Shelona Soogrim: July 2012

25 July 2012

mehndi with batik tools

I used beeswax that was melted and poured onto the batik tool,the copper batik tool needs to be heated up before melted wax is poured in, reason being is that the wax cools quickly so heat needs to be maintained for this technique to work.

What temp does the wax need to be?

Im not sure ,but its not in its runny form or in its hardening form its slightly cooler than runny.

I used wax paper as the working surface but on the non shiny or non waxy suface. Reason being wax sticks to wax and i dont want it to stick i need to be able to take the wax patterns out easily.

here was a test to see runny form to slightly cooler.when its runny the blob flows out and expands whilst when it gets cooler it sits.

This one worked out beautifully i did this without reheating the tool. this means that i had to work quickly

I made i little scapper to gently lift off the elements,this was made from a copper strip that was tapered.

the beeswax is beaking,need to make it either harder or softer by adding different waxes

batik and mehndi

lunch paper and mehndi pattern book.

wax melting jug with sprue and batik tools in sizes 1,2,3

melting wax in a beer can

18 July 2012

baby bracelets

treaded swarovskis onto thin chain that i pulled through the wire drawplate to make thinner.

peircing out mehndi patterns

will probably turn this into a ring with a setting for this stone.

mehndi with clay

this method worked the best just like mehndi,however when it got hard it was still poris and broke easily

mehndi with icing

so ive searched for icing recipes and the hardest icing that i think that might work better than others is royal icing

so this recipe was as follows

Ingredients:

3 egg whites, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
food coloring (optional)

i tried avoiding using eggs because im vegetarian and used vinegar as a substitute for now just to see if it works or else il have to try eggs.

Im using tracing paper so hopefully they will be easy to pull off.

i put them in the freezer for a few hors so that they were hard,although it was difficlt to get them off the tracing paper they began to crack.

mehndi with wax

this was really soft beeswax used for waxing shoes, I put pieces of wax into the cone and melted it in the microwave.
as the wax began to melt it started flowing towards the tip. I cut a small hole at tyhe tip and began creating designs,the wax has to be inbetween melting and cooling point to create these patterns. I noticed if its too liguid it spills everywhere when squeesed. if it to cold the wax that comes out of the tube starts curling into the air,it doesnt stick to the surface being worked on. The cone also becomes difficult to squeeze.