 Inspired by rock and crystal formations found in nature, geodart is popular among resin artists and for good reason. Using tinted resin, glitter, glass and real crystals, the possibilities are endless and the results are beautiful. You can buy real crystals and gemstones to create geodart, but they're one of a kind and can be expensive. Now, thanks to mold making material, when you find a crystal you love, you can duplicate it and even customize the color. Here, we're going to show you two examples. One, how to copy a quartz cluster and two, how to copy several small gemstones or pieces of glass. Let's take a look to see just how to make your own crystals for geodart. The first step is to gather all of your materials. You'll need your crystals, gloves, a mixing cup and stir stick, plastic containers and of course, mold making material. Mold making material is a two-part silicone product that makes durable, flexible molds that stretch without tearing and can be used over and over again. It's non-toxic, odorless and safe for home use. There are no VOCs, no fumes and no BPAs. Measure out equal amounts of mold making material and stir it up. Conveniently, mold making material comes in two parts, part A and part B, that are two different colors, dark blue and white. You'll know when the mixture is ready once the color becomes a consistent, medium blue hue. Now place the crystal into the container. Depending on the weight of your crystal, you may or may not need to glue it down to the bottom of your plastic container. In the case of the glass pieces, we glued them down because they're light and would shift under the weight of the mold making material. Pour the mold making material into one corner and let it flow over the piece. Let it sit for three to four hours. You'll know it's ready when it's no longer tacky. To remove the mold, gently pry it from the container until it releases. Once the mold is released, the crystals need to be removed. In the case of the cluster, we used a utility knife to carefully cut the mold across the top of the crystal and pull it out. When you look inside, you can see that all of the details of your crystal have been captured perfectly. Because the individual glass pieces are flat bottoms, they simply popped right out of the mold. Congratulations, your mold is complete and you're ready to make replicas. You can use many different substances to fill the mold, but we recommend art resin epoxy resin. Whether you tint it or use it straight out of the bottle, art resin gives your crystal replica a glass-like finish that's as shiny as the real thing. Just like mold making material, art resin is a simple one-to-one ratio of resin and hardener. Measure out equal parts of both solutions and mix thoroughly for three minutes. You'll have approximately 45 minutes of working time with the resin mixture before it will begin to set. Pour your resin into the mold and let it sit for at least 24 hours. Art resin is hard to the touch after 24 hours, but a full hardened cure will take 72. Once 24 hours has passed, the resin will be hard to the touch and the crystal casting can be removed from the mold. You can repeat this process many times over. The mold is strong enough to make multiple copies. One of the great benefits of making your own crystals is that you can customize them to suit your own color palette using resin tint, our line of premium liquid colorants. Add a few drops of resin tint into the art resin and mix together until you have one consistent hue. Resin tint is a highly saturated colorant, so always start with less than you think you'll need. You can always add more if necessary. We were so happy with the incredible detail we were able to capture with our molds that we decided to create a piece of geodart of our own. Who knew cloning could be such fun? Well, we did. And that's why there's mold making material. So go ahead, make a copy and then make another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. Mold making material is available now on art resin dot com.