The Case For Making A Mistake

 I have been trying to photograph a resin mistake.  I have gone out of my way to make the mistake just so I could have a teachable moment here on the blog.

 I wanted to show you why I always protect paper or fabrics with three complete coats of mod podge or a good gel medium before I pour any Envirotex Lite over it.  Three times is the charm.  Anything less and you get a stain on your paper, which I also tried to photograph.

 I made these three bezel samples.  The bird images are sweet and I was sure they would help me to show you the importance of good paper preparation.  So I coated one bezel's paper with three coats of mod podge, one with only one coat and the third had no protection at all.  I poured a layer of Envirotex Lite into each and then let my pieces cure.  I was so sure the bezel with the three coats of protection would work out that I even added some embellishments.

 Would you believe all three turned out perfect?  No stains, no obvious discolorations.  I could not believe it.  The resin gods were playing tricks on me.

 So I started another series.  The first Audrey is unprotected.  The second I used mod podge on one half.  The third Audrey bezel has three coats of mod podge protecting the entire paper image. 

 Success!  I mean failure!  YIPPEE!  See how discolored half the paper is on the first bezel?  You can see the side which was protected with mod podge easily.  The second one had no protection, so it is just a stained mess.

The one with three coats of mod podge is perfect!

Let that be a lesson!  Three coats is your best chance for perfection!

Just so you know, I have now switched to using Ultra Seal, a higher end multi-purpose sealer, glue and quick decoupage manufactured by Enviromental Technology Inc.  I know this product is not available everywhere, but I did want you to know this is my sealer of choice!