Joy of Resin Making

There is one word that I see and I get stumped. That word is "joy" it can be anything. People can find joy in all sorts of stuff like shopping, like gift-giving, Christmas or doing what you love. I came across this challenge and I wanted to share something special and different from what everyone else loves to do. That's when it came to me. Resin making! of course, it hit me like a pile of bricks. Resin making is an interesting hobby to have and certainly not friendly towards your wallet that is one thing that I learned.

So what is resin making? well... "Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry." according to Wikipedia. However, resin making can be defined as a craft. There are many possibilities with what you can do with resin. I have made jewelry, coasters, bookmarks, keychains, and magnets. There is so much you can with it and on the plus side, you can always repair things with it like a child's toy or a bookshelf.

When I first started on resin making I was nervous because of how expensive it can be. You first need to buy the resin mold and the resin mixture itself, which can break your wallet. However, I feel like it is completely worth it.

There's a lot more you can do than displayed in the photo. That's just a small example of what you can do. For the coaster on the top part of the photo, I used some dried flowers which were pressed in a book and then later added to the resin mixture. On the right-hand photo, I used some sparkles that I found in my art supplies, I would not recommend using glue glitter because it can mess up everything in resin making (believe me I have tried it) mostly because the chemicals don't work well and then the resin will not set. The other two coasters were created from extra things I found in my art supply. As another hobby, I like to do paint with diamonds, which contains little beads that I used in my resin making.

Resin is very unique since it is clear, so you can make resin coasters with layers and put something different in between the layers. Now, you may have noticed that the coaster with the flowers has some bubbles, that was the first one that I have ever made, so I did not have a handle on the mixing technique quite yet. I learned that when you slow down while mixing the mixture turns out more clear and less bubbly, but the bubbly effect can look really cool in certain things such as candle holders, which I have yet to try making. One of the things that I have always wanted to explore was making a lamp out of resin and a serving tray with the shore effect on it.

Resin has also been used on wood tables to create very cool marble effects.

Resin has so many options for everyone that is why I think it is such a great craft to try out. It can be hard to master, but if you mix the quantities right and have the right mindset about the craft, then I think it will work out great.

Here are some idea to try with resin:

1. Coasters

2. Jewelry

3. Serving tray

4. Art pours

5. Jewelry boxes

6. Lamp

7. Lights

8. Charms

9. Magnets

10. Key chains

11. Paperweight

12. Table

13. Chairs

14. Dresser handles/knobs

15. Repairing plastic

16. Bookmarks

17. Crystal ball

18. Hair clips

19. Pen holder

20. USB stick

21. Ashtray

22. Picture frame

Hopefully, the above list will give you some great ideas on creating some resin/epoxy crafts to keep you busy this summer. Hopefully Covid will be over and we can all get back to normal, but even so, I think you should try resin making as a hobby. Maybe in winter?