Both last week and this week I’ve been devoting my time to midterms and other papers for school so I’m pushing my Thursday Not So Magical Girl webcomic update back to Sunday (at the latest).  In the meantime, I’ve done some minor updates including posting a sketch of the cover art for Not So Magical Girl and fixed some typos in some of the previous pages (Thanks colcol!) and reuploaded them.  I also added some more handmade jewelry to my Resin and Boxes link.

Yes, those are Konoha bobby pins up there!  ^_^ Gotta spread the Naruto Love!

Don’t be afraid to let me know what you think!

Hi all!  Since I’ve started to develop an awesome group of people that want to know when and where I’ll be selling my work at next I’ve decided to keep an up-to-date event schedule here on my website.

~Most events are weather permitting (except the punk rock flea market and the Otakon artist alley events).  If rain or thunderstorms are being called for the night before an outdoor event I most likely won’t be going.  I will always update my status the night before here as an FYI.~

July 4th – lions boy’s club flea market – CANCELED due to transportation issues

July 5th - Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm ( located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.)

July 11th – Punk Rock Flea Market 9:00am – 4:00pm at the Starlight Ballroom (460 N 9th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123)

July 12th – Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm ( located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.) – CANCELED due to sleep issues   The Punk Rock Flea Market was exhausting and I didn’t get much sleep the night before so I decided to cancel this time around.  I should be back to Trevose in 2 weeks!

July 17th-19th – Otakon Artist Alley in Baltimore, Maryland.

July 25th - lions boy’s club flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (street rd. next to the wendy’s – close to the street rd & hulmeville intersection) CANCELED due to stock – Otakon wiped me out!

July 26th - Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm ( located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.) CANCELED due to stock – Otakon wiped me out!

*Since it’s July 4th I need to confirm weather they will still be holding the flea market here or not.

**depends on stock.  I have to big event the following day which I usually sell out at and another whole big weekend event so if my stock is devastatingly low I won’t be attending this weekend.  I will confirm this the night of the 11th after the prfm.

***Again, depends on stock.

Thanks so much for all your lovely emails and support!  I hope to see as many of you as possible at my upcoming events!  ^_^

I got a lot of good feedback about my July event schedule ^_^ so here’s the one for August.

~All events are weather permitting unless otherwise noted.  If rain or thunderstorms are being called for the night before an outdoor event I most likely won’t be going.  I will always update my status the night before here as an FYI.~

August 1st & August 2nd – Happy Anniversary!  No events this weekend due to the celebrating of love and longevity with my Kitt-Monster.

August 9^th (*unconfirmed) – The Piazza. (2nd & Germantown Ave, Phila PA 19123) – Cancelled due to unfinished stock.  Will update next week’s confirmation by Thursday 8/13.

August 15th (*unconfirmed) – lions boy’s club flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (street rd. next to the wendy’s – close to the street rd & hulmeville intersection)

August 16^th (*unconfirmed) – Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.)

August 22nd (*unconfirmed) – lions boy’s club flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (street rd. next to the wendy’s – close to the street rd & hulmeville intersection)

August 23^rd (*unconfirmed) - Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.)

August 29^th (*unconfirmed) ^- lions boy’s club flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (street rd. next to the wendy’s – close to the street rd & hulmeville intersection)

August 30^th (*unconfirmed) - Trevose flea market 6:00am – 1:00pm (located at Bucks County Technology Park, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA – behind Trevose Firehouse.)

*The Piazza at Fishtown is a new event for me.  It’s a weekly event held on both Saturday & Sunday that draws a big crowd.  Since I never sold there before I’m unsure of how I’ll do.  If the event works well then I’ll be updating my August schedule again after the 9^th.

Thanks again for all of your support!  I hope to see as many of you as possible at my upcoming events!  ^_^

This post is bilingual.  The English version is 1^st and the Japanese is 2^nd.

最初は英語で、それから日本語です。（＊日本語があまり上手じゃなくて、すみません。(>_<) ）

English version/英語版

コニャニャチワ！ These posts were originally old Livejournal posts from about a year ago.  I’ve decided to put them here because I feel that anyone adventuring into the wonderful world of resin jewelry can benefit from them.  I also want to continue posting about my new adventures in resin but It feels kinda of silly if I don’t start from the beginning.

A lot of you already know, but I’ve been playing with resin for quite a while now.  My first few times didn’t go so well but I learned so much (and still am learning) so I thought I’d share my knowledge, if your interested.  If not you can always just look all of  the pretty pictures like below instead.

Hooray! Cinnamaroll!

So onto the resin. There are 2 types of resin commonly used in jewelry/charm making: Epoxy and Polyester.  There’s also polyurethane resin which mostly used on the commercial/industrial level.

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy Resin:

Epoxy resin is a low odor resin and not as harmful in liquid form (nor as assaulting on the senses) as polyester resin.  It’s commonly used for casting small objects as it is not a truly clear liquid.  When Epoxy is used to cast thicker larger objects you begin to notice a slight yellowing (unless you add dyes of course).   An epoxy resin kit consists of 2 bottles, one contains the actual resin and the other contains the hardener.  You mix epoxy resin by adding equal ratios of Epoxy Resin and Hardener.

