GLOW IN THE DARK Resin!

I've been happily using one type of GITD additive, but this year I thought I'd test out some others to see how they compare.  In this experiment I tested the following phosphorescent additives:  Glow Worm, Europium Ultraglow, Art'n Glow, Glominex, HXDZFX Glow Powders, TechnoGlow, as well as Glomania ProFX GITD Paint, and GITD Nail Polish.  Of all of these, Glow Worm had by far the strongest glow, followed by Europium Ultraglow.  The GITD paints and nail polish barely glowed at all - what a waste.

I mixed in an equal amount of additive to Brilliant Resin and cast a 1" smooth circle with each.  I tested the basic white/yellow-greens, as well as some colored options.  Some of the powders sunk to the bottom while others stayed suspended. 

For the paints and nail polish (at the bottom of the board), I painted a thick layer on top of a clear cast piece. They all appear pretty whitish in daylight.

After 10 minutes charging in the sun, here's how they look in the dark.  It's hard to tell here, but while the top row looked about the same in daylight, the Glow Worm (top left) had a much stronger glow than the others. The greens and aquas all looked similar and all glowed pretty well, and I do like the purple/blue ones in the last row, their glow wasn't too strong but they were pretty.  The paler blues, the "pink" and orange were pretty ugly and looked much duller than in this photo. 

And here's how they looked after 1 hour in the dark, I hoped they would glow longer, but they do recharge quickly.

They look really pretty and colorful in the daylight while they still have a bit of glow but they dull back down to the way they looked in the first image pretty quickly.

Pricing and available container sizes vary, but you can get a small amount on Amazon for just a few dollars. The stronger the glow, the more expensive it'll be.

Here are some more of the awesome projects we made with our favorite GITD powders with Brilliant Resin and Clear Photo Film!

These eyes were made using 3 different GITD additives, the one on the top (bottom below) is Glow Worm, you can see how that one glows the strongest.

You glow girl!

I love this aqua colored glow-in-the-dark, a whitish powder I mixed into Brilliant Resin. The graphics were printed on our Clear Photo Film and cut into different shapes, domed with resin on both sides, then drilled for jewelry findings.  

Here's a simpler version, with just the creepy spider drops:

This piece can be made with or without the GITD layer, but looks entirely different from day to night.

Hop over to our Resin In Bezels post for more details.

And more in the traditional bright yellow-green:

This high-contrast look can be done 3 ways: by printing images onto Clear Photo Film, by painting by hand, or with clear-backed stickers.

STEP 1: Mix Glow In The Dark powder into Brilliant Resin and pour a thin layer in your mold 

STEP 2: Pop out cast pieces, stick on clear-backed stickers/insert images/paint on designs, and Dome them Up (click here to watch Doming Up how-to video).

The projects below were done the same way, but with images printed onto our Clear Photo Film  The round NBC Jack Skellington pendant, the creepy skeleton pendant, and the skull keychain were made using the Doming Technique - clear resin on one side, resin with GITD Powder on the back side:

The pendant on this spider necklace was made using our Medium Silicone Mold, the "beads" were made in our Silicone Cabochons Mold. For these, we printed these images on Clear Photo Film, and cast them in Brilliant Resin.  We then mixed GITD Powder into a new batch of resin, and Domed Up the backs. After 1-1/2 hours, I was able to embed the wire into the cast shapes. See this how-to video for reference on embedding wire in resin.

Here's another using an image copied onto Clear Photo Film, this one's in color and domed on both sides.  On the back I added GITD Powder, and embedded a pin into the resin as it was setting.  It looks very different from day to night.

 And what's Halloween without some eyeballs?!

These eyeballs were cast in layers (see this video for how-to's), then I painted designs on the outside of the castings with black nail polish.f

Again, here's a link to the Glow Powder I used which was really strong, but try to find a smaller container for sale or you'll have enough for a lifetime.

Colorful Resin Hoops Jewelry

Becky at Nunn Design sent me some of their Open Frame Hoops to play with, and boy are these fun. They come in Silver, Copper, Gold and antiqued finishes.  There are so many ways you can use these!

• MOD HOOPS MATERIALS NEEDED:
• Nunn Design Open Frame Hoops in Silver - Grande (about 50mm outside), Large (35mm), Small (25m), Mini (12mm)
• LW Brilliant Resin
• LW Silicone Doming Tray
• LW Resin Color Film - Pale Tints Pack (Pale Green, Pale Aqua, Pale Blue, Pale Lavender)
• LW Spring Drill
• Jewelry Findings (I used 2.5" headpins and a necklace wire)
• Pliers, small sharp scissors or an X-acto Knife, tweezers

First, cut circles of Resin Color Film to fit behind each of the Hoops - they don't have to be perfectly cut as the hoops will hide the edges.  Cut the middle out of each circle where the next smallest hoop will be, so that colors don't overlap.

I used the flat back of our Silicone Doming Tray as an easy-release surface.  Arrange the colors and hoops however you'd like.  As you can see, the circles don't need to be completely perfect as the metal hoops will cover the edges where they meet.

The resin shouldn't seep under the edge of this outer ring because...

1. Nunn Design rings are quite heavy and nicely shaped.

2. The silicone on the doming tray adheres nicely to the ring and the film, keeping it in place.

3. You'll be using thickened Brilliant Resin, so the chances of leak-under are slim.

I used only 3 colors and hoops for the matching earrings.

Place only the largest hoop on top of your Resin Color Film Shapes.  Allow your mixed resin to set up for 30 minutes to thicken up, then slowly pour resin inside of the hoop, filling about half-way up the hoop.  Allow resin to set for another 30 minutes in the rings until it's nice and thick.  Then place the inner hoops, lining them up with your circles of Resin Color Film.  Allow to set up for at least 24 hours (better if you have 2-3 days, so it can really harden).  

The dark parts you see show where resin leaked behind the film, but it doesn't matter in this case because you'll be doming the back, just make sure the resin doesn't escape from the metal hoop.

Then flip over your pieces and dome the back side with Brilliant Resin.  Allow to set up.

Place pieces on a hard wood surface and use your Spring Drill to make holes for your jewelry findings.  I used 2-1/2" long sterling silver head pins in these, bent to shape.

Here's a variation using other colors in the Resin Color Film - Pale Tints Pack (Pale Apricot, Pale Peach, Pale Pink and Pale Lilac, with Nunn Design Copper Open Frame Hoops:

SHOP NOW!