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Monday 25 November 2013

A Review. Entirely solicited.

You know gentle internet, just from a quick scan of this blog, that I'm not inventive with my crafting, I'm a follower.  I like a trend and I like to comment (a lot) on trends.  I'm not the arty type that's given to six hours of experiment for one technique or to arrive with one card.  I can't use wet glue a lot because of the waiting time.  I don't have the imagination to be dimensionally creative - canvasses, melt pots, that sort of stuff..leaves me a bit cold in terms of personal enthusiasm.  Love what I see, but have no yearning to do.
So that's the immediate dilemma when the good people at Thermomorph ask me if I wanna review their plastic product. But above all of the things that I'm not, I'm a Desker and therefore nosey.  So I said yes.  
Step into my lab.  You don't need a white coat. Or a lab..all the science has been done really.  This stuff is incredible, like flubber. Only real.  Boil the kettle, let is sit for a bit (it has precise instructions...but I don't have a thermometer, so I erm, let it sit for a bit). Pour the water into a bowl.  Pour in some of the white balls from the green lidded pot. Try not to let them fall into a peak in the centre of the bowl. (This too is merely a tip, not a scientific requirement - you miss seeing the action).
 Before your very eyes, the balls turn transparent.  And they stick together.  It's clever. With a spatula..(OK, it was a butter knife), lift the 'mass' from the water.  It comes out of the bowl cleanly, so you won't have any probs with filthy residue and blahdy blah.  
 It's warm and malleable.  Like erm....I don't know really.  Uber extra super thick treacle, or melted plastic.  That's what it is, after all.  So..handle it a bit, then quickly dry your hands so that you can pull bits off, roll it into beads, roll it flat, shape it as you wish....
 As it starts to cool, it becomes opaque again.  And it's very easy to tell anyway, it becomes less pliable.  I had a tray of cold water set aside in which to 'plunge' stuff, just in case it was all too hot and burny. But it wasn't.  So I used it to speed up the cooling.  

Once cooled, it's plastic.  White.  If rolled or squashed thinly, it's easy to cut and sand. The Cropadile had no trouble with this thin star. And my sexy Fiskars hand drill had no trouble with the squares of pretend beads.  Although a few of them I had thoughtfully put holes in whilst the plastic was still warm...cocktail sticks.  All mod cons in my lab.  
Now I've seen Carmen's review and she did some very sexy moulding with her Thermomorph.  And it has a real purpose for her.  Not so much for me, I did just play with the making part.  But after punching sanding and drilling, it's got to be able to withstand a bit more, huh.  So.....

 
I coloured it.  The Sharpie is dry, the plastic makes it shiny.  Nice.











 I sponged and trickled alcohol ink onto it.
Worked a treat..it wouldn't sand off easily either, which I thought was useful.  I embossed it.  Silver pigment ink and holographic powder.  The heat gun melted the weak pointy parts of the star and there's a clear blob at left which caught the wrath of the heat gun too....but I just left them to cool off and they were solid again.  Clever.

 Acrylic paint works a charm.  I know this doesn't exactly look attractive, but frankly, these nasty looking blobs are SUCH A GREAT IDEA that I wanted them to look ugly - so no one will steal them when I put them in workshop baskets!

 And finally, I mixed powdered Pearl Ex into a clear glue and painted it onto another ugly blob.  Worked a treat.  And the bit of Thermomorph. that I used as a mini palette will now stay in my basket for just that...a handy palette.  Tiny is good if you never do any thing more painty than a swoosh or a flick!  
 So there you have it - and these ugly rocks are......
My new glue holders!  Great stuff this Thermomorph.  All the ridiculous bits I broke off the star edges, the useless beads and mishapen left overs..I flung them back in to more recently boiled water and played again.  There is genuinely no reason to have waste. I can see home made buttons, beads and embellishments, stamping into it will create amazing moulds and masks - it is lightweight - any number of faux metal finishes could be achieved for a fraction of the price of some of the real stuff.  I know you can think of loads of uses, because if I can... I also see Miss Dunnit at my shoulder - this stuff is perfect for the CosPlayer community too, all those pretend death rays, light sabers and twiddly bits - so much easier to make when you can use the Thermomorph.  I expect that every knob and button in the Tardis is made from it!  


