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Gifts for the Soul
Stop time and relive pastlife memories by surrounding yourself with unique gift ideas that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are useful. Explore what it must have been like to slay a dragon; or explore the world of Merlin with some great gift ideas from Cosmeta's New Age Giftshop.
Gift Ideas
There is nothing more soothing, more inspirational than having a wall fountain either in your own home or business. And at, Cosmeta's giftshop you will find a wide variety of styles to enchant the senses and uplift your soul.
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Material Composition
The majority of products in our Gifshop are sculptures and figurines. They are made from a variety of materials. The most common are alabastrite, polyresin and resin and the ever popular crystaline spun glass. This page will help you recognize the difference between each.
This web site as well as this page is still a work in progress and I hope to put up more information as it becomes available. Thank you for your patience.
What is Alabastrite?
Alabastrite is a form of polyresin. It is a stone-based material, and has a similar appearance to porcelain and pottery. It is easy to sculpt, and is usually painted with water soluable materials. For this reason, sculptures and figurines made of alabastrite are usually decorative items displayed indoors rather than outside.
What is Polyresin?
Polyresin is a resin compound generally used for statues, figurines, and decorative furniture. It is a sturdy material that can be intricately molded, allowing a great level of detail with consistent texture.
Additives can be incorporated into the compound to enhance the material's strength, reduce its weight, add heat stability, decorative effects, and so on. Polyresin is also compatible with a large range of different finishes, including paint and metallic finishes, which is why many decorative pieces are made from this material.
One form of polyresin often used is Alabastrite. It is a stone-based material, easy to sculpt, takes paint well, and has a similar appearance to porcelain and pottery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyresin
What is Resin?
There are two types of resins: natural resins and synthethic resins. Resins, whether nature or synthetic have a viscous or sticky consistency but can harden when treated with other compounds. Natural resin comes from plants. The classic exampe of plant resin is pine sap. It has a strong potent terpentine odor. Another example of nature resins are gums extracted from various trees and plants.
Synthetic resins are man made chemical compounds. When combined with other compounds resins can produce high quality silicone molds and molds in turn can help the artist create identical duplicate copies of their sculptured pieces. Most decorative sculptures and figurines are made synthetically because they are less expensive to refine, manufacture and produce. This offers the shopper good quality products that are less expensive.
What is Porcelain?
Porcelain is finely ground white clay, molded and fired in an special oven called a "kil" for eight hours at 1200 degrees. It is finished with a glazed, under-glazed, or bisque finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; under-glaze produces a matte or dull finish; and bisque is a matte finish without glaze. After finishing, the item is baked for an additional six hours at 800 degrees. Then, it is carefully removed and then cooled.
The products and information posted to this web site should not in any way be used as a substitute for the advice of a physician or licensed practitioner; or in the case of pets and petcare, a licenced veterinarian.
