craftgrrl | First attempt at resin casting.

First experiment with resin casting.

And while I had some difficulties initially (all due to my being over eager to get started and so not putting newspaper down on my work surface, and not stirring the first batch of resin enough)

I like the results.

I took this:

~Discarded cicada shell~

And turned it into this:

Of course I was really sweating it after reading the directions (and a faulty first attempt with the unstirred resin which had me dumping the non-setting resin off the cicada shells, and then pouring fresh properly stirred resin onto them again) and it saying not to use anything other than resin casting molds as most plastics, even with mold release will bind to the resin and not let go of the piece.....

And I was using a plastic paint pallet as a mold, with no mold release.......

But after 48 hours they came out just peachy.
I threw them into the freezer for a bit before I attempted to unmold and out they popped clean as you please.

I also didn't bother with their recommended 'opaque' dye for the background.
I instead added white craft sand and some gold embossing powder to the resin leftover from the first pour (which I put in the freezer in a closed container to halt the chemical process so I could use the leftover resin for the back layer, which after it warmed up to room temp worked marvelously.)

So, lessons learned:

Make sure you stir enough (although the switching containers, and sticks they recommended in the instructions, from what I experienced, not necessary)

Plain old plastic is a fine mold. Especially if you pop it in the freezer first.

Mold release = $9.00 you could use to buy more resin.

Sand makes a nice cheap background.

Un-used resin can be saved for at least 12 hours in the freezer in a closed container. Just make sure to warm it to room temp before you attempt to pour.

Rubber gloves, and newspaper on the work surface ALWAYS! As the lack of these things will encourage resin to get on everything.

Read your directions before doing anything. Seriously, you're not that cool that the knowledge of how to work with said new material will seep into your brain just by opening the box.

Get more diligent about poking resin into nooks and crannies or you'll get air bubbles. (The lenses and wings of the shell got air bubbles. Which is alright in this application, but not so much with future applications.) Toothpicks are your friends.

Do not eat roasted chicken wings after cleaning, clipping, and otherwise working very intimately with a cicada shell for an hour or so. The resemblance between the two might just spoil your appetite.