It's Shocking What Happens to These Gems in Resin?

[@ellenstanek7377]

Clear crystals with a tinted resin may look cool as well

[@DeborahOlander]

That's what I was thinking. Just a pale tint.

[@JeffsDioramas]

I was going to suggest this 👍

[@ZippedUpKitz]

That’s what I was going to suggest :)

[@firemoonredtalon9487]

I was hoping that was the other idea he had when he mentioned, hopefully he sees this and tries it. :)

[@dracodrocsid2498]

Or tinted crystals with the clear resin Or crystals of 1 color and resin of another color (pale tints/light tints only) Or even taking those crystals and putting a reflective type of thing on them and then clear Or slightly tinted resin

[@windchaser12]

Bubbles + crystals (barely seen) = outcome I have seriously fallen in love with!

[@Leena79]

I like both, but it would be interesting to see how clear crystals would work with slightly tinted resin.

[@sahie]

This was what I wanted to see, too!!!

[@mojoe7951]

I love the way they both came out. A thought inspired by the second one, just imagine how it would look with watch parts & cogs inside. Great work as always Steve.

[@mojoe7951]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts you cannot beat a bit of steampunk 👍

[@laskermitchell9619]

That was my first thought when I saw the second skull...STEAMPUNK!!!

[@darthtaiter]

The first Skull looks like hand carved Ice, it's gorgeous. I love the second one as well and have a suggestion. What about doing a third skull that in a 50/50 mix of both? It would look as if the gold edged crystals are floating and might allow a bit more light to pass through. Just a thought.... and Subbed. :)

[@judieloux3610]

I never really wanted to do the skull because it used so much resin or needed deep pour resin. Filling it with these clear crystals is genius. Thank you for all your time and effort to support our hobby💖

[@Ali-H3444]

I broke down and bought myself a skull mold.😊 without the serpent though lol. I filled mine with the glow in the dark gems and it looks really cool. I do have these clear gems too and now you gave me an idea on how to use them. Thanks Steve! ❤

[@Arcane2080x]

Those gems sound like they will look awesome!

[@Dandygirl_94]

They sound like they'd make for a pretty crystal skull, Indiana Jones style!

[@christinaperson1168]

The crystals definitely give a wonderful effect. I love them both! The possibilities are endless. Thank you Steve 😊!!!

[@jodyariewitz7349]

Different colors of metallic paint pens would be pretty too! This is an awesome idea, TY!❤

[@tinawheaton270]

Love this idea. I bet it would look really good with a light underneath it

[@gothiccharms]

wow, thank you for such a great idea! I have been on a skull kick lately, making them into snowglobes as well as with lights. Just made one last night with mardigra beads in it and lights. THIS crystal idea gave me the idea to make one with the ice crystals, cherries and lemons in it AND one with the clear crystals with colored transparent resin. Woohoo! Thanks Steve!

[@ShintogaDeathAngel]

I love the snow-globe skull idea! I think it would be cool to fill one with orange glitter to represent autumn leaves or something like that, with maybe some Halloween themed figures to complete the scene.

[@gothiccharms]

@@ShintogaDeathAngel I've seen them made 2 ways. Using a balloon to make a cavity to fill or using a clear ornament globe inserted.

[@debbrady497]

Love this! This would save a nice amount of resin! Thanks, Steve! You are a Gem, yourself! 😊

[@dollybrown1993]

I really like the effects of the painted crystals!!! Shows up very well and the tinted look is awesome. Stay safe, you do you, stay safe and enjoy crafting 👍👍🛎️🛎️🦋🦋

[@cindikidd8830]

WOW~ What a great idea the gold was. Love it...

[@cherifenton1182]

They look amazing! It would be cool to see them on some kind of light.

[@leannemitchem8865]

Very very cool. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@MermaidTreasureHunter]

I think you should try rolling the crystals around in a color shifting mica and then try them in a mold again.

[@marymikehawkins6682]

Very cool! I'm not really a skull fan, but if you say it's a best seller I'm in! I can't wait to try this, and first thing I will powder the snake in greens and blues! And put a fish inside as if it's alive and swimming lol 🎉 thanks Steve! ☙

[@tanishalin2114]

I must say, those look cool.

[@user-wp9vf8kx1h]

Very Creative!!! Thanks for sharing:).

