The Resin Experiment

I have been wanting to try resin for a while now, it seems like one of those things "everyone" is doing. Unfortunately that means that almost all the resin jewelry I've been seeing is made with the same six molds. After reading The art of resin jewelry by Sherri Haab I was inspired to use polymer clay to make my own bezels. I shaped, baked, and finished the clay and then began the process of arranging the watch gears(salvaged from old watches I bought at yard sales). What worked best for me was putting a layer of black glitter in the bottom of the bezel and using that to hold the gears and other bits in place. I did not glue anything down. I then mixed the resin according to the package directions and poured it over everything, I did try to dome the resin a bit, but since the sides of the bezels weren't perfectly even that did not come out quite as planned.
Here they are with the resin all cured just waiting to be drilled and made into pendants. The polymer clay worked great for making forms for the resin and I think the possibilities are almost endless combining these two mediums. I am very pleased with how this project came out, especially for a first attempt, stay tuned for future projects!

Book Review: The Art of Resin Jewelry by Sherri Haab

I was really excited to get this book, I have seen some fabulous resin jewelry lately and was interested in the learning basics. There are not a lot of current resin books out there and the reviews of this one were promising. This book is very informative about safety, the different types of resin that are available, and finishing techniques. I also liked how the projects in the book list specific resins and provide the names of suppliers for the findings. There is also a chapter about ready made molds, the author, Sherri Haab also has a website where her molds are available for sale.

I was especially interested in the chapter about making your own molds that talks about several different mold making products. I have seen the commercial molds in stores and it seem like everyone is using the same ones. There are ample pictures with all the projects(I am so visual!) and I like how she recycles food containers the make the molds.

While I may not love every project in this book, it is a good starting point for resin use and I think that it has given me enough confidence to give it a try.

Projects of interest, retro stretch bracelet(page 63), making your own molds for casting(pages 78-105, the whole chapter), and techno polymer clay bezels(pages 113-115).

I recommend this book for anyone interested in starting to work with resin and you can also check out Sherri Haab's website.