Thursday, May 21, 2009

An Experiment and a Giveaway!

Have you ever been faced with the problem of too many choices? I know you have, lol! This is what I was dealing with after making some new little collage magnets on formica tags....what to seal them with.


I happen to have 3 different glaze products in my stash:
Diamond Glaze by JudiKins
Royal Coat Dimensional Magic by Plaid
Aleene's Paper Glaze


It just so happened that I had made 3 different collages...so I decided to do a little experiment and figure out, once and for all, which product was the best coating for my magnets. I tried to use the same technique for all three. They were all done in the same place on the same day, right in a row. They had the exact same drying time--I applyed the glaze in the late afternoon and let it dry (untouched) overnight. I checked them early the next morning. All three were properly dry and had a nice smooth feel....no stickiness or gooey spots.



On this first magnet I tried the Aleene's Paper Glaze. It came out of the bottle really thick, I had a hard time getting it to cover the image in a smooth manner. I smoothed it out as best I could and looked for air bubbles, which were difficult to see due to the thickness of the glaze.

What is nice about the thickness is that you don't have to worry about it running over your edges, and you definitely will only need one coat!

This dried nice, but the finish is a little lumpy looking and there are a couple spots where it's apparent that I didn't put the finish on evenly and there are a few air bubbles that didn't pop.

I'd have to give this one a C-.



On this second magnet I tried the Diamond Glaze. It has a really nice consistency out of the bottle, flowed on smoothly and was just thick enough to hold it's edge without running over. I liked the ease of use.

The big problem I had was a lot of air bubbles showed up, even though I was careful to start the flow on scrap paper before applying it to my project and tried to work slowly and keep air out of the procedure. After applying it, blew on the surface to see if the bubbles would pop....nope. I then grabbed a pin and attempted to pop them....nope. Then I gently lifted the piece and dropped it on the table hoping the impact would pop them....nope. The only thing that really worked was to take the tip of the pin push the bubbles to the edge and then off of the project. This actually only worked on the bigger bubbles.

It dried very nicely--I like the glaze this one has. One thing I did notice was that the paper actually lifted off the tag surface along one edge. I'm not sure if that is the glaze's fault or if I didn't glue it down properly (I thought I had??) There are quite a few air bubbles that showed up even though I thought I had most of them. Also, I used a Sharpie marker on the top paper and it bled a bit.

I think there may be a learning curve to using this stuff, I'll have to give this one a C.

The third magnet got the Royal Coat. This also came out of the bottle really nice...a titch thinner than the Diamond Gloss. I put it around the edges and it seemed to hold the edge pretty good (I did have one little spot where it flowed down over the edge) and then proceeded to fill in the center area. It filled very nice. Once filled I checked for air bubbles.... there were only a couple and I was able to pop them with a pin.

This dried very nice, has an almost wet look to it. I like the shine. No problem with air bubbles either! Yeah. I think I've found my product!

This one gets an A.

HOW ABOUT A GIVEAWAY??

So there ya go! I'm thinking that I'll add some ribbon to the top and put a nice magnet on the back and see if any of you lovely Reader's would like to have one of them ??? Warts (bubbles!) and all! LOL If you don't mind a couple bubbles, please just leave me a comment here and I'll have a drawing for each of them (3 names will be drawn). They actually did turn out pretty cute, even if there are some flaws :o)

I'll do the drawing on Friday, May 29th.

28 comments:

Sarah said...

Oh they are totally cute! I hadn't tried anything but diamond glaze before, so it is interesting to see the difference. And your shop is too cute! :)

-Sarah (scraparcs @ Etsy :) )

Blondie ~ Vintage Primitives said...

Hey there
Thanks for the review on these products. I always buy a few things myself when I am searching for the perfect product. What can I say - I am a gadget freak. However, I am NOT as good as you; I don't remember which does best. LOL.
The beauty of handmade is that is homemade - flaws and all! If I wanted perfect, I would buy production line imports, which I don't.
Good stuff!

aaaandreaaaa said...

