Using up scrap and exploring Stellar Flash

I am going to a Bead Meet on Saturday and leading a session on UTEE jewel enamel using the melt pot so I have been playing with a few different techniques.
I always end up with quite a large pot of scrap enamel in a gunge colour and have been wondering how to use it up. I also have a new cabochon mould with a variety of different sized cabochons so I thought I would try out the mould and see if I could use up the scrap.
First of all I wanted to try out a new texture sheet so I poured the mix into a leaf shaped cutter laid onto the sheet. I rubbed Versamark onto the cutter as a release agent which works very well.

the scrap mix poured into a cutter on a texture sheet with added gleams

I have used stellar flash in the past but not really been impressed with the results however this time I decided to sprinkle to flash into the mould before pouring a dark colour over the top.

My scrap gunge colours ranged from a murky grey through to a red tinged brown with some dark steel thrown in too.  By adding some scrap to a larger amount of diamond clear and a small amount of navy blue alcohol ink I was able to produce a colour mix that was more translucent than the scrap with an even dark colour which showed up the stellar flash well.
I created a few cabochons including a dinky pair of earrings with a definite opal look about them.

I really like these earrings which are about 8mm

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I have also been playing with  a three hemisphere mould which has slits for headpins or wire and produces a pendant.

Here are three different pours using this mould - I have used the scrap and stellar flash mix  plus a faux lapis look with gold sprinkled on and then heat polished carefully and one of the black metallics with added bronze. I quite like the effects produced

I used up the last of the scrap mix with a lovely tear drop shaped mould

Fusible Film - Dichroic-ish glass!

The amazing Liz Welch launched a product on Jewellery Maker TV a couple of weeks ago. Liz is an alternative craft media artist and as become the jewel enamel (UTEE) expert on the show.
The product was fusible film which when shredded is also known as Crystalina and Angelina fibres. When you heat the film it gives off a rainbow of oil slick colours which looks great embedded in clear enamel and backed in black.
Ever one for a challenge especially in an area of a craft I really enjoy, I decided to get the film and have a go.
Ha Ha - it was not as easy as it looked - Liz is a master of her craft.

The technique uses a melting pot with clear enamel (UTEE) and pouring a plain (rather than textured) mould.
Knowing I would never remember everything I took notes!
The first time I tried it I used a larger piece of film and popped it into the melting pot to heat in a little clear. It was supposed to shrink and curl changing colour and texture - it shrunk totally into a lump which I couldn't open out!
Take 2 - I didn't leave it in as long and managed to open it out.
Then I topped up the clear and poured into a plain cabochon mould and tried to add the film. Everything poured over the side - and it is HOT!!! Still undaunted I left it to set. Once cool I turned it out only to find the film had turned bright pink and stuck to the bottom of the mould and not got covered with enamel.
I did know that at this stage it might not look wonderful so carried on and melted black for the backing. Slight problem here - because the black is so hard to remove totally from the melting pot I had decided to use a project pan which fits over the pot but I couldn't really get it hot enough to give a smooth and quick pour. Black blobby gunge was all over the place. Still as a scientist I photographed the results

I think it looks like a wound!

The next attempt I used little pieces chopped up and sprinkled them into the clear after pouring.

once covered with black this certainly showed potential

so I poured a puffy heart with a forest green insert and poured a much hotter black onto the back.

It seemed to be successful but as I trimmed the black it all came away from the clear.

I decided to separate the two pours so hat I could get both clear and black really hot.

But I would use the heat gun on the back of the clear before pouring black

this is the square from above heat polished and smartened up.

I really like this heart

this looks super in real life - a friend has said it looks like an opal

Top right is a ring with a hand made shank embedded in the molten enamel

All in all for a first attempt I am very pleased. Half way through the process I was unsure but once the black was poured and the edges trimmed the true colours shine through.