A Transparency, an Ink Jet Printer and Resin

I'm on a roll tonight. I have not written any blog posts since March 20, but have done tons of stuff since then. Apparently tonight is the night my brain chooses to regurgitate what I've done.

Anyhow I saw Sherri Haab's YouTube video on using transparencies in resin and I was intrigued. The comments indicated that only laser-jet printed transparencies could be used so I decided to test that theory.

I already had transparencies on hand that I had purchased from Amazon.com (sadly that great deal is gone) plus I have an ink jet printer. For the image I used an alcohol inked, embossed image I had scanned in.

The front of the transparency is glossy and smooth and the back of the transparency is rough with a gel-like coating. The pattern is printed on the rough side of the transparency. I knew that I had to seal the ink on the rough side (because it will run otherwise) so I tried several products I had on hand.

I cut one of the transparencies up into several pieces and used each piece to test with a different sealer. The Decoupage Gloss Sealers worked the best to seal the ink from the ink jet printer.

1. Delta Ceramcoat All Purpose Sealer: The result was ho-hum and the transparency appeared dulled.
2. Liquitex Matte Gel: This product is great as a glue and fabric sealer but horrible for transparencies. It stripped the gel in some places and had a very dull finish.
3. Elmer's Gloss Finish Decoupage: Not sure if this product is available anymore as I can't find it but it worked absolutely great. Shiny, glossy finish and none of the ink ran.
4. Golden Soft Gel Gloss: Like the matte gel it stripped the transparency in places but  had a shiny, glossy finish everywhere else.
5. DecoArt Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze: Don't try this product for sealing ink-jet printed items. All the colors ran into a muddy mess.
6. ArtMinds Decoupage Glue Sealer Gloss Finish: I don't see any available online but it is available from Michaels. Like the Elmer's Gloss Finish Decoupage, this Decoupage Gloss Sealer worked extremely well.
7. DecoArt Craft Time All-Purpose Sealer:  The result was ho-hum and the transparency appeared dulled.

After the printed transparency was sealed I added it to resin where the ink remained sealed and bright.


HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN 

Below is the original alcohol inked, embossed image I started out with.

1. Scan in your own artwork to use your own unique images. 
2. When you print make sure the glossy side of the transparency is face up in the printer. 
3. Use a Borderless print setting and print at high quality. 
4. Set the paper option to Glossy Photo Paper.
5. Wait a few minutes for the ink to completely dry on the transparency.
6. Use a soft, wide brush to cover the rough side of the transparency with glossy decoupage sealer (any brand) using even, long strokes.
7. Wait about 15 minutes or until dry.
8. Do not add any additional layers of decoupage sealer.

I used this jewelry mold purchased at Amazon.com. 

1. Photocopy the back of the mold to get an image to cut out and use as a template to create our own jewelry. Cover the mold with white paper or a white cloth while photocopying or you'll get a mostly black image.
2. The image will not be exactly sized so push the template into the bottom of the mold you've selected to size it.
3. Trim the template as needed.
4. Once the template is the correct size place it on the glossy side of the transparency and trace around it with a black Sharpie marker.
5. Then cut just inside the marker line.

This mold is fairly deep so I marked a halfway point on the outside of the mold (it's clear) and just poured until the resin reached my mark. You can make the earrings and pendant as thin or as thick as the mold will allow. A clear mold makes it easy to see any bubbles after you've added resin. Just lift the mold up to the light. I use a tooth pick to move the transparency around in the resin and remove any bubbles.

Here are some earrings I created;

Here is the matching pendant;

And one more where I used a paint palette as a mold;

SUPPLIES

1. 16 oz EnviroTex Lite at Michaels using a 40% off coupon ($13.19) or a 50% off coupon ($10.99).
2. Environmental Technology Castin' Craft EasyCast Resin Jewelry Mold, 11 Popular Jewelry Shapes On One Tray from Amazon.com for $7.55 with Prime shipping.
3. Graduated medicine cups from Amazon for $2.58 with Prime shipping.
4. Mixing sticks, plastic gloves, 50% alcohol (for cleaning resin) and large measuring cups at my local Dollar Tree for $1 each.
5. Transparencies from Amazon.com or any Office Supply store.