In the beginning of August, I got my first Sophie and Toffee box! Sophie and Toffee is a company based in Singapore that specializes in resin craft supplies. They have a subscription box with a complete themed kit sent out every month. They also have a starter kit, which is what I got. I was super excited to try it out and oh boy, it was harder than I thought.
Here are all the lessons I learned from my first time trying UV resin.
Safety
When working with any type of resin, safety always comes first! The resin bottles have safety instructions on the side in case you don’t already know what equipment you need.
Lesson 1: You should always be wearing gloves when working with resin.
It can cause skin reactions for some people if you touch it in its liquid state. Even if you’re testing your piece to see if it is completely cured, you should be wearing gloves until you’re sure.
Lesson 2: You should be wearing a respirator or working in a well-ventilated room.
I don’t have a respirator, so I worked on my balcony, so that there was plenty of fresh air. Remember, resin is plastic and you definitely don’t want to be breathing those fumes in.
Mixing and pouring
Lesson 3: Always make test pieces of all your colors and pigments
I wasn’t sure I had enough resin for the project I wanted to make so I almost didn’t make test pieces of my new pigments. That would have been a big mistake. Just like with any art, you should swatch your colors first because they don’t necessarily look the way they do on the label of in the bottle.
Lesson 4: Try to make your test pieces a consistent size, opacity, and thickness
Another mistake I made was making the test pieces inconsistent thicknesses and sizes. This made them difficult to compare to one another.
Lesson 5: Mix all the colors you need before pouring
Finally, because I only mixed one color at a time for my project and I was working in a sunny area, the first color started curing before I could finish mixing the second color, so I couldn’t get the marbling that I wanted.
Curing
Lesson 6: Using a UV lamp is much more convenient than a UV torch so if possible, opt for the lamp
The Sophie and Toffee starter kit (2019) came with a small UV flashlight. This is good enough for really small pieces, if your hands don’t get too tired, but holding it up for 3 minutes while your piece cures is hard on the arms. I ended up borrowing my roommate’s nail lamp and it made the process so much easier.
Finishing
I didn’t expect the UV resin to pull away from the sides of the mold while it cured. This created a bumpy, uneven surface and I figured I would have to finish it with some sandpaper. I spent a lot of time sanding it down until the bottom was (mostly) even. Then I restored the shine with a thin layer of resin. Unfortunately, the layer I put was too thin...and the surface was bumpy…
Lesson 7: When finishing with a thin layer of resin, use enough resin to fully cover the surface without leaving any streaks
Lesson 8: It doesn’t have to be perfect - it’s a first try!
My pieces definitely are not perfect but I make my mistakes so that hopefully you learn to avoid them. Was there anything I missed? What advice would you give to a first-time resin crafter? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me a
If you'd like your crafting questions answered live, I stream on Twitch at twitch.tv/finding_doro.
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