I have many passions in life. Crafts, gardening, my pets, and trying new things are on the top of my list. Today I wanted to share a lovely tutorial that my better half put together. In his tutorial he is showing you how to make Milkweed seed balls. Why are Milkweed seed balls important? Milkweed is the only host plant for the beautiful Monarch Butterfly. The process of urbanization has led to the destruction of the Milkweed fields and thus, has resulted in a decline of the Monarch Butterfly. The decline of the Monarchs is so severe that in some areas they are thinking of adding the butterfly to the endangered species list. Even places that are a common ground for the Monarch migration have noticed a decline.
Making seed balls for your seeds is a good way to ensure a larger success rate of the seeds you plant. The reason being is that the seeds do not start to germinate until the conditions are right. The seed balls serve has an additional protection barrier for animals and insects that may generally disturb a freshly planted garden. In my area, we have several raccoons that LOVE freshly turned dirt. I have tried many measures to try to keep them out when I have to replant my garden. The seed balls offer a nice compromise between me and the raccoons. I get to plant my garden. They get to dig it up looking for grubs, and the seeds, although moved from where I placed them, are pushed out of the way and allowed to grow on their own time.
It only took about two years after planting my butterfly garden to see naturally occurring Monarchs in my front yard. They stumbled across the plants all on their own! They have since started laying eggs on my plants, and I have even started seeing chrysalises on my fence.
I stumbled onto Diamond Glaze while searching through Amazon suggested items. After reading some of the claims the product made, I decided to give the small bottle a try for about $8.00 for 2oz. I figured over the years I have spent more on gimmicky crafty items that didn’t work. Thanks to the blessing that is Prime shipping, I had my bottle in about two days.
I received my little bottle and started crafting. I have waited a while to write my review because I wanted to have some time to play with the glaze. With that being said, let me tell you that I LOVE this product!! I have used it as a mixing agent with pigment powders, an adhesive for UV Gel pendant backing, doming protective covering for pieces, setting PMC metal bails, and setting semi-precious stones. Diamond Glaze is truly amazing! It dries crystal clear, and is quite durable. The best part is that I am still on my 2oz bottle that I purchased a little over a year ago. This stuff is so much fun and lasts a really long time. I think every crafter should have Diamond Glaze in their arsenal.
I have posted a video below of just some of the few things that I have done with the Diamond Glaze.
Mold (I used my custom semi-round mold). You can use any mold you like. Your local craft shop will have various silicone clay or jewelry molds. If you like the mold used in this tutorial, it can be purchased at my Etsy store: DipIntoJewels
Polymer clay canes (I used pre-cut Cheeky nail art flower mix and butterfly mix). $1.99 each.
Head pin: under $1 for a pack.
Wire cutters or jeweler’s nippers: $ Varies
Pigment powder (I used PerlEx Duo green yellow #682): $3.00+ depending on size.
Total Cost: Approx. $25.00 (including tools)
**Note: Often times I will use molds that I have made. I will be sharing how to make custom molds in a future installment. You can substitute molds you find on Amazon or at your local store. If I know of pre-existing molds that will work well, I will provide suggestions.
STEPS:
Wipe down your mold with a dry, lint-free cloth.
Take your wire cutters or nippers and cut down your head pin to a length that will allow you to embed one end into your piece, and still make a loop with the other end to connect a jump ring or insert a chain. You will want to use the “head” end of the pin to insert into your piece for a better hold.
3 . Break off a nickel sized portion of the Quick Steel. If you are using a different mold, you may need to adjust the size accordingly.
4 . Fold the Quick Steel over onto itself repeatedly to mix the epoxy. Once the two colors of the Quick Steel blend completely together into one uniform color, the product is mixed and ready to use. At this point, you have about to effectively use for molding.
Pre mixed
Well mixed
5. Gently press the mixed Quick Steel into your mold. Continue to press until the back of the material is at a uniform level within the mold.
6. Take the head pin you previously cut down and press it into the back of the clay. Make sure that the “head” part of the pin is completely covered by the Quick Steel (Also cover as much of the pin as your piece will allow while still leaving enough exposed to bend into a bail).
7. Let the Quick Steel harden inside the mold. Depending on the climate in your area, this can take from 10 to 30 minutes. To see if your piece is hardened, you can touch the back of it and see if it is cool to the touch. The Quick Steel’s chemical reaction creates heat, so when the reaction is completely finished, the piece will return to room temperature. Also, it should be hard enough that you cannot dent it with your fingernail.
8. Gently remove the hardened clay from the mold.
9. Get your mixing cup and place a small amount of the pigment powder into it, along with about a quarter sized drop of Diamond Glaze. Mix well with your toothpick, or the back of a paintbrush. Adjust the amount of the pigment powder to get the desired depth of color, but make sure the mix is still liquid, and not grainy or doughy.
10. Use your paintbrush to evenly coat your piece in this mixture. Let dry to the touch (slightly tacky is OK, but may take fingerprints). This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on climate, thickness of Diamond Glaze coat, and mixture content. Make sure to wash your paintbrush thoroughly before the Diamond Glaze dries. If you don’t it will probably never come off.
11. Determine where you want the clay butterflies and flowers on your piece. Either with your toothpick or directly from the end of the bottle, put a small bead of Diamond Glaze where you want each flower or butterfly. Place the decorations onto your piece. Using tweezers is helpful, but not necessary. Allow to fully dry (usually 2 hours to overnight). I placed most of the flowers at the bottom, with the butterflies up the sides above them, but you can put them anywhere that looks good to you.
12. Pour out about a dime sized drop of Diamond Glaze and use your brush to cover the entire piece with it. This will help secure and protect all of the pieces you put onto it, as well as add a shine to the entire project. If you are good at controlling the flow of the glaze using just the tip of the bottle, you can apply it this way and just use the brush to spread it out. The Diamond Glaze will appear a milky white while you apply it, but don’t worry, it will dry clear. Allow the piece to completely dry.
13. Use your jeweler’s pliers, a pair of needle-nose pliers, or even the end of your toothpick to bend the end of your head pin that is sticking out of your piece into a loop to be connected to a jump ring or be used as a bail to put the piece on a chain. Enjoy wearing! 🙂
