My friend Helen wanted to know why I am so fascinated with resin. She asked after we met for lunch following
my translucent screen printed resin jewelry tutorial post which used her screen designs. Perhaps it is because I once worked in the lab - you know, all that stirring and pouring of chemicals! I am also naturally curious about the sort of conditions which affect the polymerization of epoxy resin. For instance, if you have an attic studio like my Canadian friend, Aims, resin would have a hard time curing there for much of the year.
My interest in the creative uses of epoxy resin was first tweaked when I stumbled upon Fran Valera of
Little Windows' amazingly creative video series. Who knew you could bend resin? Since then I have had so much fun with this material. It is very versatile. Use it to protect designs. The glass like finish is an advantage if you don't want breakages. And there are no fumes.
One of my most popular posts covered
how to make real pressed flower jewelry. Not all the experiments worked but I learned a lot. Many months ago, I posted this 1960's inspired resin based go-go pendant design on
my Facebook page :
Some followers asked me for the tutorial. It has taken me a while to get around to writing the how-to so thanks for your patience! The go-go cut out feature tutorial will be out later this week.
I have tried many brands of resin but my favorite has to be
Little Windows' Brilliant Resin. Like
ICE Resin
, it's designed for jewelry making - nice doming. Both are also low bubble producers. But unlike Ice Resin, Brilliant Resin is completely colorless. I suspect the process of making it so clear and colorless also involves taking out more impurities. This probably accounts for the longer shelf life.
Brilliant resin uses a 2: 1 ratio of the parts. I have to remember the difference when I use other resins which are often 1:1! There is a benefit to the 2:1 as it is usually Part B which goes off with time. Little Windows also sells Part B separately for those who do not use resin a lot and need to replace the yellowed part. Note : You can color the resin if you find the cured resin is yellowish but there will be a point with old resin when the combined parts will fail to cure.
It's not that other brands are bad. They just vary in price points and formulations. So pick the right kind for your purpose. For example, I really like the colorless
ArtResin brand (below right) which is uv stabilized (non-yellowing). But unfortunately the polymerization reaction of this brand creates a ton of bubbles. It is great for the purpose it was designed for - covering art work. So the bubbles tend to pop on their own as the layer is thin. The rest can be blown off or chased off with a few waves of a small handheld torch. I found getting rid of the Art Resin bubbles was much harder when working with deeper molds. So it is worth it to get a low bubble producer in the first place.
Giveaway Want to play with resin and come up with unique designs of your own? Then here is the chance to
win
$50 worth of resin jewelry making supplies from Little Windows, please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.
Little Windows is
offering a special 15% off discount for all readers! Use this code :
BeadingGem16 Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.
This giveaway is for US and Canadian readers only.Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments. (The exception is Facebook - just like/comment on the giveaway status there!!)
It
ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, September 26, 2016. I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!
Disclosure I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation.PhotographyAll final project images were captured in natural light using my iPhone 6S, the camera+ app and the Modahaus TS320 Tabletop Photo Studio. Studio pictures were captured using artificial lights. Photo editing was done in-app with final tweaks in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Click for more information on my
How to Photography Jewelry Webinar.
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