Tyra Smith, Cloud 9, Tips & Techniques

Beeswax

Annette Husband amstamps@yahoogroups.com
I love using beeswax and actualy have been using it this am here in Oz.I use the natural sheets and melt it with a Clover mini quilt iron...like a solder iron but has a small trowel at the end.It melts as you touch the iron on top of the wax over the papers or cs underneath and you use the iron to then melt and spread it out further.As it does it soaks in and when it dries it acts like a glue so you can add torn layers,embellishments like buttons etc and build up depth to a piece that looks seemless.I like using it thinly too but if you want to stamp in it for texture then build it up thickly and use the heat gun to remelt a section and stamp away...add colour with water based oil pastels or paint or ink or rub ons. Some people use a low heat mug warmer,melt pot or a double boiler to melt the wax and paint it on but I didn't like it applied like that myself.Only thing to be REALLY careful of is that wax of course can catch alight so don't melt it using high heat and even with the heat gun just wave it briefly over an area to melt the wax.Oh and if you don't like a componant of your collage or card just remelt the wax and remove it!!!A great book that has step by step how too for beeswax work and wonderful other ideas is Claudine Hellmuth's Collage Discovery Workshop...that is where I learnt about it and boy is it addictive...love the smell and the look of it.When finished you can leave the piece muted looking or buff it with a soft cloth to make it shine

Kathy txkinnaman@aol.com
I was fortunate enough to take a class from Claudine Hellmuth in Houston, and she used beeswax in the following way:

She melted it in a very small crockpot, and then dipped a long-handled artist's paintbrush into it, to carry some of the melted wax to her collage. While it was still warm (ya gotta hurry, cuz it cools very quickly), she stamped into the wax. Claudine recommended that we use just stamps that are toys....like solid plastic ones found at Toys R Us. But someone else on Stamptalk mentioned that they just use their good rubber stamps....no ill effects to the stamps.

After the wax is cool, Claudine uses either pigment ink or brown shoe polish (she tries to use cheap products, she says! lol!) , and works it into the stamped image with her finger. Then wipe off the excess when finished. Voila! You have an unusual and memorable embellishment!

Jane ahausfrau02@yahoo.com
Damar cyrstals are a resin (do not use the damar varnish, as that is extremely flammable). I intend to melt mine with the wax in the melting pot and try the resulting concoction in a Krafty Lady Mould. I'll be sure to share the results!!!! The concoction is supposedly Medieval Sealing Wax. Depending on the lot you get, you may have to strain the liquid, as damar does have impurities in it; after all, it is a tree sap.

The formula for beeswax/damar crystals mixture is supposedly this: 2/3 beeswax and 1/3 resin. The more resin you add, the harder the wax will be. If you had an old coffee grinder, you could use it to crush/powder the resin quite easily. I'll either use a mortar and pestal or put the chunks in a bag and hammer away.

Here are some field notes on my experiment today:
1) Powdering Damar crystals is very easy. You can put them into a zip lock back and take a mallet to them. Powders after a few hits. Do not skimp on this step!
2) Damar has a higher melting point than beeswax. Might be helpful to melt it first then add beeswax?
3) I didn't powder the first batch of crystals, they were very small chunks so I thought they would melt in. Wrong! Trying to get the wax and resin to blend together was almost impossible no matter how much I stirred.
4) This stuff is very sticky.
5) The Damar adds a little bit of a golden glow to the wax.
6) The concoction is remeltable.
7) If you need to trim up a casting, do it while the was is still somewhat warm. Easier and much cleaner look.
8) I'd go with about 50% resin to 50% wax.
9) You can try to skim out the impurities from the resin with a small scoop. Some of the gunk will settle to the bottom. If you pour carefully, it won't be an issue.
10) This stuff is HARD when it is full cooled, so you could turn it into jewelry.
11) I did notice a bit of a tackiness to my castings. I may seal it with a finish or with some colorant paste (rub n buff or metal rubs). The natural, soft look of the beeswax is retained in the process.
12) The concoction moulds beautifully. I would imagine that it is easy to apply to fabrics and fibers. You could try either dipping or using an old brush. I imagine you could do touchup work with a mini iron.
13) I ended up with a 1:1 ratio of beeswax to resin

Important note I left out regarding the melting: If you are using a Melting Pot, please use an insert pan. This stuff is sticky and requires lots of stirring and attention to get it to homogonize.

If you don't like the color of refined beeswax, you can always color the mixture. You might try crayon shavings for a pastel tinge, perhaps a bit of encaustic crayon or even encaustic pure color for a richer color. Other readily available colorants might be candle maker's colors, pigment powders and mica powders. The surface is a little tricky to work with. Some paints or inks won't stick to the surface. Try a rubbing paste like Rub n Buff. I just applied some Daler-Rowney ink and it takes :) I imagine the Primary Elements would work as well.

For information on related topics see:
Tips & Techniques: Damar Crystals