Clockwork Compact

This is one of my very favorite projects. I originally posted it to my Tumblr back in 2011, but I never kept up with that blog, so here it is again.

Back in October 2011 I went to see Panic! at the Disco in concert. During the show, I caught a guitar pick, and I was so excited to do something special with it. I originally wanted to drill a hole into it and turn it into a necklace, but I couldn't bear the thought of damaging it. I'm a little bit sentimental when it comes to my band memorabilia.

I looked around at my crafting supplies, and found a compact I had picked up at Hobby Lobby for pretty cheap. It had a pretty decal in it, but I thought I could make it into something a little more interesting.



So this is what I started with. I had the Hobby Lobby compact, which I used an exacto knife to pry out the decal; The Panic! guitar pick; an old pocketwatch component, which I had bought in a bulk package from ebay; and a clock face scrapbooking component from Hobby Lobby, that did not make it into the final design.

After removing the pink decal from the compact, I was left with a white paper backing that didn't look all that great. I wanted the finished look to be a little more refined, so I used black nail polish to cover the background. I only used black nail polish because I didn't have any black paint.  

After the nail polish completely dried I arranged my elements on the compact. I embellished with a few little gears that came in my bulk watch component purchase from ebay. So far, I really liked the design, but the outer area of the compact seemed a little bare. 

Like most crafters that I know, I had some spare copper chain in my supply closet. I measured out enough to fit around the circumference of the design and connected it together at the ends to create a nice clean loop of copper chain.

And this was what I settled on as the final design. I liked how the elements were balanced, and how the different colors of the metal embellishments complimented the colors of the guitar pic.

At this point, I was ready for the fun part!

Before I started this project, I had only worked with jewelry resin once before. The first resin I used left behind a slightly sticky necklace that picked up lint and fingerprints every time I tried to wear it. I had been very very careful to mix the resin properly, so I'm pretty sure it was just because the resin was very cheap. This project was very sentimental to me, so I didn't want to take any chances. I used ETI's EasyCast Clear Casting Resin. At the time I didn't know that there were multiple types of resin, and I (accidentally) chose the right one for my needs. This resin does a great job when used as a pour. It was designed to work in molds or deeper casts without clouding or making too many bubbles. It dries to a brilliant, high-shine finish.

This was the result after I had poured the resin over the elements. When you first mix and pour the resin, tiny bubbles will rise to the surface. You can either pop the bubbles with a very thin needle, or you can be adventurous, and wave the flame of a lighter very very quickly over the top of the resin. It will instantly pop all of the bubbles for you.

Then comes the hard part... the waiting. I covered the compact with a bowl and let it sit for about three days. I wanted to make sure the resin was fully cured. Trust me, it took a lot of willpower not to touch it in those first few days.



And this is my finished product! A perfectly preserved memento that serves a higher function! I've shown this off at other concerts, and every time I do, I always get a ton of compliments on how beautiful it is. Honestly (and humbly) I have to agree. And that's that! It was a very easy project, and I hope it inspires you to try using resin as well!