Royal Flush in Resin

I am always on the hunt for projects that can be gifts for a guy. With boyfriends, dads, uncles, and grandfathers one needs a good "man" project.

I used EasyCast Resin, Castin' Crafts Mold Release, a mold, Mod Podge, Glossy Accents, and a deck of cards. Also, some scrap clear packaging, a permanent marker, and some scissors.
*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

To make a template for the mold cavity I'm using a piece of scrap clear packaging (this is from a Martha Stewart Mold).

Put the packaging over the mold cavity and trace inside the space using a permanent marker. Cut out the packaging and now we have a template.

I'm using the cards to make a royal flush to go in the resin. You could also do a full house or black jack!

The borders of the cards are too wide to fit my template so I trimmed all the corners down.

Now that it fits I need to hold it that way!

Using some Glossy Accents, I glued all the card corners together. Glossy Accents dries in about 20 minutes but stays wet long enough to move the cards around to fit the template.

Put the template over the design and trace around it with the permanent marker.

Cut this out carefully.

Now is the time to do any trimming or regluing if needed.

Paint a couple of coats of Mod Podge on the card pieces to seal them.

Spray the mold with mold release and mix up a batch of resin. Pour a layer of resin into the mold.



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
 

Submerge the cards face down into the resin.

Top off the mold cavities with some more clear resin and let set to harden for 24-72 hours.

Very nice man-ly resin!

To turn these into key chains I'm using E-6000, bails, chain, split rings, key chain rings, some key chain hooks, and jewelry pliars.

Apply some E-6000 to the bail...

Press the bail firmly to the back of the resin piece and let dry for 24 hours to get maximum adhesion.

These are my key chain hardware...

Attach the keychain ring to the key chain hook...

Attach a piece of chain to the key chain ring using a split ring...

Attach the resin piece to the chain using another jump ring...

Now these key chains are ready for gifting... I think they'll be a real winner!!!

Sprinkles in Resin Hair Pins

I am always on the look out for Vegan Sprinkles. It is amazing how many animal ingredients they can fit into such tiny things. It is also odd to me that a brand could have rainbow sprinkles that are vegan and chocolate that are not. Or jumbo size that are when the small size are not. Some of my lucky findings are:
Wilton Jumbo Rainbow Nonpareils
Marble Mix'ins Rainbow Sprinkles
Festival Confetti Sprinkles

While I do love to eat the sprinkles I also like to wear them! Encased in resin these lovely things can last for ages!

Gather supplies: EasyCast Resin, Castin' Crafts Mold Release, a mold, your favorite sprinkles, some glitter, cups, and spoons or stirring sticks (one cup and spoon/stick for each variety).
*ETI suggests wearing gloves when working with resin for safety* Gloves also help keep your nails nice :)

Spray mold with Castin'Crafts Mold Release and set aside to dry and Mix up a batch of EasyCast Resin.

Seperate the resin into cups for each variety you plan to make.

I'm making three varieties and have paired each type of sprinkle with glitter.

Pour in some sprinkles and a bit of glitter. Be sure that there is enough resin to coat all the sprinkles. These are the Wilton Jumbo Rainbow Nonpareils (found at Michael's) mixed with some orange glitter.

If you add too many sprinkles- like I did here you can scoop some back out if they are dry (do not eat them if you do this just in case there is some trace resin you didn't see!) A second option is to add some more mixed resin (if you still have some in another cup you can borrow it or just mix a small batch it only takes a moment). These are Marble Mix'ins Rainbow Sprinkles (found at WalMart) with some crystal glitter.

These are Festival Confetti Sprinkles (found at Hobby Lobby) with light blue glitter.

Mix the sprinkle resin well and pour into the mold. Be sure that all the sprinkles are completely covered with resin. If the sprinkles don't get covered with resin they will get gooey and sticky and the colors will bleed. Yuck! Let these set for 24-72 hours or until completely hardened before you unmold.



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
 

When you pop these out you may run into spots where the sprinkles have poked through the resin on the front. This is can be caused by too many sprinkles and not enough resin or just because the sprinkles will settle to the bottom and when the resin is still freshly mixed it will scoot out of the way to accomadate the sprinkles- polite to the sprinkles but very rude to the resin artist!  If this happens, some pieces may be beyond help but if it is only a spot or 2 they can be salvaged! I had some with these spots infact the same ones I am making the hair pins with (this really works!)

Using some Glossy Accents fill in the holes and let dry. It dries in an hour or less to a smooth, hard glossy surface. Once the filled in holes have dried, coat the entire surface of the resin piece. Ta da fixed! You can't even tell which ones have been patched up!

I'm making hair pins out of these using some bobby pins and E-6000 adhesive.

Apply some E-6000 to the flat side of the bobby pin and firmly press to the back of the resin piece. Let them dry face down for 24 hours to get maximum adhesion.

Now these are ready to wear. I think they would make great birthday gifts or party favors too!