My friend KaKO recently gave me a big box of goodies from her past -- kind of like a 3-D scrapbook of her life. I spied this 80s watch from the middle of the pile. It probably just needed a new battery, but I decided I'd rather not know so I could be fearless in trying this idea. I prepped a frozen food tray with some release and went to town positioning the watch and carefully pouring the resin.
After it cured enough to pop it out of the tray the following morning, I noticed a bubble at the 10 o'clock mark. Rather than ditching the project (I tend to try to save just about anything with even a little potential), I thought I'd enhance the even-numbered hour marks with chatons. (Just so happens my friend Debbi Simon has been working with these sparkly bits lately, so I gave her a jingle.)
Another little glitch worked out as well, after I hit an air pocket (that darn 2 o'clock mark this time) while drilling the chaton divots. After I carefully removed the drill dust, I filled the pocket with resin one drop at a time. Then I used the resin to not only set the other five chatons, but add a high polish to the face of the piece. (I waited until the resin at the 2 o'clock mark set and thickened a bit before adding the last little glitz-bit.)
I learned three things about resin during this work: that it has a longer pour-time before setting than I thought; that matte surfaces can be glossed up with an additional resin skimcoat; and that mistakes are easily repaired with some patience and precision.
All-in-all, this watch-let was a pretty quick project. It makes me smile and feel happy every time I look at it -- a new take on the smiley face watch from the 70s!
