Glow in the Dark Resin Jewel Hair Pins

While working on making things glow, I thought I would explore not only black light reactions but also making resin glow in the dark! For my first glow in the dark resin project I made some awesome glowing jewel hair pins!

 

 

Gather your supplies… EasyCast Resin, Castin’ Crafts mold release, a cup and spoon, Glow in the Dark Puff Paint, a mold, E-6000, and some hair pins.  

*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

The mold I’m using is actually made for hard candy. This will come up again when we are removing our resin from the mold.

Spray your mold with Castin'Crafts Mold Release and set aside to dry and mix a small batch of EasyCast Resin.

Next, I am adding some glow in the dark 3d paint (also known as puff paint or deminsional fabric paint).  The natural color glows the brightest but there are other glow colors too: yellow, pink, orange, and green. I’m using Scribbles brand but Tulip brand should work too.

I just squeezed a little blob straight into the resin. Gently mix it in for another 30 seconds or so until it is a uniform color.

 

Pour it into the mold. A paper cup it great for this because you can pinch a pour spout into the side. For small molds like the one I’m using, pour slowly to avoid overflowing the cavities.

Set aside to harden for 24-72 hours.

The mold is made of plastic that is thin and brittle and really wants to hang on to the resin so, put your mold into the freezer for 10 minutes. The cold causes the molecules of the resin to contract which, in turn, helps the resin to release from the mold. It should now easily pop out of the mold. You may need to repeat this to get all of your resin pieces out of the mold.
 

Now they are out! Here is what the look like in regular light…

This is under a black light…

Here they are glowing away with the lights out!

 

To turn the jewels into hair pins, we will need some E-6000 adhesive and some hair pins ofcourse!

Take 2 jewels of the same shape and put some E-6000 on the back of one. Firmly press the hairpin into the adhesive on the back.

Add more E-6000 to the back of the other jewel and sandwich it onto the other jewel with the hair pin in between the two jewels. Be sure that you press the sandwich together firmly and that the jewels are lined up. Let this sit for 24 hours to get maximum adhesion.

Here is the side view of the sandwiched hair pin.

Now it is ready to wear. I’m thinking of a bun with several of these surrounding it!

Black Light Resin Bracelet

While wondering around Wal-Mart I ran across these new Neon Sharpie markers which claim that they react to black light! They really do :) Any little doodle and it glows just like all the black light posters! Being in need of a bracelet to go with my black light pendants I decided to make one using the Sharpies!

The supplies this time are: EasyCast Resin, Castin' Crafts Mold Release, bracelet mold, an overhead trasparency, Neon Sharpie markers, and glitter.

*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

I started by making a template of the bracelet using some junk mail.



This is a mold from Yaley Enterprises.
They make resin and Deep Flex Resin Molds along with a variety of colorants.
Check out all the offer here: http://yaley.com/SitePages.asp?ID=46
 

 I used the bracelet template to cut a piece of transparency to the right size.

I like the design on this stationary so I simply laid the piece of transparency onto and began tracing the design using the markers.

Here's a shot of the tranparency pulled away from the spot where I was tracing.

Continue down the entire strip of transparency.

Spray the mold with Castin'Crafts Mold Release and mix up a batch of EasyCast Resin.

Fill the mold with resin. Using a paper cup is great for this because you can pinch a pour spout into the side.

Completely submerge the transparency strip into the resin. You can use your mixing spoon or a toothpick to keep you fingers clear of the resin.

Once the transparency had been submerged I added some glitter. I sprinkled it around the entire circumference of the mold as evenly as I could manage. Then set it to harden for 24-72 hours.

Once completely hardened it's pretty easy to pop out of the mold. The transparency disappears and now it looks like the design is floating in the resin.

Under the black light the design glows and also lights the surrounding resin!

Do I hear a Dance Dance Revolution party calling?!

Black Light Reactive Resin Charms

I am so excited that this worked out so well! EasyCast Resin really is a wonderful and flexible product. I wanted to see if I could create jewelry that would glow under a black light and it worked perfectly.

I purchased a cheap black light at Wal-Mart for $5. It is a compact fluorescent that can be screwed into any normal sized light socket. I also saw a bulb just like this one of a different brand at Home Depot for the same price. While these bulbs don't pack the same punch as the ones in night clubs they are MUCH better than the ones that look like standard incandescent bulbs!

I started by gathering my supplies: EasyCast Resin, Castin' Crafts Mold Release, Mod Podge, a mold, flake stickers, glitter, microbeads, screw in eye pins, and a Hi-Liter!

*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

The Hi-Liter contains flourescence which will glow under a black light this will work for most yellow, pink, and orange hi-lighters. Sadly, the purple and blue did not glow- it is easy to check which will glow before adding them to your resin by writing with them on a piece of paper and holding them under a black light.

Coat both sides of your stickers with the Mod Podge and let dry.

Spray your mold with mold release and set aside to dry while you mix a batch of resin.

Now take the hi-lighter and open it up to get at the core. I found a seam in the plastic and used a pair of scissors to pry it apart.

Add a few drops of the hi-lighter fluid by sqeezing the core. I used 6 drops for this batch. Gently mix this into the resin. I stirred for about a minute to get it completely incorporated.

Pour the resin into the mold cavities you've chosen.



This is a mold from Yaley Enterprises.
They make resin and Deep Flex Resin Molds along with a variety of colorants.
Check out all the offer here: http://yaley.com/SitePages.asp?ID=46

Put the stickers into the resin face down and press them to the bottom of the mold. A toothpick works great for this.

I added some glitter.

And some microbeads.

Put this in a safe place to harden for 24-72 hours.
Once the resin has set you will be able to easily pop them out of the mold.

To turn the resin piece into a charm I am using a screw in eye pin. You simply pick the spot you want to be the top and firmly apply pressure while screwing the pin into the resin.

If you are worried about the stability of the screw you can unscrew it, apply a dab of E-6000 adhesive, and screw it back in. The E-6000 will need to set for 24 hours to be at its maximum adhesion.

Now we have some awesome resin pieces that glow under black light! They are perfect for clubs or raves if your a party animal. Or if you're a bit more laid back (like me!) a Dance Dance Revolution party night with some friends!