How to use Nail Foils with UV Resin

Today we have a tutorial for you that combines some of your favorite things! Kaelee of Kaelee’s Kups is showing us how to use nail foils with UV Resin. You can transform your small resin pieces in a fun new way! And it only takes minutes. 

Resin artists are always on the look out for new techniques and mediums. Nail tape has been in our tool boxes for awhile now. But have you tried using nail foils in your resin art yet? In the video below, Kaelee shows us how to use nail foils with UV Resin. She gives us the play by play of making a phone grip and dog tag. And the results are adorable! 

The nail foil works the same way on your small resin pieces as it does on your nails. When you peel it back, you find some fabulous design with a little bit of glitter poking through. It’s super cute, and super easy! Scroll on down to see the magic happen. 

How to use Nail Foils with UV Resin

Nail foils have gotten very popular. They are really fun and we see them on nails all over. But these foils aren’t just for finger tips, y’all! You can use them on just about any hard surface and Kaelee is showing us why it is SUCH a good idea to do just that. 

A Great Way to Use up Leftover Supplies 

As resin artists, we know that every bit of combined resin is gold. A lot of times we use our Resin Calculator to find out exactly how much resin we will need for a project. But it is still common to end up with just a little bit of resin left over. Instead of wasting any of it, we like to use it up.

There are always small silicone resin molds hanging out on our work tables. They are just waiting to be filled with any leftover epoxy. We use earring molds, phone grip molds, keychain molds…you get the picture. Anything small is perfect for the purpose of never wasting any combined resin!

Usually our leftover resin has glitter, colorants, and/or mica in them. So it looks beautiful as small resin pieces. But sometimes you just don’t know what to do with all those little cuties that you’ve demolded and piled in a corner. Nail foils and UV Resin can give those pieces the little something extra they need to be treasured! 

Tips and Tricks

Nail foils are very simple to work with. You just stick them on to a thin layer of UV Resin and let them cure. When you peel it back, you’re left with a fun pattern that also lets some of your glitter shine through. As with every medium, however, goofs can happen. They are super easy to fix though!

If you peel back your foil and find a few spots where it didn’t transfer, don’t panic. Just dab a tiny bit of UV Resin on those spots and adhere a new nail foil to it. When you peel it back the second time, you get full coverage!

You can also do this intentionally! Use a small paint brush to add the resin to just a few spots on your piece. That will limit the pattern from the nail foil to only the spots where you applied the resin. 

Kaelee also suggested layering your nail foils. You could either use full layers of more than one nail foil. Or you could cut and layer smaller pieces of the foils. Either way you would end up with a really fun mixed media look!

Print

How to use Nail Foils with UV Resin

Materials

• Counter Culture DIY UV Resin
• Counter culture DIY UV light
• Gold Rush Glitter Kaelee used this for her phone grip
• Nail foils Kaelee found hers on Amazon
• Protective gloves
• Silicone mat
• Previously made dog tag, phone grip, badge reel, etc.

Instructions

• First cut the nail foil to fit your piece. It doesn't need to be the exact shape or size. Just make it large enough to cover most of the piece.
• Then squirt a tiny bit of clear UV Resin onto the piece you are working with. Use a gloved finger to smooth the resin over the whole surface. Then lay your nail foil over top of the piece and gently press it into place.
• Next place the piece under the UV Lamp and let it cure for a few minutes.
• Take the piece out and rub the nail foil onto it really well. Then gently peel the nail foil off of the piece.
• Add another layer of the UV Resin as a top coat and allow that to cure under the UV lamp for a few minutes and you're all done!

The Finishing Touches

And that’s it! One of the simplest resin techniques you can try. Our UV Resin cures so quickly you can knock this out in just minutes. And we know how rare saving time is when you’re a resin artist. Y’all are some of the most patient people we know! 

And speaking of saving time… We have lots more quick resin tutorial YouTube videos for you! If you have 10 minutes, we can teach you something new! If you loved learning from Kaelee you will find more of her tutorials there. And you can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and in her Etsy shop!

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 [email protected], and we can feature them here!