Gather your supplies and materials. Choose glitter and mica powder in Mom's favourite colour.
You'll also need silicone molds for the letters and the base.
Step 2: Mix the resin
Protect your working surface with a silicone mat, and wear protective nitrile gloves and eye protection when working with resin.Check your resin label for other safety requirements, such as a respirator.
Mix the amount of resin needed for your letters and the base. We mixed 150 ml of resin, but you'll need to adjust the amount depending on the size of your molds.Start by adding 1 part of Part A to the silicone measuring cup. The amount of Part A should be half the total amount needed. (In our case, 75 ml.)Follow your specific resin's instructions for ratios, drying times, and curing times.
Add an equal amount of Part B to the measuring cup, or whatever ratio your brand of resin suggests. (In our case, 75 ml.)
Mix the resin and hardener together with a popsicle stick or a reusable resin stir stick.Stir slowly, scraping down the sides and bottom of the measuring cup. Continue mixing for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is clear.
Pour the resin into a disposable plastic cup.We recommend this whenever working with glitter, since cleaning the glitter out of the silicone cup is very difficult and time consuming.
Step 3: Add pigment and glitter
Add mica powder to the resin.Start with a small amount of coloured pigment and continue to add it until you reach the colour you're looking for.It's recommended that your pigment is less than 6% of the volume of your resin.
Stir the mica powder into the resin well, and then add the glitter.Add about 1 Tablespoon of glitter total, using different sizes and textures to give the piece depth. We used several blue shades of fine and chunky glitter, plus white/clear holographic glitter.
Stir gently, until the glitter is completely mixed in.
Step 4: Pour the resin into the molds
Pour the resin mixture into the "M" and "O" of your letter mold. You'll have to wait and make a second small batch for the other "M" unless the "W" is the same as the "M".Use a toothpick to get rid of any air bubbles around the edges.
Pour the remaining resin into the base mold until it's full. Spray the surface with rubbing alcohol to help pop any air bubbles, if necessary.
Let the letters and base sit, untouched, for the recommended dry (or demold) time.Our resin's dry time is 12 - 18 hours, but we recommend waiting 24 hours so that the base is hard enough to handle without warping.
Step 5: Demold and put the pieces together
Once your resin pieces are dry you can demold them.Gently pull away the side of the mold and stretch it a bit as you peel it back. The pieces should come out easily.
Mix a second small batch of clear resin, following the instructions above.We mixed about 10 ml total.
Carefully pour a thin layer of clear resin on top of the flat base. Start with a small amount and add more, if needed.
Use a popsicle stick to spread the resin to the edge of the base, making sure it doesn't spill over the edge.
Place the letters into the top coat of resin, arranging them on the base.At this point you can also add other small details or resin pieces to the top. Read below for some ideas!
Allow the topcoat of resin to dry and harden overnight before moving or touching the nameplate.
Your Mother's Day resin craft is complete!Wait for the recommended cure time (72 hours for our resin) and then sand off any rough edges from the bottom of the base or back of the letters.