Yesterday in Part 1 of Enamel Accents I shared with you my experiences using Ranger's new Enamel Accents paired with Memory Glass and Memory Frames.
I thought that maybe some of the problem might have been because the area I was working with was so large so I decided to give smaller charms a try to see if it changed the results.
Initially I decided to try and use ultra thin charms ~ less than 1/16th" deep wells. I used a bracelet blank and a small square charm.
I started with the bracelet blank which I filled with Black Enamel Accents. I then added a few drops of White Enamel Accents and gave it a swirl.
It started out looking like this....
but as it started to dry it turned into this....
So I let it dry a bit more until the black was very thick and tacky then added 2 additional drops of White EA, swirled again as best as possible. It dried to this....
Next I used the ultra thin charm blank which I filled with White EA, added 1 drop of Black EA and swirled. I also at this time dropped in a small clear gemstone for a bit of bling.
It started out looking like this wet...
And dried to this.... You will notice the Black EA spread quite a bit but it still looks nice in the end.
Next I tried to use a Patera bracelet blank and a smashed bottle cap. I filled both with white, added a bit of black and messed around trying to create a few designs. They started out wet looking like this....
As they dried, the Black EA began to take over both designs so I let the black get tacky and again added extra White EA over top.
This really helped the image and they turned out like this....
I was again mystified how they got the bracelet blanks to finish off so plump and full looking in the original bracelet design on Ranger's web-site. As you can see from the photo below the Enamel Accents dried down dramatically in both the bottle cap and the Patera charm.
The bottle cap was originally filled to almost overflowing to where it started to run out the little channels. As you can see it dried down enough that you can see it conforms to the ridge left over from smashing the bottlecap.
The Patera charm which was also originally filled to the rim and puffy in the center has dried down to the point of creating a concave effect which distorts the image a bit.
So, what I have determined from these experiments....
*Use the Black EA VERY sparingly when paired with the white.
*Ultra thin charms work best but again go very light on the Black.
*Monitor the charms as they dry. You may need to add more White EA to the design as it dries to ensure you don't end up with a solid black charm!
It is very cool stuff and I think I will grow to love it but it just takes a bit of practice trying to get used to the variations in flow and spread between the two.
Thanks so much for doing that product review - it was really imformative and spared a lot us some disappointments of our own.
ReplyDeleteReally strange at the concave effect - perhaps you might like to ask their Product manager for an explanation
Your charms look beautiful anyway - and my favourite is the bottle cap 'day lily' flower
Your charms are gorgeous. Odd that it doesn't puff up, but it doesn't take anything away from them.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Roni for the product review. It always helps to see how a product will behave. I was wondering if a shot with a heat gun would get it to dry differently and more full? Who knows, it might be worth a try.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow Roni...you are like having my own private lesson! Your tutorial is so full of really valuable tips and hints...which will reduce frustration to a minimum! thanks!
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