I've barely scratched the surface of its potential for craft use.  I've barely scratched the surface of its volume either - the tub was full to the brim and I think I've used less than a centimetres worth of the volume.  Originally, I coughed at the price, but frankly, it's remarkably good value. As an incentive to get some real art from it - anyone want to take on the rest of the tub and extend my review? I don't feel it should sit unused here, it's potential is crying out for attention!  Leave a comment..if there's a massive number of you, I'll get someone to pick a number.  The condition is that you extend the review. That means show it off, with photos that brag about your talents.  This is no time for modesty. Mind, you're at my blog..you already know about lack of modesty!

34 comments:

  1. I love this review....hilarious! Seriously, this is a new product to me...may have to check it out.
    Kyla

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  2. Love the review and that product really looks fun.....if only I had time to play eh?
    Hugs,
    Annie x

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  3. Love your review!!! Just my style lol

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  4. I like the glue holder thingys and your plan to make them ugly to prevent them walking is sheer genius.

    Would it hold it's shape in a polymer mold? Presumably the outer shape would, but what about any surface details?

    ~Kate~

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  5. cool. Well hot, then cool, I suppose

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  6. Great review, had me smiling at the fuggly stuff that will not walk at demos.. smart thinking batwoman! Love your little glue bottle stands... you could sell those, my bottles are always the wrong way up for me!

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  7. How about you send us a little each to play with? I love the idea of this stuff. I have the silicone moulds for icing that I got for stuff like this, then never got the stuff...not available here...might buy it on the web then! I likey the look of this a LOT!

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  8. I love your 'ugly bits' for standing your glue pots in - what a fab idea.

    I was sent some of this and had great fun playing with it but have to admit I was a bit boring and stuck to using silicone moulds - although I did add some glittery embossing powder to a batch to make it twinkly.

    Toni xx

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  9. what a great review, and I love the glue holders...Hope you find someone willing to take it off your hands and extend the review, because whilst I love the look of it, I am sure it would just sit on my desk (ha ha) cluttering up the place - after all I bought beeswax to use in my melt pot about 2 years ago and not even opened the lid yet!

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  10. Haha, so funny this review. Please count me out for playing with it, because I'm afraid I'm like you, I wouldn't know what to do with it and might end up just making glue stands as well =)
    xx Monique

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  11. Sounds like a fab product - am thinking it would make great moulds for clay and UTEE which I love, ooh and beeswax, candle wax, so many different reasons that this would be a fab product. Thank you for the chance xx

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  12. Brilliant review! You should do this sort of thing for a living, Julia! I love those glue stands - what a great idea. I usually stand my glue upside down in a tissue box! These uglies are far better than that! Don't know if I'd be able to use this stuff, though. I want to try Friendly Plastic first. Julie Ann xx

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  13. Julia, this was a good review.I'm not a paint or squish-lover either, but I am gradually liking paper works and glue a bit more.
    Dop't think I'll be getting this goo, but did enjoy the review.Hope you're having a nice week.
    Judy

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  14. This looks like such an interesting product. And you make the best reviews, Julia!

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  15. Fantastic review. So glad you got to use the product, and found a good use for it, too.

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  16. Brillent review and not too techie! I can hear my purse groaning again. xxx

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  17. I saw Carmen's review too, it looks like good stuff but I think it's expensive. You say you use tiny amounts though so maybe it is worth it. I'd love to have a play with some... and I would extend the review with pleasure

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  18. Sounds a bit like Friendly Plastic Pellets which I have used. If you are still experimenting try adding alcohol inks and try draping a piece over a bowl to make - a bowl!
    Have fun.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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  19. Never heard of this! Looks like fascinating stuff to play with, but don't send it my way. I have too many other unfinished projects lined up--LOL! I LOVED your review, though!! Glue holder blobs!! Genius! :)

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  20. Sexy moulding :D I likes that I do! Our comments were - it looks like snot and that stuff women put in their bras!! Honestly. Cultured bunch I have ;)

    Great review Julia - I never even thought about a cooling down station! Will do next time :D

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  21. Great review! Love your glue holders! :)

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  22. I'm with you. I just want stuff to work when I use it. I don't want to have to fiddle about with it. I did a bit of fiddling when I first got into stamping and was accused of wasting things with my experiments. I noticed a waste of time myself. Anyway, this stuff is not to me but I'm sure lots of people will go ga-ga over it and its uses.

