Currently I'm using three types of media for jewelry and cabochons/clip centerpieces: Polymer clay, cold porcelain and resin. I'm finding that each has it's own positives and negatives and I thought I would take a moment to compare them.
The ring on the left was made with resin mixed with pink flocking powder and the right is polymer clay. Very different looks though I think the resin looks more "professional" looking. I'll make another one eventually with a solid color to get a better comparison.
The left HK was made entirely with polymer clay, middle is cold porcelain and the right is resin. It's pretty clear that the cold porcelain shrinks when it dries. That's a bit of a problem, though I still like how easy it is to use and keep clean. As I mentioned previously, I try to shy away from white polymer clay and I had tried to use red clay for the bow but it bled and ended up looking pretty terrible. So I think in a pinch when size doesn't matter too much, I'll use the cold procelain. When I have time, I'll definitely use resin. I haven't tried painting it yet because I need to put another layer of resin on top to give it more of a shine, but I have put some paint on another piece (below) and it looks like it'll work just fine.
The top hair clip is polymer clay and the bottom is resin mixed with flocking powder. It's hard to see the detail in the bottom clip because of the glare, but I think it's a very nice look. Not too much to say about this comparison. Honestly, when I bought the mold I had always wanted the look I achieved with the resin, so I will likely continue to go that route.
The two letters on the left are resin and the two on the right are polymer clay. The bottom right has been glazed, the top has not. I'm torn on these. I like the detail of the polymer clay but I like the crisp lines of the resin. Plus, so sparkly! It doesn't help that the polymer clay "L" got broken somewhere along the line, something that won't happen with resin. Jury is still out, but for the time being I'll probably go with resin if I have the time.
The left is resin and the right is polymer clay. I had made cold porcelain My Melody but put it in a resin piece for testing. Same problem as the HKs. I'll stick with cold porcelain or resin in the future.
Same as above, though I painted a little bit of the resin (left) and it looks just fine.
The left is resin and the right is polymer clay. I just love love love the resin one in this case. I think I'll just stick with resin for future butterflies.
It's pretty clear I'm having a love affair with resin right now. There's still PLENTY of reason to use polymer clay (anything that can't be put into a mold), but for my molds I'm turning more and more to resin. Resin has two strikes against it: cost and time. In comparison to clay (maybe an hour to create, fire and glaze...depending on the item), it takes an eternity (at least two days). Cold porcelain is great for solid color pieces (you have to add paint to color it) but it shrinks when it dries and dries relatively quickly (though takes a day or so to cure completely).
No comments:
Post a Comment