Homemade Dice: A Creative Craft Journey

Crafts are becoming more and more popular as a good way to relax and stimulate creativity. Dice are fun and random, and they are unique for games, decorations or gifts, so let's embark on a creative journey of making your own dice.

 Material Preparation

1. Basic Materials

    - Resin: commonly used for making dice, transparent resin can make dice crystal, add pigment can make colourful dice, such as epoxy resin with good fluidity and curability, can keep the surface smooth.
    - Silicone moulds: special moulds need to be purchased, the shape and size depends on the type of dice you want to make, commonly D6, D20, etc.
    - Paints and glitter (optional): acrylic paints are rich and easy to colour, and glitter can add a sparkling effect.

2. Tools

    - Stirring Stick: Choose plastic or wood to stir the resin and pigment, avoid metal to prevent curing.
    - Dropper: add pigment and resin accurately to control the dosage.
    - Electronic scale: accurately weigh the ratio of resin and hardener, epoxy resin is mostly 2:1 or 3:1.
    - Gloves and goggles: protection against allergy or injury when handling resin.

III. Production Steps

1. Prepare the mould

   - Make sure the mould is clean and dry and free of debris, it can be wiped with a soft cloth. If you want to add small objects, such as metal foil, dried flowers, can be placed at this time, but do not overdo it.

2. Mixing resin

   - Pour the resin and hardener into the container according to the weighing of electronic scale and the ratio of the instructions, e.g. 2:1, then pour 2 parts of resin and then 1 part of hardener.
    - Stir slowly with a stirring rod for 2 - 3 minutes to mix thoroughly and avoid air bubbles. Any air bubbles can be eliminated by standing or lightly swiping with a lighter. If you want to colour, add acrylic paint at this time, mix well, and add glitter if you like shiny.

3. Filling the mould

    - Use a dropper to slowly inject the resin into the mould, starting from the corners, do not be too full to prevent overflow, after filling, gently shake the mould to make the surface flat, so that the bubbles floated through.

4. Curing and demoulding

   - Place the mould in a stable and ventilated place, avoid dust and debris, curing time depends on the type of resin and ambient temperature, generally 24 - 48 hours, do not move the mould during curing. Do not move the mould during curing. After curing, take off the mould gently, if it is difficult to take off, press the edge lightly, the freshly moulded dice may stick to your hand, leave it to dry and harden naturally for a period of time.

 IV. Creative Decoration

1. Hand-painted pattern

    - Use acrylic paints and fine brushes to draw patterns on the surface of the dice, such as geometric shapes, flowers, animals or slogans, blessings, for the D6 dice on all sides of different emoticons, etc., when drawing, pay attention to the thickness of the pigment uniformity, can be the first practice on paper.

2. Sticker decoration

    - Purchase colourful stickers or sticker labels, cut into suitable shapes and paste them on the surface of the dice, you can choose games, cartoons, festivals and other thematic stickers, such as Halloween stickers pumpkins, bats, etc., the stickers can be quickly decorated and can be replaced at any time.

3. Tongue & groove decoration

    - Glue small beads, gemstones, metal pieces, etc. inlaid on the surface of the dice to increase the texture of the three-dimensional sense, such as in the apex of the embedded small crystals, choose the right glue to ensure firm.

 V. Uses of Dice

1. Game props

  - Homemade dice can be used for all kinds of games, traditional tabletop games such as Monopoly, flying chess, role-playing games such as ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, can increase the fun and personalised experience, but also according to the needs of the game system of different types of dice size, such as children's games system of brightly coloured patterns of lovely, creative and challenging for adult party games system.

2. Home Decoration

    - Homemade dice can be used as home decorations, put on the bookshelf, coffee table or hanged on the wall with a thin string, a number of different colours and styles of combinations, to create a lively and interesting atmosphere, making the home more warm and personalized.

3. Creative gifts

    - Homemade dice is a gift with heart, can be customised according to the recipient's preferences and interests, such as for friends who like music to make dice to draw different musical instruments or notes, for family members who love to travel to make dice to write different cities or attractions.

Conclusion

Homemade dice are full of fun and creativity, after the selection of materials, mixing resin, filling moulds, creative decoration and other steps, you can make a unique dice to meet the personalised needs, whether it is used for games, decorative or gifts, can add excitement to life, may this article inspire your creativity, enjoy the fun of handmade.