[@rankin091769]

I'm in love 💕 with the 2nd one you made ❤❤❤❤

[@christinevenner183]

You must have the patience of a saint to go around the edges of all those crystals. But wow what an end result!

[@NinaHansen2008]

I prefer the clear one. Thanks, Dr. Mc.

[@jpendowski7503]

My favorite suggestions; translucent resin with clear gems, light or color change light under the clear one, sliver combined with black painted gems, colorful gems in clear resin, make more of these. Thank the algorithm for sending me your art.

[@tiefslair]

Hi Steve, I just wanted to leave a comment to say I am loving all of your videos! I have been going back through and watching all of them. You have given me so much knowledge for working with resin and I can't wait to try out all of the new techniques you've shown on your channel. You are so much fun to watch! Thank you! ❤

[@joshuabray37]

Thanks for these videos! These are so fun and give us great ideas… Resin is so much fun to work with.

[@poppletop8331]

Clear crystals with silver marker would've looked fab I think, but I love the gold one.😃

[@boeubanks7507]

1st - Tint the resin a light blue. This will make the clear crystals show up. 2nd - The reason that the crystals don't show up in the resin is that their optical properties are too close. You either need some super light or super heavy crystals. Preferably some with an actual crystalline structure. 3rd - The second reason the plastic crystals don't show up is because, even though they are crystal shaped, their internal structure is still amorphous, just like the resin. So, aside from crossing the resin/plastic boundary, there is no optical effect. No refraction inside the crystal, etc. And this effect is reduced since it has to be done in pairs because the crystals are embedded in the resin. The upshot is that you wind up with a smearing effect that further reduces the appearance of the crystals. 4th - The third, and final, reason you can't really see the crystals is that they are oriented randomly. If the crystals were properly oriented, even the very minor refraction they have in resin could be enhanced to give a nice effect. However, their random orientation just contributes to the smearing effect. Further reducing their visibility. Recommendations: 1) Try using borosilicate (Think Pyrex) cut glass crystals. These will have a significantly higher density and, therefore, will give a much larger refraction at the interface between the resin and glass. 2) Use less crystals. Whe the crystals are tightly packed like that, the refractions largely cancel out, reducing the overall effect. 3) Pour the mold in layers. You can use UV resin to make this faster. This will allow you to set the orientation of the glass crystals to give the look of a faux crystalline structure while enhancing the refractive effects. The pattern will be determined by how the glass crystals are cut. 4) Precoat the mold in resin before you fill. This will ensure no crystals poke through and give a more uniform look. A better option than using cut glass crystals would be securing a mineral that has an internal crystalline structure but is optically clear. Examples would be large salt crystals and polished high clarity quartz. If you can orient these so that the crystalline structures align properly, you should see a large crystalline structure with lots of unique refraction patterns.

[@marilynhansen7881]

How unique is that? That is pretty cool! I so enjoy all the projects you do. Even the ones that don't turn out like you expected , they still look pretty awesome. Thank you for sharing your creativity. Have a lovely day , Steve.

[@tracyharper2121]

Very funky!!

[@beckylouisesmith9216]

Oooo maybe you could spray paint them too, that might look cool!🤔💜

[@milagrosmendez77]

Both looked great. Colored gems too would be cool. I would like for the snake to be highlighted though

[@janbuckley1]

Fabulous demos Steve 😊

[@mandicoleman7433]

That looks really cool 😎 I luv it 😍 ❤️

[@Kizzmit5]

Love both of them

[@curtriceennis2924]

Love both these projects. I wonder how it would turn out if you painted the crystals in many different colors. TYSM for sharing this video with us.

[@pjshat]

So cool!

[@patriciacunningham5748]

I normally don't like skills but, you just change my mind. I'm getting one soon.

[@soceliamakesstuff]

The gold pen looks really cool. Has a steampunk feel to it too.

[@windchaser12]

Thanks!

[@grimtales_134]

Ooooo. What would even better idea! If you lined the gems in a few paint color. I think that would be pretty cool.

[@dollihombs4497]

I love the 2nd one, and I just bought that mold!😁

[@ratsika3]

I was thinking that you were going to lightly coat the gems in mica. I'd love to see that

[@LisaVornhagen]

Those are both pretty cool! The clear one looks like ice.The second one is really interesting. I wonder what it would look like if you painted those crystals with different colors? Do some in silver, some in gold and some in copper. That might be interesting, too.

