Wonderful, Wonderful Times With Marc – Ranger Melting Pot Experiments - UTEE Cubes

When I saw an idea for making UTEE cubes using a Ranger melting Pot on the website below I was desperate to have a go during my next stay with Marc ……

http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/utee-cubes.html

….. however as per usual I left getting the ice cube tray that I needed to the last minute and then could only find novelty ones …. not an ordinary plain square one.  Once in London I searched Notting Hill from top to bottom with no joy, and it was only a chance visit to a charity shop that I found one in Battersea for the princely sum of 25p!

Unfortunately, by this time I only had a shady idea of the blog post that had inspired me …. and looking back now I’d got it wrong!!!  I started by putting a small square of patterned paper in the bottom of each cube, followed by some tiny charms and at Marc’s suggestion some hologram glitter and micro beads, our expectations were not too high as this first try was only an experiment.

I poured in about 10mm of clear UTEE into each square and then we could only keep our fingers crossed. As we were watching the Create and Craft demonstrations as we worked because the Melting Pot was the Pick of the Day we found out that by using a heat gun it was possible to get rid of any bubbles that formed in the pan.

Once set the cubes came out of the tray without too much trouble, eased out carefully with one of Marc’s pokey tools.  The results were mixed, but we learnt an awful lot for “next time”.  I think I need to find a shallower ice cube tray or square fondant mould for example and after checking Roni’s post again I shouldn’t have put the paper on the bottom because the charms disappeared into the pattern….. doh!

However, the beauty of the Melting Pot is that nothing goes to waste, if things don’t turn out as you hoped, you simply melt them down again, and believe me Marc doesn’t waste a thing,  he patiently removed the paper from the back of any “dodgy” cube, and then melted it down again, removing and saving all of the charms.  He then poured the UTEE onto the heat resistant craft sheet and when set it was put away safe ready to be used again.

I only stumbled on Roni’s blog a short while ago, but I just love it,  I don’t think that there was anything I didn’t love on her 31 Days of Halloween ….. and I definitely need to make an Apothecary/Halloween House for next year.

http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.co.uk/

I have to be honest, this is the second time Marc and I have played with his Melting Pot, and this time it’s potential has blown me away …… being able to use something like this has made all the difference, how many of us have seen something demonstrated, been enthralled, got your hard earned money out and then bought it home only to gather dust after an initial play ….. I hold my hands up ….. I bought a Sizzix Texture Boutique after seeing it demo’ed on QVC and have used it once!!!!!!

The proof and value of any new tool has got to be what you do with the things you produce, I am sold, but what I do with what I have made with Marc when I get home will be our validation …. I am thinking perhaps an embellished luxury gift tag …… so as I always say, watch this space!

I also think that I could make a “job lot” of cubes containing just glitter and mircobeads to use as base pieces of one of my bejewelled mirrors, giving me an even foundation on which to build the more fancy layers etc. 

Let’s just say it’s a long, long time since I have been this excited by a piece of crafting equipment!