Out of all of the Christmas crafts out there, learning how to make resin personalized Christmas ornaments is a really thoughtful and personable gift option. Not to mention a great way to use those student class photos for making something personalized and homemade.
Resin Personalized Christmas Ornaments
There are multiple ways that you can make resin personalized Christmas gifts once you learn how to make resin Christmas ornaments. We provide the step-by-step instructions below. I decided to do this with my kids’ school pictures, but the sky is the limit with the ideas you could use! Whether it is the birth of a child, a moment with a grandparent captured, etc. The beauty behind this is capturing a moment from the past year to make a Christmas ornament to look back on for years to come.
I don’t know about you, but I know multiple people who use ornaments as keep sakes. I had a friend once tell me the stress of decorating her mother-in-law’s Christmas tree for the first time- she wanted all the “meaningful” items in the front, and she was too new to the family to know what was meaningful and what wasn’t! Thank goodness for ornaments like these where the uniqueness makes it crystal clear how special the ornament is.
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Materials Needed
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- Photos, decorative paper and/or other items you’d like to display
- Scissors, ruler, pencil
- Ultra-Seal Quick Decoupage (or other multipurpose sealer/white craft glue); small paintbrush
- Castin’ Craft reusable casting molds: I used the MC-2 (2-1/4″x 2-5/8″ x 1-1/8″ deep), MC-3 (2-3/8″x Dia. x 1-1/8″ deep), and MC-4 (2-1/8″x 3-1/4″ x 1-1/8″ deep)
- Mold Release Conditioner
- EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy
- Measuring cups, wooden craft sticks, straw, paper towels, parchment paper (optional)
How to Make Personalized Resin Christmas Ornaments with Class Photos
Read all the instructions in the EasyCast resin packaging completely. Use gloves and work in a well-ventilated area.
Sealing the Images
Start by sealing all of the images you will use with a multi-purpose sealer or glue. I wanted to add a date to my ornaments. So I printed out a bunch of “2017”s on regular paper on my home printer. I used Courier font of several sizes so I’d have a selection to choose from depending on the size of the ornaments. Be sure to coat both sides and let them dry completely.
Similarly, I sealed both sides of the decorative paper and kids’ school photos. Prior to this I had measured and cut them down to fit nicely inside the molds, leaving a 1/4″ border all around the images.
Also, at this time, condition your casting molds with the release agent and let them dry prior to using.
Pouring the First Resin Layer
Follow the packaging instructions and mix up the first layer of resin. Mix exactly equal amounts of Resin and Hardener into one measuring cup. The volume will depend on how many ornaments you plan to make at one time. I mixed up 1oz each of the Resin and Hardener to make 3 ornaments. Stir continuously for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the container. Pour the mixture into a second cup and stir for an additional minute (use a new stir stick). Scrape the sides of the container as you mix.
Pour some silver craft glitter into the resin mixture and combine thoroughly.
Distribute the glittering resin mixture evenly between the molds, to about 1/8″ thick.
Set the pieces on a level surface and cover to prevent dust from falling in. After about 15 minutes, remove any bubbles that have risen to the surface by gently blowing over the ornaments through a straw or using a small kitchen torch. Repeat if necessary after another 15 minutes and up to about an hour all the bubbles are popped. Use a clean straw each time to avoid moisture from your breath collecting inside the straw and transferring onto the piece.
After about 3 hours test the firmness of the resin by gently touching the center. You want the resin to be firm, yet still tacky so that you can layer on your sealer images. If the resin is too soft, the photos may sink to the bottom. Yet you want it a bit tacky in order for the image to adhere in place. Center the image in the mold and let cure for a couple more hours.
At this point you can lay on any other embellishments, such as the date. Use a multipurpose sealer to seal it in place.
Pouring the Second Resin Layer
Once the glue has dried from the previous step, repeat the process above for mixing up another batch of resin. Leave out the glitter this time though! You’ll also need about half the volume of resin for this second layer, just enough to coat the images.
As above, set on a level surface and cover to keep the dust off. Blow off any air bubbles using a straw or small flame occasionally.
Let your ornaments cure for about 24 hours before attempting to remove them from the molds. At this point you can drill a small pilot hole into the top of the Christmas ornaments and then screw in the small eyelets for hanging. The pieces should be fully cured after about 72 hours.
We originally shared this project on the Resin Crafts Blog project gallery.
More Resin Christmas Craft Ideas
Now that you’ve tried some resin crafting, here are some more project ideas using resin to try out this year:
- Christmas Tree Resin Pendant
- Resin Jewelry using Gift Wrap
- Resin Christmas Earrings
- Resin Keychains with Gold Flakes
- Poured-Resin Christmas Ornaments
Christmas Tree Pendant 
Resin Jewelry using Gift Wrap 
Resin Christmas Earrings 
Resin Keychain 
Resin Poured Ornaments
You did it! You learned how to make resin Christmas ornaments! We would love to see how your resin-personalized Christmas ornaments came out. Tag us on Facebook or Instagram– we can’t wait to see it! If you’re allowed to reveal who the gift is for, let us know too- these make incredible gifts!
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Personalized Resin Christmas Ornaments with Class Photos
Materials
- Photos decorative paper and/or other items you’d like to display;
- Scissors ruler, pencil
- Ultra-Seal Quick Decoupage or other multipurpose sealer/white craft glue; small paintbrush
- Castin’ Craft reusable casting molds MC-2 2-1/4"x 2-5/8" x 1-1/8" deep, MC-3 (2-3/8"x Dia. x 1-1/8" deep), and MC-4 (2-1/8"x 3-1/4" x 1-1/8" deep)
- Mold Release Conditioner
- EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy
- Measuring cups wooden craft sticks, straw, paper towels, parchment paper (optional)
Instructions
Sealing the Images
- Start by sealing all of the images you will use with a multi-purpose sealer or glue. Be sure to coat both sides and let them dry completely.
- Similarly, I sealed both sides of the decorative paper and kids’ school photos. Prior to this I had measured and cut them down to fit nicely inside the molds, leaving a 1/4″ border all around the images.
- Also, at this time, condition your casting molds with the release agent and let them dry prior to using.
Pouring the First Resin Layer
- Follow the packaging instructions and mix up the first layer of resin. Mix exactly equal amounts of Resin and Hardener into one measuring cup. Stir continuously for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the container. Pour the mixture into a second cup and stir for an additional minute (use a new stir stick). Scrape the sides of the container as you mix.
- Pour some silver craft glitter into the resin mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Distribute the glittering resin mixture evenly between the molds, to about 1/8″ thick.
- Set the pieces on a level surface and cover to prevent dust from falling in. After about 15 minutes, remove any bubbles that have risen to the surface by gently blowing over the ornaments through a straw or using a small kitchen torch.
- After about 3 hours test the firmness of the resin by gently touching the center. You want the resin to be firm, yet still tacky so that you can layer on your sealer images. Center the image in the mold and let cure for a couple more hours.
- At this point you can lay on any other embellishments, such as the date. Use a multipurpose sealer to seal it in place.
Pouring the Second Resin Layer
- Once the glue has dried from the previous step, repeat the process above for mixing up another batch of resin. Leave out the glitter this time though! You’ll also need about half the volume of resin for this second layer, just enough to coat the images.
- As above, set on a level surface and cover to keep the dust off. Blow off any air bubbles using a straw or small flame occasionally.
- Let your ornaments cure for about 24 hours before attempting to remove them from the molds. At this point you can drill a small pilot hole into the top of the Christmas ornaments and then screw in the small eyelets for hanging. The pieces should be fully cured after about 72 hours.