Polyester Resin

Polyester Resin:

Polyester resin is not low odor and it doesn’t yellow when casting large/thick objects, in fact if offers the clearest casting possible.  It isn’t a one to one ratio mix like the Epoxy resin however and it’s a bit more tricky to get the correct ratio with this resin.  The hardener or catalyst as it’s called in the case of polyester resin,  is a tiny bottle of liquid and depending on the amount of resin you want to pour depends on how many drops of catalyst you add to the resin.  But fear not, if you decide to venture into the smelly world of polyester, each bottle comes with specific ratio instructions.

Which resin is right for me?

Although you have advantages with polyester, it being the clearest pour and all, I personally feel that for jewelry making, epoxy is the best choice for many reasons.  It doesn’t require the amount of ventilation that polyester does, in small objects, like with jewelry, there is no noticeable yellowing, and the ratio is easier to figure out which means a more reliable pour each time.  This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use polyester, in fact I would encourage you to try both and make the decision that’s right for you.

My first experiences with epoxy resin:

My first time pouring resin I was so excited that I decided to just shove random objects into the molds and see what happened.  I was a very interesting experience.  I noticed bubbles everywhere and things like stickers were all wavy and anything made out of paper turned transparent. ^_^;  Yes, I ran into the 3 out of the 5 most common problems with resin in my first pour but that’s ok, practice makes perfect.  So having learned from the 1st round of resin, my second time pouring it turned out much better.  Although my cell phone images are kinda crappy, here’s a picture of some of the decent looking resin that came out of the 1st 2 batches I ever did:

MLP is scrumptious!

In part 2 I’ll discuss the 5 most common problems to look out for when creating resin goodness.  Until then, have fun!

日本語版/Japanese version

Meow!  このブログ投稿はライブジャーナルと言うブログサイトを元に一年前ぐらいに書き始めたブログです。　レジン（樹脂）アクセサリーの魅力と作りたい人の為にこれからレジンについての新しいアイデアなどを引き続きこのブログから投稿したいと思います。

みんな知ってると思うけど、最近レジンと遊んでいました。　最初はうまくいかなかったけど、本当にたくさんのことを学ぶので（今も学んでいます！）知識を共有したいと思っています。

もし、作る事に興味がなくても、写真を見て楽しんで下さいね。

Cinnamarollのネックレス

レジンのについて説明しましょう。

ジュエリーやアクセサリーを製作する時、一般的にエポキシとポリエステルの樹脂を使います。

ウレタン樹脂もあるけど、それは工業用の樹脂です。

エポキシ樹脂（レジン）

エポキシレジン：

エポキシレジンはあまり匂いが少ないのと、エポキシの液状はポリエステルの液状ほど匂いが強くなく有害ではありません。　純粋の透明な液ではなく特に小さいものを作るときに使われています。　もっと厚みのあるものを作るときには色が少し黄色く変化します（他の染料を使用せず）。　エポキシ樹脂キトに２本のボトルがあり、ひとつめには樹脂が入って、もうふたつめには樹脂硬化剤が入ってます。エポキシ樹脂の混合比は１：１です。

ポリエステル樹脂　（レジン）

ポリエステルレジン：

エポキシレジンは凄い匂いがしますが透明な液なので、大きいもを作っても黄色く変化しません。　ポリエステルレジンは強い匂いがしますが型を大きいものや、厚みのあるものを作っても黄色くはならず、綺麗に透明感が出ます。　ポリエステルレジンはエポキシと比べて使い方が少し複雑です。　ボトルのフタを開けると小さいボトルがあるので、自分の必要な量をカップに注いで入れます。　ポリエステル樹脂の量を決めたら、説明書がちゃんと付いてますのでご安心して下さいね。

「自分に合う樹脂は？」

ポリエステルの方は一番透明な樹脂だけど、私としては、アクセサリーを作りたい人にはエポキシの方がいいと思います。あまり匂いがしなくて、アクセサリーなどの小さいものには、色が変化せず（黄色の部分が目立つことは少ない）、　液体の混合法も分りやすいので、確実に液体をカップに注ぐことができます。　でも、両方を使ってみて、自分にとって一番いいものを選ぶ方がいいと思います。

私の初めてのエポキシレジンの経験：

エポキシレジンと初めて使った時に超ワクワクして、急いで型にいろいろなものを入れました。楽しかったけどたくさん問題に気付きました！ところどころ見ると気泡があって、入れたシールもよれていました。　紙の方は、透明になっちゃいました！初めてのレジンを使った時、よく問題になりやすい５つのうち、３つの問題が起こりました。(;_;)  It’s ok, practice makes perfect! （大丈夫、習うより慣れろ！）　二回目はもうちょっとよくなりました。携帯写真がよくないけど、下の写真は私の初めてのレジンです。

初めて作ったレジンです。❤マイリトルポニーのマスカット可愛いですネ❤

レジンを使って作ったもので、よく起こる５つのトラブルを書いていきます。　その時まで、レジンを楽しくて使ってねぇ！