Resin Jewelry

Making resin jewelry is surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it.

It may take a little bit of trial and error to work out all of the details, but once you have experimented with a few batches of resin jewelry, you'll be amazed at what you can make with just a few simple and inexpensive supplies and pieces of equipment.

Easy Cast Resin is probably the most commonly used and widely available brand of resin; you can buy resin online or at many local art supply stores. Colores is another brand I've used, but I've only found it at the jewelry supply wholesaler, RioGrande (you need a business number to set up an account with them).

I use polyurethane casting resin (just check the label on the bottle carefully to ensure this is what you are buying). You can also buy polyester casting resin, but I like to stay away from this stuff. It is supposed to be better for casting large pieces, but it is also quite toxic. The one time I accidentally bought polyester resin, it had an extremely strong odour which lingered on my pendants forever. In spite of using good ventilation, it gave me an awful headache, and it was difficult to use (my pieces never fully cured). So, I'd suggest sticking with polyurethane casting resin; this should meet your needs well if you're making resin jewelry.

Also, you can buy resin that you mix at a one to one ratio, that is you combine equal amounts of resin and catalyst, or you can buy resin that requires adding just a few drops of catalyst to the resin. By far, I prefer using the resins that are a one to one mix. They are much easier to use, and, while you do have to measure the resin and the catalyst carefully, the one to one mixes are a little more forgiving if your measurements are off a little bit.

Steps for Resin Jewelry Making

1. Protect your work surface and yourself

Cover your work surface with waxed paper. Resin spilled on furniture can result in a big mess. Latex gloves will keep the resin off of your hands, safety goggles will prevent any resin from getting in your eyes, and it's recomended that you also use a respirator designed for fumes when working with resin.

2. Prepare any items that you will be embedding in your resin

If you are including images printed on paper or transparencies, cut them out to the desired shape. If you want your images to fully cover the bottom of a bezel, be very careful to cut them out at exactly the right size. You must also coat the paper (front and back) with Mod Podge. This step prevents discoloration of your paper images. Be sure to let them dry completely.

3. Decide what you will use to shape your resin

For the simplest resin jewelry, you can use empty bezels (in this case, you won't be popping the resin out of the bezel, it will be part of your jewelry).
If you don't want to use a bezel, you can buy molds made specifically for casting resin jewelry.
If you want to get really creative, you can create your own molds. I use Oomoo for making molds. It is inexpensive and really fun and easy to work with and opens up a whole new world of jewelry making options.

4. Use mold release

Ensure your molds or bezels are perfectly clean, then, if you are using a mold, spray the mold with mold release and let it dry. If you are using bezels, Do not spray them with mold release. The purpose of mold release is to help the resin easily pop out of the molds, you don't want the resin to pop out if you are using bezels!

5. Put your paper images in the bezels (optional)

This step is only necessary if you are embedding paper images in bezels. Set your paper image in each bezel. Press it firmly to the bottom of the bezel, and ensure it is flat, it completely covers the bottom of the bezel and it is not crooked.

6. Mix the resin and the catalyst

I use small graduated medicine cups (the kind you use to give medicine to little kids) to mix resin. They are inexpensive and allow you to accurately measure for small batches. Pour the resin and the catalyst into a medicine cup in the proportions specified on the package.

For example:

If you wanted to make one ounce of resin using a product that was mixed using a one to one ratio, first you'd pour one half ounce of resin into the medicine cup (bend down so the cup is at eye level; this will help you measure more accurately).
Next you'd pour one half once of catalyst into the same measuring cup. The cup will already be full of one half ounce of resin, so you'll just add the catalyst until the mixture reaches the one ounce mark, that way you'll have one half ounce of resin and one half ounce of catalyst in the same medicine cup.
Measuring each component in the same cup is much more accurate than measuring them in separate cups. If you measure in separate cups, you'll then have to pour one component into the other and you'll lose some of the poured component as it will stick to the sides of its original cup.

Although it's not necessary, you may also add color at this stage. Instructions vary depending on the brand of jewelry resin you are using, so carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions for adding color.

Stir slowly with a clean popsicle stick for two minutes. Don't stir fast, this will create air bubbles. Also, be careful to scrape the popsicle stick along the edges and bottom of the cup so all of the resin is well mixed.

