of colors for the subjects.
Step Three: I typically leave the faces of my subjects for last, so the next thing I did was paint in the darks and midtones on the bodies, and some of the darks on the faces.
Step Four: Next I worked on the face of the Great Dane on the right, and then continued to add the highlights to the face and the body. In this photo the subject on the right is complete, except for some minor tweaking I always do at the very end. What a good-lookin' dog! ;)
Step Five: Next I worked on the Great Dane on the left. Here he is with all the midtones and darks, and maybe a smidge of highlights on the face. He looks like a zombie dog without all the highlights.
Step Six: Finally, I finish with the highlights on the Great Dane on the left, on both his face and his body. At this point I usually stand back away from the canvas and look at the entire portrait, and then come back and tweak a highlight here and add a shadow there. Then, this is the finished product!
After that, the next step is hopefully meeting a happy client, and giving said ecstatic client his or her portrait. ;) I hope you enjoyed the step-by-step process!