UV Resin Keychains!

Okay, peeps.

Today was another day.

As in, yet another day of illness and this Mama feeling a bit closer to going cray-cray.

Stop this viral train, I wanna get off.

So.

What can you do when most of the elements driving your life and schedule are out of control?

You control whatever you can.

Even if it’s just a tiny project for kicks and giggles—and to spend a bit of time with your two kiddos who aren’t currently ill (knocking on a giant piece of wood, here).

I give you the next installment in our 12 Days of Christmas Projects…

UV Resin Keychains!

Now. 

You might be thinking: this isn’t really a holiday project.

And you’re pretty much correct.

However.

Keychains of any sort are a big win with my kiddos, these are fun and personalized/customizable, and they’d definitely make great stocking stuffers, if you want to stick to a holiday theme.

In fact, the idea came to me thanks to a friend, who mentioned spending a bunch of time making melted crayon letters for stockings stuffers, utilizing silicone molds.

I immediately made note to try that, but then I also stumbled upon lots of other things you can do with letter molds, and this just happened to be the first I thought my kiddos would enjoy. 

Mold via Amazon…



Starter resin kit via Hobby Lobby—half off, thank goodness, as all these tiny decorative elements started adding up a bit!



The gist is basically this: you start with resin that comes in a bottle. You can keep it clear or mix in a tint. And then embellish to your heart’s content. Sprinkles, glitter, little flecks of stone, etc. There are endless possibilities, obviously. 

Then after you get your resin and flashy bits all situated in the mold, you put it under a UV light (that came with the kit) for just a couple minutes, and…voila.



I was able to lure poor Chicklet over to try it out this afternoon, but she was so puny, she didn’t even want to stand long enough to finish it. :(

How sad is this…



UGH. Darn germs. I’m so confused about her recovery. Around the time of these pics, she was probably at one of her lowest points in the last six days, since her positive flu test (yep, we’re already on Day 6 and this ain’t ending, yet).

But then by evening, she was far better (until she passed out at bedtime). I actually have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for her tomorrow to run another viral panel and have a quick consult. This is just lingering and lingering—and, yes, I know the flu can do that, but still. I’d rather have her checked again. 

And, honestly, I kind of need more pediatrician documentation in case the school needs it from me at some point due to all these household absences. I swear, I’ve only kept them home when they’re legitimately sick and have a fever, but…it’s been a lot of days and sometimes feels hard to believe. :(

Anywho.

Since my girl was too tired to craft, she asked me to complete a letter for her, and I was more than happy to, especially as a way to test it out before Chica and Little Man came home.

After just a couple minutes under the UV light, the resin is solid enough to pop out. So coolio.

By the time I picked my other two yahoos up from school, I knew enough to help direct them in their designs. And we happily spent the next hour and a half trying out all sorts of combinations.













It’s a bit hard to tell in this light, but Little Man’s finished letter is actually one of my favorites.

He used a dark tint that made the resin a galaxy blue. Then added green and yellow sparkles that combined for a really nifty effect.

And he used gold flecks on the back, so both sides of the latter are really fun.



And talk about perfect for his backpack:



Eventually, Chicklet was even feeling up to joining the resin fun for real. It was lovely to have her feeling up to it. 



Chica completed a handful and still wasn’t 100% satisfied with the resin/glitter ration on any. Some had too much shimmer, some had too little, ha. So I have the feeling we’ll be doing many more of these in the near future.



But we still put the completed ones on a keychain anyway…



And at least she had one completed design that she adored: a tinier keychain that utilized miniature letters. Trickier to set in place, but thank goodness, she got it just how she wanted it.





So…all in all, a thumbs up project with LOADS of variation opportunities.

Because I wanted the kiddos to have tons of embellishment options, along with plenty of resin to craft as much as they wanted, I probably spent about $50 on this. Pricier for a random project.

But.

That cost will spread far, as we have plenty of supplies for a few more rounds.

So…yay, crafting.

Especially when it’s the only thing to keep any sense of normalcy around this casa.

More mañana, peeps.

Over and out.