Kate Selene

P2 Jelly!

P2 Jelly is the Resin that I will be using in the Conference, It is a very user friendly resin that claims to set under UV light withinn 2-5 minitues! The reason this resin is different is because most resins are two-part mixtures, and they have to be calculated correctly for the resin to cure, whereas this resin is doesn't. when cured the resin is hard, smooth and shiny and can be filed and polished to give a high polish.

So far, the only big downside of this product is the size!! it is tiny! and if I were to compare it to the resin I usualy buy, this little kit of a tube (£15) and all the dyes works out at around £50! where as I can buy 5kg of embedding resin and dyes for that, which to me works out more cost effective. On first impressions, this resin smells and behaves like epoxy glue, and you still have to mix it with spatula's and it is still sticky. for more controled appliction, use tooth picks.

The first test piece I have tried was using the purple pigment. I have recieved comments about the resin not curing, and I suspected that it may be down to using too much pigment, as this can interfere with the curing process in most resins, and just to put it too the test, I used a little more pigment than is nesessary in this test, and it confirmed what I had suspected. The resin didn't cure all the way through, only the top 2mm cured and the rest remained a liquid. Having read some note on the gel, it is clear that UV light needs reach all corners of the gel, and this will be difficult for those of you who would like to use dense opaque colours. The best solution is to fill moulds of a depth of 2mm and deeper, in layers! this is not ideal as you may not get a consistent colour mix, but it will ensure a thoroughly cured mould. The coloured piece took a lot longer than 5 minitues to cure, the top layer took around that time to start hardening, but again, never cured the whole way through.

Not being put off by a false start, I tried for a clear one, and was very surprised! The gel hardened almost immediately and took only a few minitues to cure, the only thing was, no matter how long it was left under the UV light, the tackiness remained, so that will have to be sanded away. Again, there was a slight issue with the gel not curing right down to the bottom of the mould, leaving the area very sticky, but I exposed this area to the UV light and it cured.

So, I need to do more testing to see how it should be used appropriately, and so that I get a brilliant result, every time!!! let me know if you have any thoughts about the resins, or if you have tried the P2 jelly yourself, let me know how you got on!

Resin test results!!

You wouldn't believe how these have turned out!! I used some of my moulds that I use for my wax casting just to see how the resin would pick up texture, and also to see how the resin would perform once poured into a mould. I waited tentitively last last night, checking it every hour to see if it had cured, and unfortunately I had to wait untill this mornig (blury eyed, before getting ready for work) to see how they turned out. At first I thought that the resin had bonded itself to the moulds, this would have written the whole thing off, but, by peeling them out, I discovered that they are sooo flexible that they retain their origional shape once stretched!! So they are to an extent scratch resistent , but also very flexible!! Almost like wine gums!!! So, they are no good for moulds, simply because the resin will not sand or polish once cast.

So far, I would conclude that this particular resin is suited best to cold enameling, where its flexibility can be used to its advantage on things that would need a bit of flex to it, for example, it can be used on areas where traditional glass enamel would ping off because of its rigidity, and the same can be said for the usual embedding resin. i am still going to look at cutting,shaping and saning and other types of moulds, but so far so good!!!

New stuff to play with!!!!

I can't tell you how excited I was to recive this little package of goods today!! As you know, I really love using resin in my work, and I have tried a variety of different types, but . . . . . . . .the one I recieved today has only previously been used in industry as a coating fluid before!! it sounds wiered however this stuff has NEVER been used for jewellery making purposes before, I this little batch is the first of its kind in the UK!!! how utterly cool is that!!! Helen at the PMC Studio always get crazy and exciting new stuff to play with, and since I am the resident resin buff this lot got sent to me to play with! The reason why this stuff is so appealing is because the usual resin that I use has to be cut, filed, sanded and then polished befire I sell it, where as this stuff cures tack free and requires no sanding or polishing! It is also scratch proof, something that intrigues me as if it really is scratch proof, I will not be able to cut or polish it. There is so much to think about, and so maany test pieces I want to make.

I am teaching a resin workshop in a confrence in May, and I really hope by then I may be able to at least bring some exciting samples with me, Im pretty sure it won't be suitable for a workshop because it is already two hours after pouring and still hasn't set, but I hae high hopes, and even if it won't make it into any demo's, I hope to get some pieces ready for the book that is being published this year. Te book will be featuring some 'how to' projects and the work of the leading PMC users in the UK, so Im hoping I can spread the word about how fabulous resin is and get some good projects on the go!!

Im not sure how these tests are going to turn out, but I will let you know how they are getting on!

I am preparing to cast up some of my favourite fabrics up tmorrow to get some pieces ready to photograph for not on the high street, as I really want to put my best foot forward and give you some really juicy pieces to buy!! I will be making limited edition lines of work as the fabrics I will be using are of limited little pieces. I am still doing commissions using the fabrics you want, so get in touch if you need anything made, and i really do appreciate everyone's patience whilst I am giving my work a makeover, I really hope that those of you who have bought so much of my work in the past will like the new stuff just as much!!!

Exclusive products!

Today has been long. . . . . . I had 2 hours sleep last night because all I could think about was new ideas for my jewellery range!! Sad or what!? I was up untill 4.45am routing through my box of stuff for bits of jewellery and things to give me ideas, so my head was still buzzing with ideas. So i am home, with some new jewellery that I managed to make, accompanied with a blocked nose, headache and a stupidly sore throat!! but, I just wanted to share with you some drawings of my new work, because the lighting isn't good for photo's, and as soon as I take them I will be listing them as exclusive pieces to Not on the high street.

