style="font-size:15px;"> Resins occur frequently in nature and have played a part in human history as well, so it’s basically in our DNA to enjoy them! Think of the tree sap that you might have seen on the outside of a tree; it’s a sticky substance that hardens with time. You might already be familiar with amber and frankincense, too—they are also resins. Amber has been documented in jewelry since the Neolithic times, more than 12,000 years ago. The fossilized resin that becomes amber (also called resinite) is from coniferous (pine) trees and other tree species. Resins from the cones from the cedar trees of Lebanon were used in the mummification of Egyptian pharaohs. And if you have ever used turpentine, you guessed it—it’s distilled from pine tree resin. Isn’t it fun to realize how much history resin has behind it?
Resin is a way to make glass-like objects and effects without having to work with actual glass. Items can be encased in resin like little stories frozen in time. It can reinvent a classic look when you drop in small cameos, trinkets, gems, fossils, and pearls. Finding a pleasing composition and color palette that will forever be encased in “glass” is a jewelry maker’s dream. It also gives substantial weight to an object by making the item look bigger and more noticeable when wearing it. Resins can transform a small charm into a work of art.
Casting resin requires mixing two chemicals, but it is surprisingly easy to use.
Gay Isber
Mix colors and pigment powders into resin to make it shimmery and turn it different shades.
Gay Isber
The resin acts like glue in a mold alongside beads and the like and will harden into a finished product.
Gay Isber
You can also colorize resin in a rainbow of custom colors. You never know exactly how a color combination will work, and the surprise is part of the fun. A drop of blue, a few drops of red, a few drops of purple—it’s easy to experiment with colors in this artist’s dream medium.
Chursina Viktoriia
TIP: If your makeup bag is exploding with eye shadows that you don’t use, grind them up, make sure that they are dry, and use them in your resins. That will give you a story to tell about your jewelry!
Assemble your resulting work in any way you can imagine!
Gay Isber
Pigment powders are a magical way to add color and shine to resin; it’s well worth buying a giant pack with thirty or more colors in it. They are usually made with mica, which gives them a metallic shine, and sometimes sold as “mica powder.” Adding a bit of powder into resin can colorize it if you have not added any coloring dyes already, or it can add a gloriously glamorous depth of sparkle and make your piece come to life. Pigment powders can make resin mimic gems, minerals, and even butterfly wings. That brilliant flash that only nature creates? You can recreate it in your jewelry. Plus, pigment powders won’t rub off when added to resin.
Keep in mind that almost any liquid substance that hardens with time into a hard lacquer or enamel-like finish—including nail polish—is a resin. You might have been using resin already and didn’t know it! So don’t be scared. Buy a small amount to start, then let your heart point you in the direction of becoming a resin-savvy jewelry artist. Resin just makes me happy, and I know you will love it too.
The kinds of resin we’ll use to make jewelry all follow the same basic concept: you must mix two chemicals (casting resin and a catalyst/hardener) to create a reaction that causes the resin to harden to form your finished resin cast. In jewelry making, luckily, you don’t have to wait years for something to cure or dry. Modern-day chemicals combine in many formulas that allow for a super fast curing time (under ten minutes for certain fast-curing brands or various UV resins) or somewhat slower curing times, usually under 24 hours. From the moment you mix the two chemicals together, you will have a limited “working time” in which the resin is completely liquid and can be poured and adjusted in your mold and on your project. After the working time is over, which can be anywhere from two to ten to fifteen minutes, depending on the product, the resin will start to get cloudy and gel up. At that point, you must stop working with it and leave it to cure.
All curing times depend on temperature. In scientific terms, you are kicking off an exothermic reaction when the two chemicals combine, which is what causes the resin to start to cure. You can’t just rely on the chemicals alone to create the reaction, though: air temperature plays an important role, too. See the sidebar on page 16 for more details.
CURING TIMES AND TEMPERATURES
Adding heat decreases the curing time of your projects.
• 70°F (21°C) is the minimum temperature for a good cure.
• 88°F (31°C) will cut the cure time in half.
• To increase the temperature, place a lamp with an incandescent light bulb (the old kind that throws off heat, not the newer LED types) over your resin projects.
• In winter, cure in a warm kitchen.
• In summer, cure in a sunny room.
• If your house is very cold, preheat an oven to about 90°F (32°C), turn the oven off, and place the resin items inside on a cookie sheet.
The resin starts off as two parts, which you mix together to create a chemical reaction that will cause the resin to cure hard.
Gay Isber
Mix in a disposable measuring cup like this one to ensure fast cleanup and precise mixing.
Gay Isber
The gluey resin has a limited working time of about two to fifteen minutes in which it is completely fluid. Use it to fill up molds, join items together, and more.
Gay Isber
All materials have to be room temperature before beginning. Pre-warm the bottles in a bowl of hot or warm water if they are cold (such as if you left them in a very cool room of your house or in your car on a cold day). Close the lids extra well, as water will ruin the chemicals. Resin can also be too warm and therefore cure too quickly after you mix it, so if you have left the bottles in a hot place or in direct sunlight, let them reduce down to room temperature before
