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butterfly shoe wing

DIY Butterfly Wing Resin Shoe Charms

Adding butterfly wings resin shoe charms to shoelaces is a really cute way to add color and sparkle, and make any little make-believer feel like they're ready to fly.
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Materials

Instructions

Prep the mold

  • Use a glue gun to build up a divider down the center of each butterfly mold. Start by filling in the gaps at the top and the bottom. Then layer up the middle. Let the glue cool before adding the next layer or the glue will spill and pool into the wings. Use a stir stick to help push the glue back into place if needed.
    butterfly mold
  • Remove any glue strings with a piece of tape.

Measure and mix the resin

  • Measure 30 mL of side A and 30 mL of side B of Amazing Clear Cast+. (You may need to adjust depending on the size of the mold - this mold is about 2 inches high for the small butterflies and 4 inches high for the large one.)
  • Stir for 3-4 minutes until there are no swirls visible.
    mix amazing clear cast plus resin
  • Pour into small cups to add glitter, alcohol ink, or mica powder for coloring. About 3 or 4 drops of ink is good, and about 1/4 tsp of mica powder. Pour the epoxy into the molds.
    glitter butterfly resin
  • For the large butterfly, after curing overnight, I mixed up 20 more mL of resin, made it white, and poured it as a background for the ink layer.
    white butterfly mold

Finish resin wings for shoe charms

  • Let the resin cure for 48 hours before demolding. It will set before then, but since we'll be sanding and drilling, we want the pieces to not have any bend to them. Remove the wings from the mold and peel away the glue.
  • Optional: To bring out the detail of the lines on the mold, brush black gel nail polish over the set of wings, and wipe away the excess with a paper towel. Set under a UV lamp for 2 minutes to cure it. This will stick better and be more durable than acrylic paint. If you have a steady hand, you could also do this with a fine-point sharpie marker.
    gel polish on resin
  • Lay a piece of rough sandpaper on a flat surface and rub to even out the edges of the butterfly wings. Repeat with a higher grit.
  • Use a 1/4 inch drill bit to drill 2 holes into each wing. Leave a bit of space on the edge, and about 3/4 - 1 inch between the holes.
    glitter resin wing
  • Then it's time to thread the butterfly shoe wings through a couple of laces and let the magic begin :)
    butterfly shoe wing

Notes

Place resin pieces on top of some scrap wood for drilling. This way the drill has something to drill into a bit after going all the way through the resin. This gives a cleaner hole. Remember to wear your glasses!