Hi everyone! As I recieved a lot of questions about resin and my supplies since I posted a mini resin update on Instagram, I thought I would put together a blog post so that I could put all the info in one place :)
First let me show you the two molds I bought (please excuse how dirty they are):
They are both from the same seller on Aliexpress, come with free shipping, are extremely good quality and make super shiny pieces! I am very happy with these two as my first molds, and have been making a lot of use of them. The only thing that I initially thought could improve them would be if they had curved rather than perpendicular edges. I have since changed my mind about this though, as I have learned how to dome which gives a much softer look to the finished piece! Doming is also very useful when repairing overspill. What I have learned to do is to sand the overspill so that the piece becomes flat and then dome over the top to make it shiny again; it works like a dream!
❤ Love mold Aliexpress
here
❤ Circle shape mold Aliexpress
here
I also bought a pair of makeshift doming mats from K-mart which are actually just silicone heat mats for picking up hot pots:
They are perfect for catching any resin runoff, and ensuring that pieces don't get stuck when an overspill happens! I highly recommend investing in something like this (they were only about NZ$1 each), as resin is an amazingly sticky substance. The small amount I got on my desk is stuck fast and not going anywhere!
If you can't find them in store, I've seen some on Aliexpress
here
This is the resin I've been using:
It's called Easy Cast by Castin' Craft and I bought the 16 oz box.
So far I love this resin! It deals with anything I throw at it and hardens perfectly: acrylic paint, ink, glitter - even some water drops that accidentally fell into the molds while the resin was curing. Although it says low odour I really dislike the smell which is actually a good thing with chemical stuff like this. As it's the only resin I've tried I can't compare its clarity with others, but it looks like a really clear resin.
I bought mine from a New Zealand online outlet (Trademe) but it's originally from Beadaholique.com
❤ You can find the link
HERE
White Ink & Mod Podge:
I bought this white ink on Ebay after seeing it in
+Frainy xo 's videos. As you can see in her YT video
here it is really opaque, and when mixed with fine coloured glitter it gives a pastel effect. The one I purchased is a small bottle (1oz) but it looks like it will go a long way. It hasn't affected the curing process of my resin pieces, which is a relief. I've taken to mixing it with my standard acrylic paints in the resin to create the pretty pastel colours which you can see in my finished pieces below :)
❤ I bought it from Ebay
here
I bought the Mod Podge from a local craft store, but you can find it on amazon or Ebay. Mine is several years old but still works really well. I accidentally bought the paper Mod Podge because I didn't know that there were different variations. I have used it a few times now to seal paper cutouts in resin and where I've applied it properly it hasn't let me down! I use
+crafterzdelights sealing paper stickers technique to seal them, and after trying several others including tape, I have to say it's the best way. You can view her tutorial
here. I found a random sheet of clear plastic and have been using it - I don't think it's the exact correct type as it doesn't vanish completely like hers, but it's been working well enough!
Glitter & Glitter shapes:
I got a bunch of different glitter types: fine to colour, glitter strips to add sparkle etc. I bought a few sets off Ebay which I would say avoid if you can get glitter in your local shops. They tend to sell the glitter on Ebay in very small containers like you see above, which was good for me to begin with, but will not last very long! The local stores that I have in my reach also have terribly limited glitter options. I wasted my time on some plain 'white glitter' that looks like air bubbles in my resin >.<
❤ I bought a fine glitter set
here
❤ and glitter strips
here
❤ and a few individual chunky glitter mixes
here
I bought these glitter shapes off of Imagination station after watching a haul/review video from
+LittleSurprisesYT which you can view
here. I was so disappointed that they didn't have any of the colours she hauled in stock and also wrote to them to ask if they might get more in, but never heard back unfortunately. The glitter is still great, but as I didn't want mixed glitter I painstakingly sorted each container into it's own individual colour. I would not do this again, nor would I recommend this to anyone as you are left with very little of each colour for all your hard work! I'm still trying to find a place where I can buy these colours and shapes in a larger quantity. I did find some tiny little jars of the shapes on Ebay as you can see in the first picture at the top of the page, but the colours are limited as is the quantity in each miniature bottle.
❤ You can find Imagination Station Atlanta's storenvy
here
❤ Ebay miniature bottle set - star
here and heart
here (same seller)
Decoration:
I bought these beautiful pastel rhinestones and pearls from Ebay for decorating my resin pieces. I think they are stunningly beautiful and excellent quality! Their shipping was super fast as well, the whole experience was so good that I've just made another order with them, woops!
❤ The seller is called The Amazing DIY Shop and you can find them
here
These little pearl bows and stars I got from BeadSupplies on Etsy. They were just a last minute add on to my order at just $1 each bag. I think they are really pretty, and have since ordered some similar pearl shapes from Ebay. These are high quality with no defects, so I'd like to see how the Ebay ones compare :)
❤ Find Beasupplies on Etsy
here
I got some plastic cups and shot glasses from K-mart as well:
I also bought some wooden popsicle sticks from a dollar store for stirring and dolloping.
Last but not least I got a lot of questions about where I got my cat stickers from. I've actually had them for a long time, and I got them from Ebay. I have a super soft spot for anything from Jetoy which my wallet can attest to (it's a Jetoy cat face wallet HAHA gotcha!)
The reason why I used these in my first resin pieces is that despite them being really pretty, they are terrible quality! I can hardly peel the plastic stickers of the sheet that they're on and when I get them off they quite often crease. The paper sitckers in this set are nice though! This confuses me as I do have other Jetoy stickers that are fantastic quality - maybe I got a knockoff?
❤ Anyway I couldn't find the same listing that I bought as it was a few years ago, but
here is another. Perhaps you will have better luck!
❤
I hope this helps and answers some of your questions! I have to say that resin is JUST as much fun if not more than I thought it would be, although it is terribly messy as well! Here are most of my first two batches of resin pieces:
I used some stickers and also a lot of memo pad cutouts! I'm in love with these pieces! Only one of them (two little swinging Sentimental Circus fairies) got water damage due to my inept sealing and the big turquoise Turomi piece got a large air bubble just by his face, but all in all I'm super happy with the results! I have some ribbon and things, and am making them into adorable little finished pieces.
❤
+SugarCharms808 will be making a tutorial on how she colours resin in the near future, so be sure to subscribe to her and check out all the lovelies I mentioned at the beginning to get to all the little knowledge pearls they have to offer!
❤
My order of 100 minicards with rounded edges (which is extra) came to £13.04 which included international shipping to NZ! I ordered on the 17th of August and received my order on the 28th so the shipping was very fast. I really think these sweet little cards elevate the quality of my product, and I feel so excited slipping them in the little parcels I put together.