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  23. This looks like lots of fun. As Neet says, it is very like friendly plastic pellets. I would love to have a play, especially for moulding, as clay dries out too quickly so I waste a lot. But I don't think I would actually buy it because I know it would mostly sit unused in a drawer. I enjoyed your review! Kate x

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  24. This stuff looks amazing and I would love to play with some. I work as a Chemistry technician in a school and love experimenting at home too.It looks great for mixed media projects and jewellery making.

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  25. Interesting review, Julia. It sounds identical to Friendly Plastic pellets which I have been using for several years. I am going to follow your link and compare prices - I did manage to find some unbranded ones on Ebay that were cheaper than FP which is pretty expensive.

    Great advantage is that if you don't like what you've made, or have finished with it, you can melt it down again.

    I use an electric skillet (also known as a multi-cooker) with a thermostat on the front - this stuff melts at 60 deg C (just too hot to put your hand in). I have made my own moulds from 2-part silicone putty and have made gear wheels etc. and small charms, and more recently have been experimenting with different materials to make some more art deco door plates for our new house, using an original as a pattern - I think FP will be too expensive for this.

    Shoshi

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  26. Just found ThermoMorph at half the Amazon price on Ebay:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/170762540590?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&limghlpsr=true&lpid=101&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=101&ff19=0

    I will continue to look for best prices for these plastic pellets.

    Shoshi

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  27. Well, that all looks very interesting. At first, I thought, hmm, maybe you could just use polymer clay for the same results? But, probably not, and p/c does need to be baked (giving off noxious fumes) so, really, I guess it's not that similar after all. I would probably buy it if I had nothing better to do, ha ha ha :)

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  28. that's my sort of review and the sort of stuff to have a serious (seriously!!!) play with especially if you don't like what you've done you can try again
    janet

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  29. I love your review Julia! I read every word!!! I think if that product was available here, I would definitely go and buy it!!!! Patsy from
    HeARTworks

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  30. Oh my dear this was a fabulous post, still laughing, brilliant use of the stuff for your glue holders, you showed how other products react with it, your tricky too, smart, no one will steal your things now , you should get paid for this review, still laughing,,,, come on what sell better then with a sense of humor.. Have a wonderful day thanks for sharing, see you tomorrow, big hugs..

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  31. You make me laugh, Julia! Excellent review. I hope you were making jello shots (see picture number 2) for when you finished. You deserve it and I'll be right over to help you dispose of them! Hugs, Darnell

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  32. Great review, Julia, and your glue bottle stands are brilliant. I've done something similar with polymer clay making tool stands, but this stuff you don't even have to bake. Kewl.

    Not that I need another project to work on, but I can think of lots of other things to try and would be happy to extend the review. :-)

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  33. So happy to see this post below the WOYWW post I was planning to leaving a comment on. What a great read...love the review especially your candid remarks about your interests and abilities.But what a clever use of the blobs...genius Julia...we all have issues with glossy accent tips drying up. Send it this way...I'll find a good use for it and be happy to continue the review. Be well Carole #67

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  34. Hi Julia, the ugly things had me puzzled right up to the end!
    Anyway is this another thing I could buy and forget what for, like the huge jar of petroleum jelly, or the foam board, I know I saw something in a mag, and thought I like that, then saw the product some time later and had a vague recollection of wonderful tutorial, so I buy it, then I can't remember what I saw or when!
    Carol

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Your contribution is a valuable thing - thanks for taking the time!