Uv resin: Experiment #1

I don't have a UV lamp (yet), so I cured the old-fashioned way: in sunlight.

Steps:

1. I brushed the inside of the mould with a thin layer of silver glitter. (I used my finger, I put on disposable surgical gloves lol)
    
2. I mixed UV resin with blue poster colour and a bit of blue glitter dust and poured one layer in. Left to cure.
    
3. I mixed UV resin with a lot of pink glitter dust and poured one layer. Added six 11/0 seed beads (each bead is about 2mm in diameter) arranged in the shape of a flower, a turqoise flower sequin, and four randomly placed petals of a blue flower sequin. Left to cure.
    
4. I mixed UV resin with a little (just a very little, I didn't want it to be overwhelming) purple glitter "hairs" (short stripes?) and poured one layer. I was impatient and lazy, so I poured more resin in an attempt to dome the project and as a result, the resin overflowed the mould, although I tried to wipe off some excess. Gave up on wiping and left to cure.

Result:

The edges are jagged, but I knew that was going to happen due to the overflow of the resin earlier. I also know (have seen in YouTube tutorials) that I can file or sand those edges off.

The surface of the piece is not smooth. I don't know why. There is a "bump" in the resin on one side.

The very first layer, the blue, didn't cure properly and left a patch stuck in the mould :( The patch was hard, so it's not that it didn't cure (as in didn't dry), but that it didn't bond. I think there was too much pigment (I've read that pigment can affect curing as it blocks the UV rays from reaching the photoinitiators in the resin to activate the curing process) and indeed, even while mixing I felt that I had put too much colour, although I only added a small drop! The colour was very dense.

I like the 3D effect given by layering the resin over the embellishments. It feels like the items are suspended in water, that's the best way to describe it.

The blue cannot be seen much through the pink glitter layer, but looking at the piece closely, I think it does have the effect of providing a base colour for the glitter.

Take-aways:

• Add less pigment to the resin, just a teeny-tiny bit will do.
   
• Add the pigmented layer last when using a mould, not first! (Because the back of the piece is actually the last layer, the one facing you; the front is on the inside of the mould) You want the colour to be a sort of background for the whole thing, not to appear on the front and obscure everything. I think the first layer can be totally clear or just have a little glitter in it to add shimmer / shine.
   
• Plan layers more carefully (what to add in which layer, so that it will give the desired effect)
   
• Be careful about the amount of resin being poured. Don't over-pour. If want to dome the top (i.e. the back of the piece), do it in one last step after the layer which creates a flat surface has cured.