Holographic and Floral Resin Letter Keychains

I’ll show you how to make two easy and beautiful kinds of letter keychains. The first will be deeply dimensional two-color letters using holographic glitter, and the second will show you how to add dried flowers to resin to create stunning floral letters.

Resin letter keychains make excellent personalized gifts for just about everyone. You can make first name or last name initials, or even spell out a word. You can also use the letters and numbers to label your keys: “H” for house, “T” for Toyota, “S” for shed, etc. All you need to get started is a good quality silicone rubber alphabet mold, your regular resin supplies (see below), and keychain hardware. Alphabet molds usually have a full set of upper case alphabet letters plus all the numbers, 0 to 9. They are reusable and very versatile.

Although the letters are fairly narrow, there are still a lot of ways to embellish them. You can add many kinds of pigments and glitter. You can also add any inclusions that fit in the letter molds, like tiny shells, bits of mylar, and dried flowers.

This project is appropriate for all levels of resin crafters.

For Casting:

2-Part Epoxy Resin

Silicone Mold(s)

Mixing Cups (one for each color)

Wooden Stirrers 

Toothpicks

Colorants and/or Pigments

Glitter and/or Other Inclusions

Kitchen Scale

Tweezer

Parchment Paper (can substitute wax paper)

Nitrile Gloves

Flat Surface

Something to protect work surface

Lots of Ventilation

For Keyrings:

Large Split Rings 

Large Jump Rings (at least 8mm)

Small Screw Eyes

2 Pairs of Flat and/or Needle Nose Pliers

Drill or Dremel with a very small hole making bit (around 1/32 inch)

For Holographic Letter Resin Keychains (STEP 2):

Silicone Alphabet Mold

2 Contrasting Colors of Holographic Glitter (I’m using purple and blue)

Optional: 3rd Pigment Color for Accents (I’m using pearl gold)

For Floral Resin Keychains (STEP 9):

Silicone Alphabet Mold

Dried Flowers and Dried Foliage

Optional: Bits of Glass, Glitter, or Gemstone

First, you'll figure out the volume of resin you need for the entire alphabet mold using a kitchen or postal scale and water. If you’re using a scale that is smaller than the mold you will be measuring, find a tray or even a piece of stiff cardboard that will support the mold while you weigh it. 

Set the tray and the mold on your scale. Turn on the scale if it’s electric, and then push tare to set your scale to zero. This is also called zeroing out your scale. With the mold and its support on the scale and the scale set to zero, begin pouring plain water into each letter cavity of your mold. You will see the weight measurement rise as you pour more water. When you have filled all of the cavities, read the final weight measurement. For my mold it was 247g.

This is the weight capacity for the entire mold, every letter. If I want to know how much one letter would be, divide the total weight by the number of cavities in the entire mold. My mold has 36 cavities so I divided 247 by 36. Which means the volume of each letter is approximately 7 grams. Since not all letters will have the same volume, like an “I” will hold considerably less than a “W”, round up or down according to the letter you’re casting. Decide how many letters you’ll be casting and multiply by the grams of water in each cavity to know how much resin to mix. So, for me to cast 10 letters, I multiply 7g x 10 letters and get about 70g of mixed resin. I then increase the total by about 10% to account for technical differences.

When you’ve figured out how much resin you need to mix for your project, pour out all the water from the alphabet mold and let it dry completely. 

PRO TIP: I like to figure out how much resin I need for a mold well before I’m ready to cast to assure that my mold is 100% dry. Also, you can keep track of the water weights for each mold you own so you only need to do this procedure once per mold.

Holographic glitter is a mixture of different shapes and sizes of glitter that when combined with resin and dried, gives a prism or holographic effect. You won’t see the full effect until you unmold your resin, but then each casting will be a sparkling surprise! Creating letters with holographic glitter makes for fabulous, shining resin keychains. Here’s how to do it!

Now that you know how much resin you need, mix up a batch of 2-part clear epoxy with equal parts of resin and hardener for as many letters as you plan to make. Use a scale to get accurate measurements.

Next, divide the mixed resin in half in two separate containers (for 2 colors). (Add some clear mixed resin to third container if you’re using an accent color.) Set aside for a couple of minutes to let the bubbles rise and pop.

While you’re waiting, shake or stir the holographic glitter to disperse the large and small glitter evenly.

Add one holographic glitter color to one portion of clear resin. Mix very well. You’ll need to add enough glitter that the deepest areas are opaque. You’ll still see through the resin where the density is thin. This is okay and part of what creates the holographic effect.

Repeat with the second holographic glitter color.

Now mix your accent color, if using one (I used a pearly gold mica), and wait for all portions to thicken and reach a molasses-like consistency.

Filling the molds is my favorite part. It's where the creative artistry of resin casting happens. I'll give you instructions for these 2 and three color letters, but you should feel free to experiment. Have fun!

