Attach a playful penguin to your key fob and turn it into a FUNKEE keychain. This anodized penguin has a belly filled with iridescent flashes of brilliant colour giving it the look of dichroic glass or a dazzling opal. But you don't need glassmaking or lapidary skills for this project... You can easily create this dichroic glass look with UV resin and iridescent mylar flakes .  And it will only take you around an hour!  I've used an ultra-fast curing UV resin in this project. But you can use regular UV resin and still get the same results. The benefit of using this faster curing resin are that it has a lot less odour than regular UV resins, it cures FASTER and it only needs a low-wattage lamp (like a UV torch or mini UV lamp) to cure it.  Project Shopping List: Penguin (or other animal) anodized bottle opener/keychain (this one is similar) . Tip: If you wish to use the key chain as a bottle opener, choose one where the bottle lever is separate to the body opening. Fantasy......

One of the biggest challenges when working with resin is bubbles. There are plenty of ways to deal with them if you have any in your project. If you're looking for tips on how to do that, here's a post that shows you  7 Ways to Eliminate Bubbles From Your Resin . But what about eliminating them right from the outset? Is it possible to mix resin WITHOUT incorporating bubbles into the mix? One sure-fire way to minimise bubbles is to mix the resin slowly . But even still, no matter how slowly you mix it, you're likely to end up with some bubbles. But THERE IS A BETTER WAY! Ditch the wooden stir stick! Yes, that's right... ditch it! Wooden stir sticks are a major cause of bubbles being introduced to the resin during mixing. Whilst your stirring technique will definitely have an effect on the amount of bubbles that you get, many of the bubbles that occur when you're mixing resin are caused by the rough surface and the cellular nature of the wooden stir stick. The resin......

Don't let bubbles be the undoing of your next resin project. No matter whether you're just starting out with resin or whether you've been working with resin for a while, bubbles are something you will always have to deal with. They can be really frustrating but there are ways of minimising them, or even eliminating them from your projects. There are many different things that cause bubbles and there are just as many ways to minimise or get rid of them. Half the battle is working out WHY you got bubbles. Once you know why you're getting them, it's a whole lot easier to deal with them. Try some of these tips and tricks to beat those pesky bubbles. How to Deal with Bubbles in the Mixing Stage 1. Avoid Vigorous Mixing and Stir Slowly Resin needs to be mixed thoroughly for it to cure. If you stir fast or whip the resin, you'll incorporate a lot of bubbles into it. Try stirring slowly. It will take longer but when you're working with epoxy, you have plenty of time......

Fresh cut flowers might be shortlived but we can't help enjoy them for their fragrance, beauty, shape and colour. It's no wonder that we want to preserve them forever in resin. But how do you preserve them? And can you put them straight into resin? These are questions I'm often asked about putting botanicals into resin. Hopefully, this FAQ page will answer the questions you've been wondering about. I know you're itching to get your flowers into resin before they begin to fade, but before you dive in with those beautiful flowers from your bridal bouquet, or the memorial flowers from a loved one's passing, read through these FAQ's so that you know how to treat your flowers for best results. Keep Your Flowers Fresher for Longer First things first, keep the flowers in a cool place until you're ready to work with them. Have you noticed how florists keep their arrangements in the fridge? There's a very good reason why. It helps slow down the flowers' ......

Most times when I measure out resin, I usually mix up a little more than my mould needs just in case I have a spill. But because I hate to waste resin, I usually pour whatever's leftover into something else, like a smaller mould or a small cup. After a few resin sessions, I end up with little pots of striped resin, like these. Pretty cool, huh? They're all sorts of colours I'd probably never put together but that's part of their charm! So now that they've cured, what can you do with them? Lately, I've been turning them into rings.  Depending on which way you slice the cups, you can have the stripes running in any direction you like - something that pouring into a ring mould doesn't allow you to do! It's quite a lengthy process but the end results are totally worth it! But before getting underway, I need to stress that this is not a Beginner's project ! Safety First Before getting into the project, I'd like to talk about safety. Just as when you......