How to Make Resin Heart Magnets
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to share one more adorable resin heart project with you! Karen of MG Creations by Karen is showing us how to make resin heart magnets with the cloud effect. They are simply gorgeous!
One of the really fun things about working with resin is seeing how different products behave in it. Because of the unique ways that resin moves and groves, no two pieces of resin art will ever be the same. And the effects that you get using only a couple of colorants can be truly mesmerizing!
In the video below, Karen shows us how to make resin heart magnets using just a couple of alcohol inks. This cloud effect method is super simple. But packs a big punch in the beauty department! Once you get the process of using two colors down, you can add in one or two more and see what you like.
How to Make Resin Heart Magnets
You have probably heard us say, time and again, that resin art doesn’t have to be complicated to be beautiful. Karen’s cloud effect heart magnets are another perfect example of this. Using only two colors of alcohol ink and a stick to swirl them, Karen creates gorgeous dimension and detail for her hearts.
Karen tells us that she learned this technique from Daniel Cooper and she highly recommends that we check out his videos to see some of the ways he does it. In the video below, Karen explains some of the things that she discovered while learning how to make her hearts this way. This way we get to avoid some of the things that didn’t work so well for her.
Another thing that is awesome about this simple resin technique is that we don’t have to wait long between the first and second part of the process. In resin art, we are all familiar with waiting 24 hours between parts of the process. With this method, though, that wait time is only 1 hour. That’s mere seconds to resin artists!
Ways to use your Resin Hearts
These resin hearts make wonderful magnets. If you have UV Resin, you can put a dab on the back of your heart and place your magnet on top of it. Then let it cure for a minute under your UV Lamp. Add a little more of the resin around the edge of your magnet and let it cure again. The extremely secure bond of the resin will ensure that your magnet will never come off! If UV Resin isn’t in your tool box yet, no problem. You can use the strong adhesive that you normally use.
Another way to use your resin hearts is to turn them into keychains. Use whichever keychain hardware that you prefer. Then add beads and/or bling to the chain to dress it up.
Karen gave us another adorable idea for our cloud effect hearts. She turns hers into pocket hugs! If you haven’t heard of them (we hadn’t until Karen showed us), they are resin hearts that come on a card. The card explains that the recipient can slip the heart into their pocket and keep it as a hug from the person who gave it to them. Karen even personalizes her pocket hugs. She adds decals like “Love, Mommy” to the back of her hearts.
How to Make your Own Molds
When you watch the video below, you will hear that Karen made her own heart molds. She used our CS -200 Casting Silicone to reproduce a heart mold that she loved and needed more of. You can make molds of just about anything you want, once you know how.
To learn more about how to make your own silicone molds, check out our post How to Create your Own Molds. It explains all about how casting silicone works and how you can use it to customize your own resin crafts!
Watch the Video Tutorial Here!
How to Make Resin Heart Magnets
Materials
- Silicone heart molds Can be purchased or you can make your own
- Medium Viscosity Artist Resin
- Protective gloves
- Silicone mat
- Filter mask
- Mixing cups
- Mixing sticks
- White Brea Reese Alcohol Ink Karen used White Pinata Alcohol Ink for her hearts.
- Purple Brea Reese Alcohol Ink
- Lake Blue Brea Reese Alcohol Ink
- Cobalt Green Brea Reese Alcohol Ink
- Tooth pick
Instructions
- Start by mixing enough Medium Viscosity Artist Resin to fill your molds, plus 5 ml. To do this, mix up the Artist Resin according to the package instructions. Measure equal amounts of Parts A and B. Then pour part B into part A and mix well for 3-5 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of your cup as you go, as well as your mixing stick. This ensures that all of your epoxy will be well incorporated.
- Pour 5 ml of your combined epoxy into a separate cup. Then add the clear resin to your heart mold.
- Next, add 5 drops of one of the alcohol inks to the mold. Put each drop in a separate spot.
- Then add 5 drops of the white alcohol ink to your remaining 5 mls of combined epoxy. Stir it to combine. Note: use 5 drops if you use the White Piñata and 8 drops if you use the Brea Reese.
- Drizzle and swirl the white epoxy over your heart. Set the heart aside to cure for an hour.
- Then come back and use your tooth pick to gently swirl the resin from the outside in. Keep the pick towards the top of your resin. This will keep you from scratching your mold. And will also keep any of the ink from sinking too far down.
- Allow the heart to cure for at least 24 hours before demolding it.
- Then use UV Resin or a strong adhesive to attach your magnet to the back of your heart.
The Finishing Touches
And that’s how you make resin heart magnets with a cloud effect. Or keychains, or pocket hearts…lol. However you use your beautiful hearts, we hope you enjoy them as much as we have. If you are looking for more Valentine’s Day resin craft ideas, we have a few! Try How to Make a Leopard Print Heart Mug or How to Make a Heart Shaped Trinket Dish to get you started!
We also want to give a big thank you to Karen for sharing her skills and knowledge with all of us again. If you loved learning from her and want to see more of here work, you can find her on Facebook and Instagram. And you can find more awesome video tutorials like this one on our YouTube channel!
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If you want more inspiration and information we have a Facebook group for that. Join us in Counter Culture DIY Artist Support where we, and other artists, offer ideas, answer questions, and support each other!
Do you have an art project using any of our products that you want to share? Send it to us at support@counterculturediy.com, and we can feature them here!