In this Instructable, I will answer a question that nobody asked: Can you use a "Pop it" fidget toy as a gemstone mold?

The little domes that you press with your fingers seem to be the perfect shape and the silicone material should be ideal as well.

This tutorial might seem a bit random, but you can use the mentioned techniques with any silicone mold!

Supplies

Pop it fidget toy
hot glue or (UV) resin
acrylic paint or nail polish (especially shimmery colors)

Optional:

baking paper
glitter
clear nail polish

Step 1: Testing

First, I tested filling the concave areas with hot glue. The front and backside of the toy look slightly different.

I suspected side 1 to work better as a mold and turned out to be right (at least I preferred the results from side 1).

A small problem is that the hot glue creates a dome, so the gems won’t lie flat.

So I decided to press the glue down with little discs of baking paper and a fitting flat object.

Step 2: Painting the "molds"

Next, I wanted to see what happens if I paint the molds before adding the glue.

I found out that you can create interesting patterns by making the paint watery. I let that pattern dry and coated it with more paint.

I used my trusty nail polish as well, because it dried quicker than the acrylic paint and was also more opaque.

Step 3: Hot Glue

Then I just had to fill the molds with glue. As tested before, I covered the glue with the baking paper discs and pressed it flat.

Step 4: Pop It!

Popping out the gems worked really well. No paint was left behind in the molds and the gems came out looking very smooth.

This is a good trick for silicone molds in general - no matter how many layers of paint you use, the result will come out smooth and the shape won't be affected!

I just needed to trim the excess glue.

Step 5: Glitter

To make glitter gems, the best way I found was to coat the mold with clear nail polish and to sprinkle the glitter on top. (Glue works too, but the finish wasn't as smooth)

You can add a layer of matching paint on top as well.

Step 6: UV Resin

There was one more thing I wanted to try - UV resin.

I tried to be a good example by wearing gloves, having good air ventilation and even wearing a mask - thanks to my husband who likes to remind me of the importance of safety measures ;)

Of course I glued the lid of the nozzle shut with resin, so I had to pour the resin straight out of the bottle opening.

I got the best results when I didn’t fill the mold completely at first. I filled the area about halfway, swirled the resin around to coat everything and cured it.

Then I topped it up with more resin and cured it again.

My UV light is meant for nails - I got it second hand for 5 pounds. I’m still happy about that - it works well for small projects.