When I rewrote the About me page of this blog, I found myself describing my work as quirky, colorful, OOAK mixed media pieces. Though I had always incorporated textile fibres, wire and paper along with my beads, my jewelry became mixed media in the real sense after I started experimenting with resin in 2011. After working with resin for 3 years and conducting 2 workshops, I picked up a few tips and tricks and want to share them with you. Here they are my Resin tips and tricks.
Resin jewelry tips and tricks
10 ways to have fun with resin
Follow mixing instructions:
When your end product depends on your materials it is wise to go for a tried and trusted product. There are a variety of resins in the market, but I use and recommend Ice resin which is a clear jewellers grade epoxy resin. When used correctly it delivers what is promised. Mix equal quantities of resin and hardner, stir and wait as indicated in the package.Be patient while stirring or you’ll create too many bubbles.
Add Color
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| Matt turmeric ring, Glossy fuchsia necklace |
Go Clear or opaque
Though ice resin is a great clear resin – it gives almost glass like finish, you can use it to make beautiful opaque objects that have rich colors. Using this concept concept you can replicate gorgeous chunky gemstones at almost no cost.
Choose between matt or glossy finish
If you have added a translucent color that turned murky dont worry. Just sand it and buff it to get a natural aged finish or seal it with a thin swipe of clear resin with a brush to get great shining color. You can also paint your resin pieces with details before sealing them
Use as a sealant/glaze
Ice resin is a great sealant particularly for paper beads. Coat them in modpodge before dipping them in resin for a lacquer like finish. For bigger projects use a flat brush with smooth bristles to give a thin coat to seal them.
Embed fabrics/ fibres
why restrict yourself to paper while working on resin projects? Fabrics, yarn bits work fabulous well with resin. Seal them as you would seal paper but one both sides. If you want a precise clean look then you must start with a tight woven fabric.
Embed beads, glitter or mini objects
You can mix glitter in resin before pouring for an uniform finish or in layers as you are pouring like I did in my Pixie Dust collection
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| Pendants with glitter and sequins |
Superimpose
You don’t have to only cover up mini objects with resin – you can do half and half designs like this butterfly pendant with a pearl or you wait for the resin to fully dry and glue things on top
Use as adhesive
The leftover clumps of resin when you are around the 40 minute mark might not work well in your projects but works great as an adhesive. I have glued metal, clay, wood and other items with resin and it has worked out pretty good.
Mould it
Resin can be used in back less bezels or can be casted into shapes using available moulds. You can also use unorthodox items to hold your resin in. Though all sorts of crazy shapes are available in the market, I suggest starting out with basic moulds which have geometric shapes
These are my top 10 Resin tips and tricks .If you have some tips of your own, please leave them in the comments. I will be back soon with another post on correcting mistakes made while making resin jewelry. Till then have fun playing with resin
Here are my recommendations to start your Resin jewelry making (Affiliate links ahead)
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
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