I’ve had an evening of glorious Melt Potting ….. but I have sooooooo much to learn. What I really should do is set aside an evening for watching some of the many Melting Pot/Utee videos on YouTube and then play, but I am just too impatient!
So, the first thing I have learned is not to let your Utee overheat as it becomes discoloured … as you can see from my pan the colour started out as Lapis Sapphire …. but gradually as I “played” with it over and over again it became erm ….. swamp green, as you will no doubt see from the finished results! I am currently researching how to stop it overheating!! I have also since found out that you should keep the pan lid on and NOT to stir during melting process (to stop bubbles forming), well, I hold my hands up and admit, I stirred copiously, like Fanny Craddock possessed ….. but in my defence I am only learning!!
I tried to use the melted Utee with a couple of my moulds, but with very disappointing results. The Utee appears to be too think to pick up the fine detail in the shallower edges of the moulds that I have tried so far, so again, further research is needed.
So, my chosen method, while I am still playing, is using a metal cookie cutter. As you can see I have added beads and glitter to the mix. I pour the Utee straight onto the non stick craft sheet, press the cutter into it and then wait for it to cool, which takes a matter of just 30 secs or so.
As I said earlier, this is the stage where the Utee became swamp green, as I melted and reused it over and over again, trying getting the look/shape right, don’t let it put you off, it was ME!!!!
These are four hearts of the hearts that I was happy with, which eventually will be used as gift tags. I put the hole in them by using the pointed nozzle on one of my old glue bottles, holding it in the Utee until it had set. I then put a jump ring through the hole, onto which I will eventually tie a suitable ribbon or cord.
Overall, after my third play I am a bit disappointed with the swampy colour I made, but, from this one “mix” I have finished up with nine heart tags that I am happy with. The beads however are “lost” in all the colour, they look quite pretty when held up to the light but that effect is lost under normal light . …. so my next experiment will be just adding beads to plain unadulterated Utee. But it’s all about playing ….
…… nothing gets wasted as the Utee can be remelted and used again for other projects, as my little tin shows.
At the end of the evening my final play was mixing Blue Raspberry Cosmic Shimmer with a little bit of glitter to make these red hearts ….. with Valentines Day in mind …….. watch this space!