Resin jewelry making challenges

I've been working on a new resin project using bottle caps. It appears as though the resin gods though I had forgotten the first rule of working with resin: the resin always wins.  It doesn't matter how much I work with resin; I always have something MORE to learn about it.

Last I left you, I had glued artwork into the bottom of recycled bottle caps with the plastic inserts removed.  Here's a few of the snags I've encountered:


This is a 'flat' bubble.  Why it chose to get squished horizontally is beyond me.  The zoom in my camera actually allows me to see that it's a bubble.  If I look at it with my 'everyday getting older eyeballs', it looks more like a big piece of glitter reflecting light back.

I also had just the garden variety large bubbles as well.  The first time this happened, I thought I hadn't checked the resin very well after pouring, so I triple checked with the next batch.  Everything was good, yet when I came back two hours later, two of the bottle caps had bubbles.  When I poured a couple of batches today, I decided to use my hot air gun instead of a straw to get the bubbles out.  It got the bubbles out, but the force of the air also pushed up bubbles from under the paper.  Apparently, I'm trapping air underneath the art which is escaping later.


I've also had a few with a lot of small bubbles.  I don't know how this happened either.

So for the few that have turned out well, I have to look for cat hair.  Thanks Karma.


To keep these mistakes from happening again, I poured a very thin layer of resin to cover the art.  This should allow bubbles to escape easier in case they show up later.  (I can always add another layer if I decide I don't like the thinness.)  I'll let you know how that works out.

How To Make Bottle Cap Jewelry Using Resin

I know I have a lot of resin jewelry making enthusiasts who follow my blog, so I'm always on the look out for useful jewelry making articles and videos to share. My google alerts let me know this video got added a couple of days ago and looked like a neat thing to share with blog readers.  (Video is below.)

As I started watching it though, I found this video showed some techniques that, in my experience, may not result in success. So if you're going to watch, here are my comments, precautions and recommendations before you get started:

1. I have not personally used ICE resin (as the video shows), but I have heard mixed reviews about it. Research before you try it.

2. Use separate mixing cups when measuring the resin and hardener. That way if you overpour one of the components, you won't have to waste any.  Pouring both into the same cup and not being exact means your resin won't harden correctly and you will be left with a gooey mess.

3. I like to pour the hardener (from its own cup) into the resin (in its own cup) in a slow stream while I'm mixing. I think you get a better mix and fewer bubbles that way.

4. I like to use my resin right away, even if there are bubbles. There is only a limited time you can use the resin before it hardens. I can always go back and get bubbles out.

5. I think there are safer ways of getting bubbles out of resin than using a torch. One of my methods involves using a hot air gun.

6. I would caution against drilling holes for findings BEFORE placing the resin the bottle cap. What happens if you change your mind and decide you want it to be a magnet? What happens if you place your art in there wrong and realize later that the hole isn't in the right place?

7. If I did decide to place a hole, I certainly wouldn't put the ring in the hole until after the resin has cured. If you spill some resin on your ring and you don't know it, your resin will cure and your ring may be in an unusable position. At least if you spill resin onto the hole, you can go back and drill it out later.

8.  Use extreme care when pouring the resin directly from the cup onto your project.  It tends to come out in big globs and will overfill quickly.  (at least that's what happens to me)

All this being said, I think this video is a great inspiration for a future project!

Mixing the perfect resin color

Now that I'm in overdrive getting resin and pewter jewelry pieces finished to take to the ACRE Las Vegas show this week (yes, this week!), I experimented a little with getting some unique colors.  I broke out my handy, dandy color wheel and started mixing.  Here's what I got:

I got a "baby blue" (far left), lavender (middle left), and "mud" (left).  I was trying to get a warm, red undertone, fuschia.

The baby blue isn't bad.  I'm not a pastel person, but I think if you're are, you will like the color.

I liked the lavender color.  It wasn't next on my list to create, but I went ahead and used it anyway.

This is actually what happened first.  MUD.  Ugly, mud.  I poured it in a couple of pieces before I decided I absolutely hated it.

For some strange reason, I couldn't bear to pour it in the garbage, so I put it in one of my silicone resin molds.  Still hate it.