I had a look in my other sketchbook for some ideas, and the top picture is one from today, and the one below is from my other sketch book.

Where to buy my work!!

Its been really exciting in the last few days, I have decided to go full pelt with the jewellery making, and my work can now be bought through 'not on the high street.com'. I will be selling my two main collections through this site 'My Grandmothers Garden' collection and my 'Textile and Clothing' range. http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/kswjewellery, it's a very exciting website with stacks of really exciting products to buy.I wil also be making pieces that will be exclusive to 'not on the high street', but I shall be posting them here first. I am also selling some pieces through Bouf http://www.bouf.com/kswjewellery and also Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5670546. I will be updating these shops gradually as I produce the stock, And I am still doing commissions so just get in touch!!

My packaging is getting an overhaul too,so I have been thinking about unique packaging for my different styles of jewellery, and I am considering Bio-degradable packaging, epecially for my 'Grandmothers Garden' Collection, where im thinking of using grass seed to pack the work!

I bought some new equipment today!I went shopping, and Jon found the most amazing thing! a tiny slow cooker! the cup is there for you to get an idea of how small it is!Your probably wondering why this excites me, its because it will be my new pickle bath once my workshop is up and running. I do have a full size one but it won't fit onto my desk, so this one is perfect!! If you want to grab one for yourselves, Poundstretcher, £7.99!!

So, tomorrow I am finishing off a commission (a pair of earrings) for Sarah Piper, one of my students, they are for her wedding so they need to be finished in the morning, so i will have an early start, and after that I will be carving some more stamps for my packaging!! Why didn't anyone tell me lino was so hard to carve!! I will post some pictures of the finished earrings and stamps tomorrow, see what you think, and I also hope to order packaging and design some new pieces for 'not on the high street'!! first . . . . . .sleep!!

My grubby . . . . . painful hands!!!

At the moment im making so much jewellery in my demo's Im going to start looking like Mr T!!! this is the one that I made today to show Ros how to bezel set! And I got a ring out of it! woop! My fingers are really atarting to suffer, I have been dippin gmy hands in all kinds of nasty stuff, not to mention sticking them under the polishing wheels at least a dozen times today! Im going to a mates of mine this evening so im going to bleach them, nail whitening stuff, because at the moment it looks like I have been trying to dig my way out of the garden!

I thought I would share with you some of the stuff we did last night in St Helen's. Cuttlefish casting! the first attempt didn't work, and I almost burned a hole through my trousers! But I never pretend to know it all or be perfect so it went down well, even better when the second attempt worked! I left on a real high last night, I really do love my Wednesday classes!

I have als been working on a commission for a pair of earrings for Sarah Piper's wedding. She has been given a beautiful necklace off her mother to wear on her wedding day, and I am making a pair of earrings to match. So . . .. . . after my marathon day of teaching and making, I came home to carve the PMC which I set last night, and in my exhausted stuper I alost jabbed my eye out with the scalpol! so once I had got that sorted, I decided that I would leave all of the filing and sanding untill when I could see properly. . . . . .my eyes were rather blury , very blury, I was worried for my safety! So, no rest for the wicked!

What a day!

This is the workshop I have adopted as my own! today . . . . . .I cleaned like a crazy person! I went out and bought hand wash and fairy liquid and some new toothbrushes to clean the jewellery with. ! was sick of using the foamy soap dispenser stuff so I went out and got something that would really get the crap off your hands! Its surprising how grimey and grubby everything gets in a communal workshop, after I had finished jenny's rings last night i brought it all home to finish and set, everything in thesink was gross!! so, I skipped and binned lots of stuff! I love doing that! I love knowing where everthing is too, so im getting there slowely, but it wold take me a full few days to sort the whole lot out! SO this is myother workshop, and the benches are surprisingly easy to use! yesterday was the first time I used them, and i really liked it!! It just needs to stay clean!

Squinkies ring!!!

so, your probably thinking 'who or what the hell is a squinkie!!' , well, she is infact, my partner in crime. Jenny Barker! She told me once that she had a monkey/squirell combo thing swinging around her back garden!I took the mick out of her for weeks, not just because she had a squirell/monkey . .. . but because she was too frightened to go outside incase it swooped down and ate her!! so, it was Jenny's Birthday today, so i have been slaving away after teaching hours trying to get her a special piece of jewellery made! It's a stacker ring with a beautiful grey stone set into it! Im sure she is not going to check my blog (because that would be wierd, as I see her everyday!!)before I give it to her, so here's a sneak peak! I wil let you konw if she likes it!!

It's all been sent off!!

Eeeekkk! Iv just sent off all of my work to the gallery, and it's my new work,so im a little bit nervous about the response!! I was slaving away all last week in the workshop (after a full day teaching! im not sure when my body is going to give in) trying to get these babies fiished! Im really pleased with how they tunred out and im looking forward to getting a new batch ready! ooooh! im going to have to start looking for some new fabric!!!

Finger Print Jewellery Class!

Last night was my PMC Class, and It was brilliant! A couple of glasses of wine, some pizza and a whole lot of PMC, we managed to make a large pendant, studs, drop earrings, tags and still have some left to play with! The time literally flew by, and 6 hours later I was on my way home! The tree ladies that I went to teach have set up their own business where they want to sell fingerprint jewellery, they will be setting up workshops where mothers and children can create their own unique, personal jewellery with thier own fingerprints! So they had everything ready to go, the business, the snazzy packaging and all of the tools and other bits . . .. . .they just needed the vital part . . . . the jewellery making! that was my job, and after last night, im sure they are well on their way!! I will keep you updated on their latest escapades and where they will taking theirworkshops!