Slowly pour your mixed resin into another medicine cup and stir a little bit more. This step will ensure your resin is well mixed and will elminate any chance that resin sticking to the sides of the first cup did not get mixed.

7. Time to pour!

Slowly pour the resin into the bezels or molds.

8. Get rid of air bubbles

You'll find plenty of tips for getting air bubbles out of resin. I'm sure I've tried them all, and the best strategy is to use a heat gun. Briefly hold the heat gun just above the resin, and you'll see tiny bubbles rise to the top and pop.

9. Including treasures in your resin

If you are going to include any treasures in your resin, now's the time to do it.

If you are including light items that will float, like glitter or images printed on transparency paper, you can include them right away, you don't have to let the resin cure at all.
If you do include an image on a transparency (some people use shrink plastic), use a pair of tweezers to hold the transparency and dip it in the leftover resin in the medicine cup. You may want to pass a heat gun over this resin first to avoid air bubbles. Coating the transparency in resin before you place it in the mold or bezel will help eliminate air bubbles between the resin and the transparency. Place the transparency face down in the resin if you are using a mold, or face up if you are using a bezel.
If you are adding a 3D element to your mold (like a little plastic toy) you must do it in layers. Pour your first thin layer of resin, let it harden, cover the element you are embedding in resin and then arrange it face down on the cured first layer of resin. Pour more resin; ensure that your item is completely covered in resin. Get out your heat gun again to get rid of any bubbles in the second layer.

10. Cover it and let it cure

Cover your items with a perfectly clean box (this will keep any dust from sticking to your uncured resin) and let it cure. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for curing times. Generally the resin is cured to the touch in 24 hours, but it takes several days to be fully cured.

11. Drilling holes (optional)

If you want to drill a hole in your resin jewelry, you must use a hand drill. Don't use a regular drill; even set at a low speed, it will generate too much heat and melt your resin jewelry.

Supplies

Castin'Craft EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy
waxed paper
gloves
safety goggles
respirator
bezels, commercial Resin Jewelry Molds or Smooth-On Oomoo 30 Silicone (if you're making your own molds)
medicine cups - Make sure there are measurements on the side of the cups. You can buy packages of these at most drugstores. You can also buy the same thing at art supply stores, but don't get them there; you'll pay way too much.
clean popsicle sticks
Castin'Craft Mold Release and Conditioner - Some people use cooking spray as mold release. I have never tried this; I've always used Castin'Craft mold release, so I can't comment on how well cooking spray works.
Heat Gun - The link goes to one at Dick Blick. While I normally find Dick Blick has good prices, I think this heat gun is a bit pricey. I bought mine for about $30.00 at Michael's. Watch for the 40-50% off anything in the store coupons in Michael's fliers and you can probably get one even cheaper than that.
Castin'Craft Pigments (optional)
small treasures to include in resin (optional)
Mod Podge (only required if you are using items that need to be sealed)

Additional Resources
For more tips on making resin jewelry and several great projects, I'd suggest the book The Art of Resin Jewelry. You can read my review of The Art of Resin Jewelry here.

For more information on buying jewelry resin supplies, see my Jewelry Resin Buying Guide.

Since it can be helpful to see a process in action, I've included a series of videos that shows the process of making resin jewelry (just scroll down a bit). The music in the videos may start to grate on you a bit, but the instructions are detailed and excellent.

There are a few things you may want to do a bit differently than the videos suggest:

A fairly big batch of resin is mixed in the video. I like working with smaller batches so the resin doesn't start to set before I'm finished. If you're new to making resin jewelry, you won't be very efficient the first few times you try it, and if your resin starts to set before you're finished pouring, you can get funny swirls and lines in the resin, so smaller batches are often better. You can always mix more resin if you need to, but if you mix too much and it sets too soon, you'll end up wasting that resin.
Medicine cups are ideal for mixing small, manageable batches of resin, and pouring the resin into a condiment bottle is not necessary if you're doing small batches.
The video recommends breathing through a straw or using a hair dryer to get rid of air bubbles. A heat gun is a much better tool for getting rid of air bubbles. I'd avoid using a hair dryer. The problem with hair dryers is that they blow air too forcefully and can easily blow your resin all over and cause messes or strange waves in your resin if it has started to thicken. A heat gun expels warm air without forcefully blowing that air; it is a much safer and more effective way to get rid of air bubbles in resin.

Making Resin Jewelry Part One: