I love silicone ice cube trays, especially the skull one that we’ve featured a few times.  With Halloween but a fortnight away, I decided to pull mine out and make something with it.  I wanted to use it for one thing we haven’t talked about using with ice cube trays yet:  resin!  These glittery skulls are mounted as tack pins, but you can also use them as necklace pendants, magnets, glued to candle holders, or anything else you see fit!

Project estimate:

• Skull ice cube tray (or any other silicone mold), on hand or $1
• Resin,  on hand or about $8 and up
• Glitter, on hand or $1
• Fake button pins, $1

Total:  $1 and up

Start by mixing up a batch of resin according to the directions on the package.  While you are stirring your resin, dump in some glitter.  I used 2 little pots for one tray, one red and one pink.

Carefully pour the glittery resin into the skull molds.  Try not to overflow the molds or make any drips between the skulls.  (I’m kind of a messy crafter, so not dripping is probably the hardest part of the project for me!)

Let the resin cure for about 4 hours, so that it is tacky but not completely hardened.  Then it’s time to add the pin backs!  The pin backs on my skulls are actually those fake button pins.  You know, of the “my-pants-don’t-fit-properly” variety.  I have several packages of them laying around, so I decided to finally use them for something! Gently press a button into the back of each skull.  The backs should work into the resin just a little, but not sink in too far.  If your pin backs are sinking, carefully remove them and let the resin cure a little bit more before trying again.

Wait at least a full 24 hours before you remove the skulls from the mold.   The skulls might resist at first, but carefully bend and work the silicone tray and they will pop out.  You might need to bend back the tray and kind of pry the skulls to remove them, but they will come out, I promise!

If  you have any excess resin on the edges of any skulls, use sharp scissors or a craft knife to trim  it off.  Your skull pins are ready to wear!