Choosing craft materials affects appearance, performance and use. This article compares four common materials to help you choose.
High transparency, available in various styles.
Pros: light, shatter-resistant, easy to process/customize, moderate cost for mass production.
Con: less hard than metal/glass, easy to scratch.
Ideal for medals, stands, gifts, transparent ornaments.
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Extreme transparency, cool high-end texture.
Pros: hard, scratch-resistant, cheap.
Cons: heavy, fragile, hard to make complex shapes.
For simple coasters, lampshades.
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Crystal clear, embeddable (dried flowers/photos).
Pros: good fluidity, suitable for DIY/irregular shapes.
Cons: slow curing, easy to bubble, high mass cost.
For handmade accessories, niche crafts.
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Thick high-end texture.
Pros: durable, high-grade, carvable/platable.
Cons: heavy, high cost, no transparency.
For high-end medals, nameplates, ornaments.
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Summary: Acrylic (transparency+safety+custom); Glass (hard+cheap); Resin (handmade+creativity); Metal (high-end+no transparency).