So after three tries of getting the fuschia I wanted, I decided to hit the internet to find something that would help me get the color I wanted. 

I love wikipedia.

I found an article on Wiki How on How to Mix Colors.  I was skeptical, but decided I couldn't do any worse than I already had done.

Eureka!  I have my fuschia!  (and while I was on a roll, I went for a nice teal too.)

This is exactly the color I wanted.  I was mixing purple, blue and red, when in reality, I had to mix a bright pink with turquoise.  Go figure.

The teal came from mixing the turquoise with just an eensy, teensy bit of yellow.  Love how this one turned out too.


These colors will be ready to sand tomorrow night and will be heading out West with me!

Resin jewelry making

In case you're interesting in trying your hand at resin jewelry making, John W. Golden has some great tutorials on his You Tube channel. Here's one here:

Resin jewelry making

Resin is rather a strange beast.  For any of you who have worked with it for any amount of time, you know what I mean.  You can seemingly do everything right and somehow it doesn't work.  (Enjoy my resin jewelry making mistakes here.)  I've posted some resin jewelry making tips before, but I've recently found a few quirky items to add to the list. 

The resin I've been using for my scrabble pendants mixes in a 1:1 ratio.  It doesn't matter how big a batch I make, but it has to be equal parts.  Most of the time lately, when I've mixed a total amount of 15 milliliters, by the time I get to the end of putting it on pendants, it's starting to get thick and I have a fair share of bubbles to get out of the pendants.  By happy accident one day, I found that if I pour a "smidge" (yes, that's a technical term) less hardener, compared to the resin, it will stay fluid longer, but still cure completely.  That has made it easier for the bubbles to rise on their own, or for me to get them out.

I use a toothpick to dop my resin onto the scrabble tiles.  This may sound incredibly stupid (or intuitive depending who you are), but I have figured out that the toothpick must go straight into the resin, then straight out.  Any slight "scooping" introduces microbubbles into the resin.  Perhaps that's why I had so many to get out to begin with.

Lastly, when I use a straw to get out the bubbles of the poured resin, I have to change it up after two batches.  (I won't talk about the actual technique of doing that because it can be dangerous to your health if you don't do it right.  I know I've got resin jewelry makers that read this blog and I don't want to endanger you.  However, if you watch enough resin jewelry making videos, you will find the technique.)  When I use a straw for more than two batches, there gets to be too much moisture placed on the pendants and they cure slightly tacky on top.

Just when I thought I knew what I was doing, resin once again claims itself as the boss. 

What jewelry questions do you have?

Have a burning question you're dying to ask?  Looking for answers to your jewelry making questions or just have a curious question about art jewelry?  Leave your response here or if you want to remain anonymous, send an email to kmsdesigns@hotmail.com.  I'll post the answers to the questions next week!

How to Make Jewels, Gems, Crystals, and Pendants

I found this easy to follow video on how to use resin to make your own gemstones and such. While I don't use this exact technique, viewers of the video can appreciate some of the ways jewelry makers can use resin to make jewelry.

Resin jewelry tips

I found another resin jewelry making tips video to share with readers.  I also use the clear molds she uses in her video for the very reason:  being able to see the bubbles!  It is so much easier to find them when you can look from beneath.  This short 3 1/2 minute video will also give you an idea of what it looks like when you place found objects in the first layer of (clear) resin.

Resin Bracelet - How to Make resin jewelry

In the process of reviewing my google alerts this week for resin jewelry, I found this cute little video on resin jewelry making. While the video's star, Jennifer Perkins, does things differently than I do, I think viewers can watch it and get a great perspective on making resin jewelry. Maybe you will be inspired to make your own!

Pouring resin jewelry pendants

 While I was getting ready to pour resin jewelry a couple of nights ago, I though I would grab a few pictures. 

Resin always starts as two separate parts.  When they're apart, they're completely inert.  Once they are mixed together though, a chemical reaction starts and the mix eventually hardens.  The cups at left show the measured resin.









Here I'm mixing the two parts together.  It is important to wear gloves.  I also use disposable cups and wooden toothpicks.










This shows my digital art affixed to the scrabble tiles.  They are placed on a layer of wax paper in the case that some resin rolls off the pendants, it won't stick to any thing permanently.

