IOD Sunflower Mold and Amazing Casting Resin: Two Ways

Ready to spread your DIY wings and finally learn how to use resin? We’ve got the answer right here! A double tutorial - one using white resin and one using clear resin with polycolor resin powder and we’re making Sunflowers!

Since this tutorial is coming to you from the heart of Florence, South Carolina, we’ll call them South Carolina Sunflowers. After this tutorial - you’re gonna want to use resin in all of your home decor projects. Just because you can.

For this tutorial we used the IOD Sunflower Decor Mould (so much life sized detail) in two projects. Here’s what the full mold looks like:

Perfect for making resin castings. Or castings out of IOD Air-Dry clay or polymer clay.

And theses silicone molds are food-safe! So you can use them in your sugar arts projects. Just make sure you use one set of molds for food projects - and another for crafting with resin, air-dry clay, or polymer clay.

No time to read now? Pin this for later.

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW OR KEEP SCROLLING TO SEE THE COMPLETE SUPPLY LIST AND STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW.

•  IOD Sunflower Mould
•  Amazing Clear Cast Resin 
•  Amazing Casting Resin White
•  Alumilite Polycolor Resin Powder in:
  •  Dark Bronze
  •  Yellow Gold
  •  Bright Green
  •  Forest Green
•  Popsicle craft sticks
•  Clear plastic cups - medium sized
•  Plastic cup with Ml and Oz measurement lines
•  Plastic gloves
•  Painters Tape

Inside the Amazing Clear Cast Resin Kit, you’ll find two bottles. One is “A” and the other is “B.” When you mix up a batch of resin, use the exact same amount of product from both bottles. 

But before you pour - take a look at the IOD Decor Mould. Newer moulds now come with both gram and mltr fill requirements next to each image. When you know which images you’ll be using for the batch of resin, add all the quantities together (for each casting you’ll make) and pour half that amount of A and B.

Start by pouring each one into a separate clear plastic cup, and then combine them into a larger container with measurements in ml and oz marked on this side. Once combined, begin constant stirring with a popsicle stick. The liquid will start by being somewhat cloudy, but as you stir - it will become clear and then a bit warm.

This is what lets you know the chemical reaction between the A and B is working!

This step will require three more clear plastic cups and 3 or 4 Popsicle sticks. Each cup will be used for a color that will be part of the sunflower, leaves, and stems. 

Pour enough clear resin into each cup, but pour an amount equal to what the color will be used for. Refer back to the castings in the molds. For any green color resin you’ll be pouring that into leaf moulds, add the amount into the cup that matches the quantities given on the mold.

Repeat this process for the dark bronze and the yellow gold. The latter will require the largest amount of clear resin. Once all three have been portioned out, grab the polycolor powders and prepare to open and add, in any order you choose, one at a time.

Open up a bag of polycolor powder and choose the cup with the corresponding amount of liquid resin. A small amount of resin powder goes a long way because the colors are very strong. Using a Popsicle craft stick, scoop up a small amount of the color powder and add it to a cup of resin. 

Immediately close the bag of polycolor powder (ask me how I know you should do this right away), and then begin stirring the color powder into the resin. You can easily check the color saturation by using the Popsicle craft stick to scoop a bit of colored resin. Too light? Add a tiny bit more powder.

Right now, you might be thinking “three cups of resin and four colors??” That’s right, we’re going to blend the two greens (bright green and forest green) to get just the right sunflower leaf color. Scoop a bit of both into the resin cup with the amount to pour the leaves and the stems, and blend.

FYI: The dark bronze powder will be used for the sunflower centers and a bit in the stems and leaves.

You’ll find that the clear resin can leave bubbles in your molds after they’re poured. Bubbles need to be popped before the resin “open time” closes. Open time refers to the amount of time you have to really work with the resin (add colors, mix, and pour) before it begins to harden and set-up.

To pop the bubbles, actually poke into them by tamping down with the Popsicle stick. If the bubbles are left in the resin, then when the casting is made the bubble will pop at some point. When a bubble pops it leaves a void in the resin casting - weakening it.

Pro Tip: using a heat gun can help release bubbles in the resin but you must be extremely careful when using one on silicone molds. If you do go this route, keep the heat gun (or blow dryer) on the lowest setting and hold it far enough away to heat the resin but not the mold.

I start by pouring the green colored resin into the leaves. I use the Popsicle stick to guide the resin into the edges and corners of each image. Next, I pour the dark bronze resin into the sunflower centers for the large sunflower and newly opening sunflower.

The final pour with the dark bronze is into the stem and the edge of the small leaf.

The Yellow Gold resin is poured into both sunflower images. As you pour, use the Popsicle sticks to get the resin into every tip of every petal. For the smaller mold images, you will guide the resin rather than actually pouring it into the mold. To do this, scoop small amounts at a time, using your stick, and push it into the edges of the image.

Don’t panic when the yellow gold resin looks like it’s covering the brown centers of the sunflowers. The details at the bottom of the mold, and the colors in the bottom of the mold, are what shows when the casting is released and turned over to be glued to your project.

Now set this mold aside to give the resin time to completely set up and harden. Once it’s completely dry, turn the mold upside down and roll an edge back to release the resin casting. You can also hold the mold in one hand, and use the other hand to peel back the edge to release the casting.

This resin kit comes with an A and a B bottle. Similar to the clear resin, you will determine how much total resin you need to make all the images by adding up the quantities listed next to each image.

Take two clear plastic cups and mark the amount of A and B ingredients on the side of the cup. Pour one with A and the other cup with B, up to the line you marked. Then pour each cup into a third cup and begin mixing with a popsicle stick.

As you stir, the resin will turn from cloudy to clear and you’ll feel a bit of heat in the cup. This tells you the chemical reaction you want is happening! Once the resin gets to this point, you’re ready to pour into the molds.

Pour the resin into each of the molds. No color this time. Pro Tip: pour into the largest mold first and continue to pour into the next smaller image until you fill all that you want to fill. A micro-rim on the edge of each image helps keep the resin within the mold as you pour.

The white resin begins to set up very quickly. What you’ll notice is the resin beginning to turn a milky white color. When it’s completely white - it’s done and you can release the casting from the mold. It should release easily and it doesn’t - the casting needs a little more set-up time.

The first casting to release should be the largest sunflower. Remove it from the mold while it’s still warm. You’ll be forming it into a bowl, and with the resin still slightly warm, it will be more pliable.

I’ve used one of the clear plastic cups, inverted, and turned the large sunflower mold over the cup. You’ll need something to hold the casting curved around the bottom cup - and I recommend some painters tape to hold it in place. 

True confessions: I didn’t think about the painters tape before I started.

Let this sit for several hours up to overnight, then remove the tape. You can paint these castings made with the white resin, using Rethunk Junk Paint.

I hope this took the fear of working with resin right out of you! It’s an easy medium and the best advice I have for working with resin is to keep pouring! The more you pour, the better you are at using resin in your DIY home decor projects.

Please share your projects with me! I love to hear from you.

xoxo,

Dianne