rose petal pen

[donnapresley]

I tried to make A rose petal pen with rose petals not sure what I did wrong. Tore petals into smaller petals heated the resin then added petals and some clovers then catalyst and poured>it hardened fine but air all through it and color was gone from petals. Any suggestions before I try again. Thanks Donna

 

[PTownSubbie]

Are you using PR or Alumilite?

The pedals may react to heat and change colors. Maybe someone else will respond with ways to prevent that....

Were the pedals dry? Water will cause a reaction that looks like air sometimes.....

 

[PTownSubbie]

Are you using PR or Alumilite?

The pedals may react to heat and change colors. Maybe someone else will respond with ways to prevent that....

Were the pedals dry? Water will cause a reaction that looks like air sometimes.....

Dah...I just realized you wrote about adding catalyst so it must be PR..... Sometimes, I am not the brightest bulb in the shed......

 

[donnapresley]

used pr did not dry petals

 

[firewhatfire]

you need to dry your petals first. I have a cast block laying on my counter that was the same. I cast new petals and it leached all of the color out and left from white to translucent. I cast some after drying and it made all the difference in the world.

 

[donnapresley]

is it ok to leave petals whole or better to tear in small pieces and definitely will try again next week when rain moves out. thank you for all the help

 

[firewhatfire]

smaller is better on the petals. Alot of room for air bubbles if whole.

 

[plantman]

Donna; Take your rose petals, or any other plants you want to cast, and place them in the yollew pages of your phone book for a few days or until they feel dry. The colors will stay fresh and the petals will be flat and easy to work with. If you don't have a large phone book, place some type of a weight on top of it. I would cast flowers for my wife's wedding shop that way and never had a problem with fading colors. You will however get what appears like air bubbles if the items are not dry, but most of the time it is water. You can get air bubbles if you use multy layered flowers or stems that contain air inside. They make very interesting and beautiful pens. Mini rose or other flowers work the best. Jim S

 

[robutacion]

Flower petals contain lots of water they have to be dried or dehydrated in one of those food dehydrators. The thick phone book trick also works, it may that a little longer tough...!

As for the colour being affected by the resin heat/reaction, there are a few products that are used to seal the surfaces of various materials, from stamps to flowers, these sealer's are normally very effective on protecting the colours.

Bigger or smaller petals/pieces, everything in moderation, bigger may require some extra degree of difficulty but, all is possible, the main goal is to void the air bubbles to get trapped in the resin as it sets, for that, a pressure pot does a good job...!

Good luck,

Cheers
George

 

[firewhatfire]

here is a link to a pen I done with flower petals I cast.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/flowers-nuts-104542/

 

[donnapresley]

thanks for all the help gonna use my dehydrator and gorgeous pen

 

[penfetish]

I also experimented with Rose Petals and other flowers. Everything has to be bone dry and pressure casting really helps, as long as there is no moisture in the mix. I use Alumilite and it keeps the colors intact.