Life is full of imperfections...

I think this place has become my peaceful corner to reflect on thoughts.. Just scrolling through my (not-very-many) past posts, one post caught my eye -- "Resin hates me."

That was nearly half a year ago! In these six months, I have had lots of practice with resin crafting. I must admit, it is quite a difficult craft and it does take a lot of detail and careful work. Even if you spend all your time looking at it, trying to prevent any dust particles from landing on your piece, there are still bound to be imperfections no matter how much you try.

With every resin piece I make, I learn something new.

I learned that you should never dome the sides with resin.
I learned that you should dome with runny resin, not wait till it's all thick. 
I learned that you should wait for the resin to thicken before adding glitter spangles. 
I learned that the background coloured layer should not be too thick. 
I learned that pieces cannot be too thin. 
I learned that drilling screw eyes can ruin your entire piece. 
I learned that toothpicks work best for me when doming.
I learned that you can make resin runny again with warm water.
I learned that bails sink into resin very easily.
I learned that bubbles appear in spots you cannot see until the piece is finished.

My lessons with resin never end. Yet, I learn from these lessons. I don't call them mistakes, I call them experiences.

I used to be a perfectionist, wanting everything to go my way. I wanted all the rainbows without the rain. But now, I actually find it overrated. Life is just like my journey with resin crafting. Things get into your way no matter how hard you try to avoid them.

I no longer find myself wanting to be a perfectionist.

Sure, I can strive to be one, but if I toss away a piece that I made just because it has a speck of dust or an unsightly air bubble, I would end up zero "perfect" pieces.

If I were to toss away every moment of my life that has imperfections, what would I end up with? I wouldn't have an enriching life to look back on when I am old.

Why be a perfectionist? Just go with the flow and embrace your not-so-ideal experiences (mistakes and failures if you will). Life is too short to be seeking for perfection.

~ Nikki

Resin Hates Me

Resin hates me.

I used to think I would never start resin, because I had no idea what the finished pieces would be for! Drilling holes and inserting eye screws can make them charms, but it seems like an awfully complicated process.

One day, I was intrigued by all the glitter (never used to be, I have no idea why) in the resin pieces. The combination of glitter, stickers and glossy plastic just suddenly got me started. What's more, I found a complete tutorial on how to do resin, so I decided to start!

I think I started shortly after Valentine's Day, and I was so happy with my glitter purchase! The endless bottles of shiny powder are so nice to look at! Now, if only I can make beautiful resin pieces with them!

My first few resin trials turned out to be more complicated that I imagined. Putting in the glitter and deciding what colours to put wasn't a piece of cake after all.

Yesterday, I tried it for the 5th time, and I think it was a terrible fail! Last few trials, my resin was relatively well behaved. This time? Not so much! I had warmed up my resin before using it, but by the time I got around to pouring it after preparing my work space, the resin had already gotten cold again and it was SUPER TACKY by the time I poured it into the molds! This never happened before. I guess I have to work with my warm resin right away!

Pouring the glitter was also a disaster. Last few times, I was using mini glitter packs. This time, I decided to try my new tubes of glitter. When I opened them, the tube of glitter was for pouring, and not little holes for sprinkling, if you get what I mean. I tried to sprinkle and ended up pouring a whole clump onto one spot! Yikes.

In a nutshell, I don't think my resin or my glitter was cooperating with me yesterday! I wonder how they will turn out! I also put too much dark pink glitter in the mold with the bear sticker, I wonder if the bear will even show up!

Every resin trial has been a struggle so far. But, I am still fascinated by the pretty glitter creations everybody else makes! I must not give up that easily! I do believe that you get better and things will go more smoothly after some failures and lots of practice!

Wish me luck in future resin trials!

~Nikki