I’ve been wanting to embellish paper in my resin pieces. I think paper is generally a very versatile material to work with, and the possibilities that one can create within a resin piece with paper are endless.
The only problem is paper generally don’t hold up in a wet environment. Putting paper in resin and waiting for the resin to cure… I can imagine what might happen to the paper. So I had to find a way to seal it.
Previously a friend suggested hair spray. I went and read up a little, and the opinions were mixed. I bought a little bottle of decoupage from Daiso, and while it does the job, it was watery and I had to apply several layers. The drying time between each layer is between 30 minutes to an hour. Considering that I need to work fast (juggling work, studies, crafting, and several projects simultaneously is no joke), I needed another alternative.
So, I discovered mod podge at the local craft store. I had seen it the first time when my dad took me there to pick up some craft items. We were talking about its uses but it never occur to me that this would work well until I saw this video, and I thought, “Hey, why not?”
Back to the craft store it was.
Unfortunately, ART FRIEND RAN OUT OF MOD PODGE. RIGHT WHEN I NEED IT.
Just my luck.
So after much waiting, new stocks arrived. I went down once more, and ALL THE JUMBO MEGA SIZE JARS ARE OUT. Are you kidding me?!?! They have sample pots, and small bottles of other versions of mod podge like matte, crackling etc. And somewhere hidden from view, I found a small bottle of mod podge. 118ml (or 4 fl oz). Grabbed it.
Along the way, I also took a brush, thinking I was very clever (who doesn’t like clean hands?). Went home to seal a cutout background for a new resin piece I’ll be making.
It dries clear (yay), and as you can see, the brush has left wonderful streak marks on my paper (brush story coming up). Now, after I was done with this, I set this out to dry, and it took about 15 minutes to dry completely. Quarter the time I took previously. Which is great. I also like that mod podge is less watery as compared to the decoupage I got previously, which means less layers.
But what’s pissing me off was the brush.
It sheds. It sheds like crazy. Streak marks, I can deal because it dries clear anyway. But having brush hair SEALED IN WITH MY PAPER… kill me already. So in the end, I had to improvise and use a piece of cosmetic sponge to do the work.
And one more lesson from using mod podge: newspapers are your best friend. Don’t be an idiot like me and get dried mod podge EVERYWHERE on my workspace. Good thing the surface I was working on was a glass surface so the damage was minimal. But my parents certainly weren’t pleased.
;; pocketetch ;; 