If there's one thing Covid-19 has taught us, it's that we have to be patient with the mail service! If you've been sitting there waiting for a delivery of resin pigments and dyes to arrive, then this article is for you!
I always recommend that you use colourants that were designed specifically for resin, especially when you're first starting out because resin pigments and dyes will always give you the most reliable results.
But with extensive shipping delays, you'd never get that first resin jewellery project underway if you had to wait 10-12 weeks for your colours to arrive.
So rather than sitting around waiting for your supplies, why not get started straight away with this fun solution!
As I mentioned, resin dyes and pigments give the most reliable results, but there are some unexpected colourants that will also work. In fact, you probably have some of these items already lying at home!
So let's take a look around the house to see if you've got any of these common household items.
From the pantry
- Saffron powder
- Paprika
- Gel food colours (but not vegetable dye food colours)
From the Bathroom Cabinet
This is a great way to use up old make up you no longer wear!
- Eye shadow palettes
- Blush
- Loose powder
- Nail polish
Tip: Crush or scrape those little cakes of shimmering colour into a fine powder.
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Kitchen spices, powder foundation and eye shadows, and nail polish are fun things to colour resin with |
From the Toy Box
- Sidewalk chalk - crush them up into as fine a powder as you can because they are quite coarse.
- Artist's soft pastel chalks - scrape them with a sharp blade or knife to make a fine powder
- Mica powders: Pearl Ex, Perfect Pearls
- Alcohol Inks - Piñata, Adirondack
- Acrylic paints (use sparingly or the resin won't cure properly)
I bet you had no idea that you could use so many everyday items to colour resin!
Note: I tested these alternative colourants in two different resins and they gave the same results:
- EasyCast epoxy resin (1:1 ratio); and
- Barnes Epoxy Cast resin (2:1 ratio)
VERY COOL!!
You can have a lot of fun with these common household items AND stretch your existing colour range at the same time - and that's great for your budget too. And the bonus is, you get to use up old items that you had lying around unused in your cupboards!
And if you're really budget-conscious, how about asking your family and friends to donate their old makeup and nail polish to you, too. Then you can have a lot of colouring fun on the cheap!
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