For these pendants, I have to drop on the resin to each pendant individually with a toothpick.  I have to work quickly as I only have about 15 minutes before the resin starts to get too firm to work with.









Once I have placed the resin on top of the jewelry, I cover it with a dome and allow it to harden.  It takes approximately 3 days for the pieces to fully cure.  Once they're done, I can adhere the bails to the back.

The view from my art jewelry office

So I thought it might be fun to show you what my office looks like. My office is a separate room inside my house. I would one day LOVE for it to be in my studio, but alas...another day. I'm not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination. I use a lot of "piles" to organize, but am slowly switching over to using file folders and organizing racks. Perhaps I can get some help in this someday. This is my computer desk complete with laser printer to the left. I use the printer to print out the images for some of my resin pieces. The laser printer was so much more expensive, but I am so much happier with the print quality.

I've had to expand to buy a couple of shelving units to store jewelry making materials.  Before making resin jewelry, I always kept everything I could in my art studio.  Since resin can be a bit fussy about the weather, I keep a lot of those materials indoors.  The picture at left shows a hodge podge of papers and materials.  If you look closely at the 4th shelf down on the right, I've actually got resin jewelry pieces curing under the plastic container "domes".










This shelving unit contains gift boxes and packaging materials.  You can see the 3rd and 4th shelves down contain packing envelopes and boxes complete with a postal scale.














A closeup of some of the scrabble tile pendants in process.

More digital art papers waiting to be applied to scrabble tiles.  I keep them inside as well since I can keep the dust down in my office better than in my studio.









I promise one of these days to get my studio cleaned up enough for a tour there as well.  *smile*

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 6

(Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5 of the resin jewelry making process)

So whenever I have drilled holes in my resin bracelet links in the past, I have always done it by hand.  I sit at my bench and use my flex shaft with a size #61 drill bit.

I simply "eyeball" where to drill the hole and hope that I get it in straight.  Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.  If I don't stay in the right geometrical plane, I either drill out the back, or when I come out on the other side, the two holes are a lot closer or further away than they are on the other side.

I decided to get a drill press to help me make the drilling process easier.  I installed it next to my jewelry bench.

Being next to my jewelry press, I don't have to purchase another flex shaft.  I only have to swing the one I have over to the drill press and set it up in the drill press.  To drill I use the foot pedal of the flex shaft to "give it some gas".  I use the level handle on the right to move the drill bit up and down.

I have a vise bolted on to the base the flex shaft.  It won't come off during the drilling, but I can move it forward or side to side to exactly adjust it.  I have my resin piece in the jaws of the vise.  It is protected by a piece of fleece, which I found out may not still be enough if I "crank down" the jaws too hard.  (I actually imprinted the jaws into a couple of pieces.)

I found I actually had to move the drill bit up and down several times to remove all my resin "crumbs".  The shavings would clog up my hole, which doesn't allow me to string the pieces.  I also found out that if I wasn't careful with how I placed the piece in the jaws, I could still drill incorrectly.  This was due to the fact that the one side is a convex surface, so I have to be absolutely sure the jaw is hitting the piece at the highest point.  Otherwise the angle is off and I still end up drilling out the back.


Overall, I think this will be a help, but I still have more practicing to do.

The next step is to string an polish my resin bracelet!

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 5

(Read part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 of the resin jewelry making process)

 The next part in the resin jewelry making process is for me to finish up the edges of each individual bracelet link.  After each piece has cured, I pop each one out of its mold.  (It takes at least 72 hours for it to completely cure.)  For the pieces that have a lot of extra resin, I can trim them with some heavy duty scissors.

To take the sharp edges off each piece, I have to sand it with several different grits of sandpaper.  I do this on a flat surface under water.  Why underwater?  As the friction generates heat, the "crumbs" will melt back onto the piece unless I do it underwater.  I sand the back and the edges with 3 different grits of sandpaper.






Check back for Monday's post where I finally drill the pieces and show everyone my new drill press.

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 4

(Read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the resin jewelry making process)

So the clear resin has cured for about 1 to 2 days.  I can add the color behind it.