I thought the PLAID glaze was the best. I am glad to know about your research.

vivian said...

They all look great, but im with you, I think number three the plaid product looks best.
have a great weekend!

Coisinhasdalili said...

What a sweet jog. Very delicate... 'm in Brazil and I've never saw something like this. By the way, I love bubbles! ;-D

Amanda said...

Great post - I love crafty experiments!! I really like the one with the bunny. :)

iSew said...

This is really great Karen. I've tried Diamond Glaze on printable Shrinky Dinks, but that's it. I'm glad to know that the bubble thing is normal. I'll give the Royal Coat a try when I get back to that project. They look cute anyway!

Betty said...

I've wondered about that Diamond Glaze. I couldn't find it but they did have the Plaid glaze. I like that one too! I'm glad to see you back to work. Does that mean you're feeling better?! I hope so!

Kathy-Catnip Studio said...

I've only used spray glazes (on ornaments), and I really like them. I'll have to try some of that Plaid if I do something flat. No matter the outcome, your little birdies are darling!

Dawn Emmett said...

Great idea!! I agree with some fo the other comments that the Plaid in your experiment has turned out the nicest! Personally I have had REALLY good luck with the 3D Crystal Lacquer! Thanks for taking the time to try these out so all of us "crafters" can see the difference!

Kristi said...

Love your birdies! Never tried any of these products for anything, but if I need to I'll know which one to get!

SavingDiva said...

I think they're adorable (even with a few bubbles!)

NANCY LEFKO said...

what a helpful comparison....

thanks for visiting my blog :)

Carrie said...

Yep, the Plaid gets my vote, too. It's pretty cool to know you do research on these kinds of things!

Digital Misfit said...

Ive only used the Diamond Glaze, and have wondered about the Plaid. I must get some now - thank you for doing this test!
Those birdie collages are adorable.

heidig@gmail.com

Oakleaf Hollow Primitives said...

These turned out nice!! Thanks for the review! That will save me some money when I buy glaze. Hey, this could be a tv show!! The KwittyView! ;-D

julie

tammyCA said...

Those look pretty cute to me & I'd love to win one. Thanks for the product testing - it always bugs me when a product isn't as good as you think & can ruin your work.

Vickie @ In My Head Studios said...

What a nice write up and well said. Diamond glaze does have a steep learning curve I have noticed. Cute little collages!! Nice recycling on the formica tiles!

Tiff said...

Thanks for sharing your craft trials with us. I always love to hear about different experiences with products.Especially in these money crunch times , I like to know what works. Really cute tags also, just like your other items as always.

Junie Moon said...

I'm so glad you posted about your experiment as I have a small glass project on my to-do list I want to try. Your review helps a lot.

Thank you for your lovely drawing offer, but I'm commenting only because I wanted to say thank you. I have plenty of blessings in my life and don't want you to worry about adding my name.

The Catnap Cottage said...

You are so creative - You make such cheery goodies!!

Nancy said...

You create the cutest things and these are completely adorable!

lisa said...

Karen

What a fun give-a-way. I am a big fan of Plaid products, so I was happy to see the outcome of your experiment.

P.S. I love bubbles, warts.... not so much. :)

Lisa
www.palepinkandroses.com

Marilyn said...

Great post! These are so cute and would love to have one....bubbles and all! :))

Lallee said...

This was so interesting and informative. Thanks for sharing!

Loved seeing the parade photos too. I remember my son doing all the polishing for his Jr ROTC. Daisy is a beauty.

Art Space Gallery said...

Yes I would, warts bubbles and all - those little 'to be made into fridge magnet' birds are lovely. Well done, Lesley (from a wet and windy Cornwall).

Sharon said...

Oh, I don't mind bubbles. Please enter me in your drawing. These are cute!

Jessica @ Sunny Tuesday said...

I've found the best way to get rid of bubbles with Diamond Glaze is to lightly drag the bristles of a dry paintbrush over the surface. This usually either pops them or drags them to the edge where they're easier to pop. :)

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