DIY Faux Resin Charms/Gems Using Hot Glue

Hello, fellow crafting freaks ;)

In this instructable I'm showing you how to make faux resin gems, charms, buttons - whatever you want to call them - using hot glue!

Clear resin is awesome, but it's not very cheap, especially if you just want to make a few small things with it. There are alternatives, like dimensional glue, but to be honest, I didn't have so much luck with it.

So for this other alternative I'm using hot glue sticks that almost look as clear as glass - I don't know how common it is in your country, but I was surprised to accidentally find them in Austria for really cheap! You can get them online as well of course.

So let's get right into it!

(You can also watch the video instead of reading the steps)

Step 1: Making Shiny Gems

If you want to make shiny gemstones that shift colours in the light, you need some chocolate wrappers or aluminium foil. And if you have colourful permanent markers you can use them to colour the foil. But you can also use it as it is.

For the galaxy gems I mixed black, purple and pink and painted white stars and dots with acrylic paint using a toothpick. You can also draw other designs with permanent markers!

Next you make dots of any size you want on the foil. When the gems have cooled down, you can cut them out. You don't have to be very precise, I just fold any foil that's sticking out to the backside of the gem.

If you want, you can give the gems some more shine with clear nail polish, but they normally look good without it too.

Step 2: Making Personalised Charms

Another thing you can do is to capture personalised designs in a charm.

For this you can print out or draw some tiny designs onto printing paper, or use stamps or stickers. There are so many possibilities, you can print out tiny fotographs as well, use designs in magazines etc.!

Then you just cover the designs in glue. While the glue is still hot you can move it around a bit to change the shape, but it can still happen that it doesn't turn out great, so it's good to have copies of your designs.

When the glue is dry, cut as closely to the charm as possible, but be careful not to cut into the glue. And if any paper still shows you can push it to the back with your fingers again, where noone can see it ;)

If you want to give your charm some more shine and transparency, you can coat it with clear nail polish or sth similar. I put some adhesive putty on a pencil so I could attach the charm for easy painting. Make sure to coat all the sides well and put it aside to dry.

Btw, if you accidentally touch the glue while it's still hot, you can fix it with a hairdryer!

Step 3: What You Can Do With Your Creations

What I did with the gems for example was turning them into jewelry, but you can make pins or decorate cards as well! Make pins or badges, jewelry like rings or necklaces, keychains, or glue what you made onto cards... Go crazy!

Thanks for reading or watching this instructable!

Happy crafting:)