To go with this set of papers, I am doing this batch in a medium pink.  I mix the resin just as I did before and pour it on top of the clear resin with the papers that have already cured.  I also pass my heat gun over the top to remove any bubbles that may have occurred.  In the past, I have had about 60 minutes to be able to work with this resin in its liquid form (also known as pot time).  For some reason, I have only had about 15 to 20 minutes here recently to be able to work with it.  I'm sure it's temperature and humidity related.  The resin is still curing properly, so I haven't been too concerned.


Once the pink layer of resin has completely cured, I can pop the pieces out of their mold.  If you look carefully at the edges, you will see there is excess resin that needs to be sanded.









If the resin is thin enough, I can trim the excess with heavy duty scissors before I sand and finish them.












This picture shows that there are two layers of resin to each bracelet link:  a clear top layer and a colored bottom layer. 










While tiny bubbles are to be expected in resin jewelry, the piece at left shows what happens if I don't get out the bubbles trapped underneath the papers in the clear layer.  This piece is headed for the scrap pile.  Darn!







The next step is to show some of the sanding and how I drill the pieces.

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 3

(In case you missed other posts you can read part 1 and part 2)

I wear nitrile gloves whenever I'm working with resin.  The resin can be irritating to the skin and it's downright sticky.  I always use nitrile gloves (versus latex) because some types of resin will react with latex.  I use small plastic mixing cups (seen on the far left) with graduations on the side.  It allows me to visually measure exact amounts of resin.  (These happen to be cups with dram marks on the side.)





These are the finished, sealed papers.  They have been cut and sealed twice.












To make these resin bracelet links, I will be using a clear, plastic mold.  This will allow me to lift up the mold and see if there are any bubbles trapped underneath the papers once I place them.

Since I pour resin at odd hours of the day and night, (and this time was no exception), I don't have anyone available to take pictures of the pouring process.  To give you a mental image here, I mix the two cups of carefully measured resin together and pour into the mold.



I only pour the mold about halfway full.  I then carefully slide the sealed paper into the mold with the back side facing me.  I lift each mold to see if there are bubbles trapped underneath the papers.  If there are, I use a toothpick to tap the papers and the heat from my heat gun (the blue thing in the picture) to draw the bubbles out.

Once everything is poured, I cover the resin molds and let them sit to cure.  The initial cure takes about 24 hours.

The next step:  adding color to the back.

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 2

Part 2 of the resin bracelet making process

So now that I've placed the first coat of the sealant on the paper, it's time for me to cut.  For these resin bracelets, I need 5/8 inch squares.  I cut a 5/8 inch paper strip using a ruler and an exacto knife.






I then cut the strip into 5/8 inch squares using a T-square and an exacto knife.  (Don't forget to use newspaper or some other padding under your blade or you will make marks into the surface you're cutting on.)







 


You can see now that I have a bunch of squares in the paper pattern I've previously sealed.



 








I don't like the "sharp" corners on the squares, so I round the edges off with scissors.

You can see the finished squares here.  The top ones will be used.  The bottom ones are shown before the edges get rounded off.


The next step is to reseal them again with the decoupage glue.

Check back next week for the next step!

In case you missed it, Part 1 of the resin jewelry bracelet making process

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 1

In my post from last week about which resin bracelet people preferred, the colorful, stretchy style won by a mile!  As I embark on making more of these, I want to include pictures on the process and just how it gets from a sketch pad to a finished piece of resin jewelry.

Part 1 of the resin bracelet making process

Before I ever start making the resin bracelets, I collect different kinds of paper to go in the bracelets.  These papers could be vintage papers, wall papers, computer generated art, and such.  I keep them all together and every so often go through them to group together ones that would be complementary in their presentation.  For these, I liked the flowers and the pinks and chose to pair these three together as a bracelet.
 

 

Before I can use the papers in the resin, I have to seal them.  I use a decoupage glue (general catch all term for many different kinds of sticky, sealing glue) to cover both sides of the paper.  What happens if I don't seal the papers?  See my blog post with one of my resin bracelet prototypes.

I use a wide paint brush (no particular quality) and apply a thin layer of the glue to both sides of the paper.  It's just enough to cover the paper, almost the same idea as basting a piece of meat on the grill.  I now have to let the paper dry a couple of hours before I can cut out the squares.

To be continued....