Hello everyone!

Every time I think I am done with my elf quarantine jars, I keep getting asked by last-minute moms to make another. Today, I must retire that project, as I want to move on.

The next project I have started are making resin bookmarks and notebooks. I gave it a try this past weekend. This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. I have been researching this craft for a couple of months now. There is a lot of planning that goes into this craft, as there are a few safety/PPE that you must obtain before you even THINK of starting this project.

One book that I liked, that went over starting this project for a newbie at a high level was Learn to Make Amazing Resin and Epoxy Clay Jewelry by Gay Isber.

I have no desire to make jewelry, but for any tips and tricks I will be there for it! This did not disappoint in terms of learning about the difference between resin and epoxy clay, and reminders for my previous research on what to have before I pour, mixing the resin, and applying it.

I do wish that the book stressed more of the importance of wearing a respirator and goggles. It does mention it, but it felt a bit too offhanded. I also wish it went into more details about cleaning up spills, tools and molds in a bit more detail. Again – this book is very high level and is a great place to start your research!

So I tried it…errrr…

In “it can only happen to me” fashion, I put all my PPE on and sat there wondering how in the world people can SEE! I could not see through my goggles! It made pouring the resin difficult, and I ended up not pouring it correctly because my bookmarks came out bendy. It turns out, it was because I forgot to peel off the plastic on both the inside and outside of my goggles. Sheesh!

Second, I did not anticipate how hard it would be to shake out the glitter! When I bought them, they were in little salt shakers. That was a lie because the plastic piece to open the top would not pop out. I thought I could sprinkle the glitter over the resin rather than mixing it in. Nope. A whole bunch came flying out, and the slight breeze carried it into my next 2 bookmarks. Whoops.

I do like how the mica powder bookmark came out (the second turquoise one was my leftover resin). My heat gun had helped create the lines on it, which I’m undecided if I like. And my last one was my foil tester. FAIL! Pieces of the foil were sticking out of my bookmark!

Round 1 of my bookmark test pour was trashed, but the picture will make me laugh forever. My next round won’t occur until the weekend, and I will plan my next pour a little more. Here’s hoping I can see now!

A craft I want to also try – needle felting. What other crafts should I try?