Friday 21 February 2014

Ranger Melting Pot ….. Just Playing

The one thing that I noticed almost straight away when I started “playing” with my Melting Pot was how brittle the pieces I made were, if I dropped them, they invariably ended up in bits on the floor, which wasn’t that brilliant, especially as I had it in mind to make Christmas tree decorations, tags and perhaps some pendants, and for that, they needed to be a little more robust.
ranger Melt Pot
So, then I did me some research and “discovered” UTEE F-L-E-X, a resilient resin that makes Ultra Utee more durable and stronger.  Wooo hoooo,  I thought, I’ll get me and Marc some of that ……. only to discover, when I tried to buy it, that it had been discontinued!!!!! Aghhhhhh 
ranger Melt Pot 2
More research followed …. and I stumbled across a couple of links that suggested adding a small section of a glue stick to your Utee when you are melting it  ….. well,  it would have been rude not to try, wouldn’t it?
And would you believe it, it worked!  In fact I found the Utee a little easier to pour as well.
ranger Melt Pot 3ranger Melt Pot 4
I poured the melted Utee and glue stick mix onto my heat resistant mat and then “cut” into it with a plastic cutter (another experiment, which also worked, as I thought you could only use metal cutters with hot Utee)
ranger Melt Pot 5
When cool the star and the blob (above) had a degree of flexibity that Utee alone doesn’t have,  and then …. I threw both on the floor with a little force, and both survived! And when I deliberately tried to snap the “blob”, it certainly felt more resistant, although it did break eventually.  So from here on in, I think it’s just a matter of more experimenting with how much glue stick to add for maximum strength and flexibility.
ranger Melt Pot 6
I also tried stamping into the Utee ….. not so successful ….. but only because I pressed down far too hard!!!

7 comments:

Cheryl W said...

You're quite the Utee research scientist! Looks like you're having fun.

Mrs B said...

Hi Helen. You have been busy haven't you. Glad you have found a way to make any pieces stronger. Take care.

Rose&Bird said...

That's handy to know. I won a melt pot on eBay a while ago, but I've yet to have a go with it as I haven't bought any UTEE yet. I know you need a separate pan, but have you had a go with curing polymer clay? That was another reason for buying mine.

Rose&Bird said...

That's handy to know. I won a melt pot on eBay a while ago, but I've yet to have a go with it as I haven't bought any UTEE yet. I know you need a separate pan, but have you had a go with curing polymer clay? That was another reason for buying mine.

Roni said...

Excellent tips Helen, my mum has just got herself the kit and loves playing around with it but my wee granddaughter got a hold of her lovely creations and got a wee bit battered around the edges! So I will pass it on! Thank you!

Big hugs
Roni :D xox

Julie said...

You star... I’ve used and taught the melt pot and used flex, devastated I couldn’t buy anymore. Over the moon with your discovery. Will be trying it immediately. Many thanks x

Hazina Creations said...

Thank you so much. Utee F-L-E-X is now selling for a fortune on eBay because of it being discontinued.