[@Becka.M-D]

I would have loved to have seen them both sat the lamp bases to see what they would look like with the light shining up through them. And how they would look if the lamp light was not just a cool white, but a warm white & different colour lights as well, even if you needed to put coloured cellophane or Cadbury mini chocolate wrappers over the light but but under the mould just to see the effects if you can’t get hold of a coloured lamp base.

[@judithbeloate3829]

I like them both

[@stellarnails7535]

That's awesome! I've used these before in resin to take up space and also to help "hold" other objects like shells or flowers in place in a larger mold like the snail mold :-)

[@laskermitchell9619]

This is a great video!!! I have to say that I did in fact, try adding crystals to epoxy and it turned out great. I purchased some strung 10mm clear-cracked quartz and a few of them arrived completely shattered into some interesting pieces. At first, I was a bit upset at the shipped conditioned of the stones but decided to see what I could with them. After collecting them into a container, I separated to 2 piles and dyed one pile with blue alcohol ink and the other with orange alcohol. My wife, Kristin dropped the dyed pieces into epoxy and the results were quite awesome 😎👍

[@invisiblue3212]

It'd be interesting to see one with both kinds of crystals in it!

[@lizzie511958]

Love em both 😊

[@ccada2023]

Fun idea! Can we see them with a light underneath? I bet the both look super cool.

[@katrinabrock7519]

Currently doing this same mold filled with all sorts of gold beads. Seeing how pretty yours were makes it hard to wait for mine

[@sherry-lynnzwaan1432]

I like both, now do one with clear and painted gems? I think the clear ones would make the painted ones seem to be floating!!!!

[@lesliespiers8407]

cool effect, would look good in silver too

[@hyliadreamer]

I was going to protest coloring the edges, because those stones are available in a variety of colors. But the overall effect is so intriguing. (I also loved the ice/cracked effect from the stones in their ordinary state.)

[@luminariel3765]

A combination of iridescent flake and glitter would make the voids of the crystals more apparent but also keep the cracked ice look of the clear pour

[@pattyisspoiled7852]

I love it! How did you keep the gems from floating to the top & out ?

[@SkitchBean_aka_Christine_E]

I thought the crystals would disappear completely in the clear resin. I am glad you can still see them. That skull is a true rock head!😂

[@wolfgirl-bp9uz]

To me the crystal one looks like ice the other one just plain looks so cool and and neat I bet it would look great with DND dice in it you give me such great ideas have a great day

[@annagray6491]

Wow, what a difference putting that gold on made!

[@kellyt.florko5312]

I love all things you could do with those crystals love the gold ones maybe even a little less gold tinted resin also might be nice with the bit of holographic silver glitter

[@Coyo-Tea]

Love them both even though I’m not a gold lover

[@janelcloutier9543]

What a wonderful short video…and perfect timing because I’m about to start working on my skull molds too…. I’m thinking about a snow globe skull as my first 😆

[@lesleyploddypop2950]

Love the skulls idea❤ Could you please tell me where the video on cleaning pipettes is? Feel like I've gone thru the playlists so many times!! Thanks hun xx

[@judyeuller7602]

Dying the crystals with alcohol ink is another way to color them. My favorite is the clear. I find it enchanting.

[@dechaune3282]

Hi Steven. Been watching you for months now and enjoy your channel. I have used these gems before myself and was happy with the results. Although my results were different and I used colored gems. Awesome work. Love your channel.

[@dechaune3282]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts try it. Just for fun.

[@UpandiTembo]

Second one has terminator vibes, very cool

[@funquitasmith3684]

A colored light underneath!!....0000...ahhhhhh. I love the skull molds.made coasters and holder with small flat back skulls...and a layered pink and black skulls, small to X large...I love 💀💀💀

[@KarenYauney]

You are a wonderful artist, indeed!! I just dont go for skulls an other demonic. Thanks for sharing😊

[@Gemzstone1]

I don't actually mind bubbles in my resin, it makes a nice effect. Especially when your adding things into it.

[@rainbowwhimsy4621]

They've got iridescent interference medium acrylic paints that I bet would look AWESOME on those crystals.