1) Pour a little glitter resin of one color on one side of a letter cavity. The molasses-like consistency will keep it from spreading to the other side.

2) Then pour in some of the second holographic color, starting at the other end.

3) If you want a third color, add it to the gap in between the two holographic colors. If you’re using just two colors, keep adding a little more of each color until the gap is filled in.

4) Once the colors touch, blend them gently with a toothpick.

5) Then add more of each color, alternately, until the letter cavity is full.

6) Repeat the filling procedure with each letter you plan to create until they are all full.

Have fun with other colors, patterns, and combinations :-)

Leave the mold undisturbed to cure overnight, covering it with a box if it’s outside.

Curing time will vary with environmental conditions. Be patient!

When your letters are completely cured and glass-like, remove them by gently peeling back the mold from each edge and then popping the letter out from behind. Remove the letters slowly so you don’t accidentally tear the mold.

Now you have stunning holographic initials to make into keychains.

I’ll show you how to add the hardware after the Floral Letter Keychains.

Flower letter keychains are a gorgeous way to personalize initial keychains by adding dried flowers and foliage. These can be meaningful favorite plants and colors that you buy ready to use, or you can dry your own flowers.  

Notes on choosing dried flowers: 

Make sure they will fit in the mold. You can use larger flowers if you’re pulling off petals and placing them individually. Remember that all sides of the flower or leaf will be visible, so make sure all angles look good.

Now that you know how much resin you need, mix up HALF A BATCH of 2-part clear epoxy with equal parts of resin and hardener. Use a scale to get accurate measurements.

1) When the bubbles have popped, fill each letter you’ll be casting halfway with the clear resin.

2) Let the resin cure until it is very thick, but still sticky. I use a toothpick to test it. How long this takes will vary with environmental conditions.

3) Prepare your flowers and foliage while waiting for the resin to thicken.

1) When the resin is ready, get out your prepared dried flowers, leaves, and other inclusions.

2) Using tweezers, place one item at a time in the sticky resin. Press gently with the tweezers or a toothpick so your flowers stay in place.

3) Add more flowers. Just like a bouquet, place your flowers in a pretty arrangement.

4) When you’re happy with your design, repeat with the next letter.

Note: You can see that I also added some gold glass, glitter, etc. to some letters. Get creative!

Tip: Once the flowers are placed it's okay to let the resin harden and come back to the project in the future.

1) When you’ve added flowers to all the letters you planned to create, it’s time to mix up the other half of the clear resin with equal parts of resin and hardener.

2) As soon as the bubbles have settled out, fill the other half of each letter with clear resin over the bottom layer. Pour slowly, giving time for the resin to flow into all the crevices of the flowers.

3) Use a toothpick to poke resin into deep areas if necessary. Pop air bubbles.

When each letter cavity is filled, leave the mold undisturbed to cure overnight, covering it with a box if it’s outside. Curing time will vary with temperature and humidity.

Your flower letters will completely harden and look like glass. Remove them from the mold by gently peeling back the silicone from each edge and then popping the letter out. Remove the letters slowly so you don’t accidentally tear the mold.

Right now what we have are large, solid letter charms. In order to make these into sturdy keychains you will need to attach hardware.

First set up your drill or Dremel with your smallest bit. (You can also use a manual hand drill.) Try to come as close as you can to the size of your screw eyes. It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit though, you can always drill again if the hole is too small, or add extra epoxy if it’s too big.

Next, decide where to drill. If you’re not sure, hold the letter facing you and pick either the top center or the upper left. Make sure the place you're drilling is deep enough that the screw won’t poke through.

Then hold the letter firmly in one hand, hold the drill in the other hand, and drill straight down. Drill only as deep as the length of the threaded part of the screw eye.

Now insert a screw eye and test the fit. Adjust it if necessary.

Remove the screw eye, and repeat the drilling process for the rest of the resin letters.

When all the letters are drilled, mix up a very small batch of resin.

Use a toothpick to add a dot of the mixed resin to one of the drill holes.

Then insert the screw eye into the epoxied hole.

Set the letter aside to cure with the screw eye as vertical as possible. You can use tape to hold it in place if necessary.

Repeat with the rest of the letters and allow the resin to cure fully before the next step.

After the resin is cured, the screw eyes will be permanent and you can add any keychain findings and hardware you want.

The easiest process is to simply open one jumpring and add it to the screw eye.

Then add a keyring (large split ring) and close the jumpring.

You can get fancier by adding chain, clasps, etc., but the basic instructions are the same.

Resin letter keychains are a great project for people with all levels of resin experience. If you’re a beginning resin crafter, you can follow my directions exactly. If you’re more advanced, you can use these instructions for ideas and then get super creative.

I hope you enjoy this project!