Bring the Sky Inside With the Milky Way Wood Slice Decor

Lily Ardor
by Lily Ardor
16 Materials
$20
20 Minutes
Easy


I love the northern lights. The smooth undulating blues, pinks, and purples are soothing to look at. Most of us won’t have a chance to go and see them ourselves in our lifetime, but with this milky way wood slice resin decor you can give yourself a tiny piece of them to keep in your home. This project is a great way to dip a toe into resin pours if you’ve never tried it out before. Follow my step by step guide and create your own mini milky way for your home.


Tools and Materials

Tools and Materials:

  • Wood slice
  • Resin
  • Resin hardener
  • Plastic cup
  • Popsicle stick
  • Paintbrush
  • Black chalk paint
  • Sponge
  • Acrylic paints (to mix with the resin)
  • Heat gun
  • Glitter
  • Toothpicks
  • Plastic shot glasses
  • Black construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Gloves
Resin

Important:

When working with resin make sure to read all of the instructions and follow all of the safety instructions. Even though some resins don’t stink, they may still be toxic and you need to wear a face mask while using them. The resin that I’m using here is not toxic and as such I do not need to use a mask.

Mix the Resin
Mix the Resin



When using resin I like to work over a layer of wax paper. This makes sure that my surface is protected if I happen to spill some. I don’t need a lot of resin as I’m just covering the wood round, so I’ll probably only need around 4 ounces total.

Pour the Hardener

I poured two ounces of the hardener and two ounces of the regular resin.

Pour the Resin

Before I started pouring I had the resin standing in a warm water bath. Resin needs to be warm to have the right consistency for a pour with no bubbles.

Stir

Then I stirred, or rather my helper stirred, the resin for three minutes. 

Paint the Wood Round
Paint the Wood Round



While my helper was mixing the resin, I moved on to painting the wood slice. I wanted to create a northern lights or milky way wood slice. I painted it with a black chalk paint, making sure to get a good, even coat all over the entire slice. 

Paint with Black Chalk Paint


Sponge on Lighter Colors

Then I started painting a base for the northern lights effect that I wanted to achieve on my wood slice. I wet a sponge, applied a bit of paint, and then gently sponged the color on. I’ve found that by doing it like this I can easily build depth within the resin. 

And Sponge

I continued adding more colors and slowly sponging them on until I had reached the desired effect. 

And Sponge More

I wanted the base where the trees would be to be a lot lighter, so I added more white paint to that area. This would allow the black trees to stand out more.

Add Trees

I also added some squiggly black bits to the bottom of the wood slice to create a tree effect

Dry the Paint
Pour the Resin



Make sure that your piece is completely dry before you pour resin. I used a heat gun to help quickly dry my wood slice.

Tip:

Use a heat gun when working with resin. Heat guns blow very little air. If you try to do the same with a blow dryer the air will be too strong and, if you’re working with colors in your resin, it will create a muddy mess.

Prop up the Wood Slice

I attached a few plastic cups to the bottom of the wood slice to prop it up. Make sure that it’s level. 

Divide the Resin

I used the same kind of cup to divide the resin up to color it. I added a bit of acrylic paint and glitter to one of the cups. 

Tip:

There are special colorants for resin, however I have found that just mixing some acrylic paint with the resin works just fine. 

Add Some Color


Apply Resin to the Wood Slice

Then I carefully applied it to my wood slice. I like to work with colored resin first and then go back in with clear resin.

Add More Colored Resin

I also applied some blue resin.

Tip: 

Make sure to save a bit of clear resin to help you fix any mistakes you have at the end.

Drizzle Clear Resin

Then I drizzled clear resin over it and smeared it around a bit. Don’t worry if it looks a bit ugly, it will start looking better once you use the heat gun.

Move the Resin with a Heat Gun

Using the heat gun I moved the resin around a bit. Be careful not to hold it in one spot for too long because you can burn the resin.

Add Gold Resin

I added a touch of gold glitter to some clear resin and mixed it up. Then I applied it to the wood slice. I like to use a toothpick to mix and apply my resin as it allows me to be more exact.

Hit it with a Heat Gun

Then I hit it again with the heat gun. 

Keep Working

I continued adding more color and moving it around with the heat gun until I was happy with my creation. You could throw in some stars if you want. The only thing you really shouldn’t do is add water, resin hates water.

Spread the Resin to the Edge

I made sure to spread the clear resin around to the edges of the wood slice. 

Add Paper Trees

I also added a few christmas trees that I had cut out of black construction paper. Simply lay them on the resin and add a bit of resin over it and it embeds it.

Smooth It Out


DIY Northern Lights Wood Slice

Isn’t it simply inspiring! It really only takes a few steps to create your own northern lights microcosm for your home. How would you use a resin in your DIY pieces? Let me know in the comments below!

Resources for this project:
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