[@notebookluvr]

I love these, steve! Great creativity! It's interesting how the second one looks green. Does it look like that irl? Or is it just an illusion the camera created? Btw, do people ever tell you you sound like Robin leach? 😁

[@bulletcatcher5318]

With the skull with the clear crystals, you should have a light shining through the bottom, it'll make a really cool affect

[@hollylowery26]

I think colored gems would look super cool too! Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald. Possibly Pearls and Gold coins for some different texture.

[@dalemaclaren7576]

Awesome Steve. What does the clear one look like on a color changing light up basae? I really love the 2nd one. Thank you so kindly for sharing your wonderful talent and videos with us all ❤ Take great care keep creating and smiling.

[@brendaheslor199]

Cool!

[@UncleRedDog]

It would be quite cool to use a mix of coloured and clear gems for a 'floaty' effect 🤘

[@lisaspruiell94]

I like the first one

[@UncleRedDog]

Youre not alone, sweetheart. Im an overpourer too, but its usually gin.

[@dawnr714]

I love em both! I thought maybe u would cover the crystals in alcohol ink before u said the gold marker. I colored my own crystals by mixing inks in with them which turned out great but I haven't used them in resin yet. 💜💙

[@craftydemon529]

I think those would look cool with a light under it, or better yet, a color changing light

[@ElveeKaye]

I think you should shine a light through them or photograph them outside with sunlight shining through them. :)

[@marinashor5503]

Hi! I'm watching your videos and learning a lot about resin etc. Thank you. the videos are great! I have a question: How to trap memorable shards of clear glass in resin cube, so they would be seen and not disappear? do I need to pour a slightly colored resin? What would you color resin with? What are the other possibilities? Thank you for your time and attention.

[@gitargirl120]

You could also maybe tint the crystals with alcohol ink? Unsure if it would stick but would take less time than the paint marker :) Great job! Those are super cool :)

[@WizardKitty723]

Really cool! Alcohol ink-stained ones would look cool, I bet!

[@danbrit9848]

you need a light up base to put things on at the end ...i think those would make awesome lamps

[@LAAKIRA55]

I HAVE BEEN MAKING THESE FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. USE COLORS ACRYLIC ONES. THEN ADD THE CLEAR EPOXY. BEAUTIFUL THEY ARE THEN I PUT A LIGHT UNDER THEM. AMAZING COLORS FOR SKULLS, LIGHTS, OR EGGS

[@ravenskeep9009]

"@Steve McDonald Arts and Crafts" try colouring the crystals with (as lightfast as it can be) alcohol inks. They get kinda sparkly, kinda muted but really cool

[@jaytek5680]

Works best with crushed crystals. Stuff with color and not completely transparent. I tried a sky blue resin with realistic diamonds and it just didn’t look as cool as you think it would.

[@ShintogaDeathAngel]

The first skull looks like it's made of ice, and the second one looks like it's filled with either straw, or money depending on the angle you look at it from :)

[@legacyofpop]

I was sooo hoping you would shine a light under it.... I bet that would reflect and refract beautifully... As a small lamp it might cast a fantastic light pattern.... Wanna borrow my torch... ?

[@darrenosborne8252]

There is a lot of ways you can change this up. I would try dusting the gems with an iridescent pearl mica.

[@anjaadolphsen2087]

Reminds me of „Indiana Jones“. 👍👍😉👍👍

[@icandsc]

whenever I use those crystals, or put any clear object inside clear resin, I do it for the "hologram" effect. when you shine a light thru it, the object reflects the light....i made my mother one with a clear horse head (I cast the head first, and then cast it inside a tall rectangle) turn the light on and you see it, turn it off, no horse head. :)

[@ciri2800]

Love it ❤ whats that carving tool called? I cant find a link to the tool 🥴

[@tammytoth5874]

A light underneath would look cool

[@mtnbkr8480]

It would be interesting to see what the clear one would look like with a light under it.

[@LWJCarroll]

That was really cool. I guess tinting the clear resin still wouldn’t make the gems stand out? Laurie NZ.

[@danyelhudon458]

Well well! I am learning something new over here! I was wandering what the hell those things are selling so much in dollar stores? From Quebec in Canada 🇨🇦 ❤😊

[@IntoThatGreatGoodNight]

Okay, my favorite artistic crafter - since you love to experiment - can you “take one for team” 😂 and show us what the gems would like in silver instead of gold in the skull mold? I’ve yet to purchase a skull and now I’m curious…..