You really don’t need a bunch of tools to mix-up a batch of SilverCrete for jewelry.  A container to hold the concrete while mixing (disposable cup), a stirrer stick of some kind, a small palate knife, and maybe an eye dropper.  For personal protection, you’ll need glasses and thin gloves.

The batch quantity is usually very small, table-spoon or so depending on the item your making.  Just add water little by little with the eye dropper until you get the consistency of cookie dough.  Adding too much water is the most common mistake.   Use the knife to place the concrete and then tap out the air bubbles.  You can also use the knife to smooth the concrete if you like.

Concrete is an up and coming material in Jewelry these days with good reason.  Whether it be brightly colored or beautifully subdued, the material can serve as centerpiece or backdrop.  It has a stone like quality but can be playful as well as sophisticated.  Let’s face it, the texture is yummy.

Many artisans don’t realize that it lends flexibility to the jewelry designer that cannot be achieved in other ways.  It can be air cured, it’s more durable than plaster, feels cool to the touch like precious stones and less expensive than most other materials.  Because you can cast, your imagination can run wild.  It’s gorgeous with precious metals.

This material isn’t like making a counter-top or pouring floor!  First of all, it’s a finer grade in all ways.  Also, it’s super easy and with some basic guidelines set forth in some of the other articles and videos, you can be an expert in no time.

Whether your price point is under $100.00 or $2000.00, this material is a creative solution.  It has elegance with a dash of joy.

Vegetable Oil Mold Release

In the past,  cooking oil resulted in adequate results.  However,  as the molded piece gets smaller, there is less material to “absorb” all that oil and could result in quality problems, depending on your mold.   I am currently experimenting with a release that I am very excited about.   It won’t be finished for a few months so using the above mentioned releases will be just fine.  I’m really hoping that my experiments will come up with a product that is more useful for ALL mold types and is consistent.  I’ll keep you posted.