How to make jewelry from epoxy resin. Epoxy resin jewelry

Transparent epoxy resin is a universal material that allows you to make an original table, jewelry, 3D floors. See how to create it yourself.

Transparent resin: types and their characteristics

For home crafts, epoxy is most often used. But in addition to making jewelry and souvenirs from it, this material is used to create polymer floors with a fashionable 3D effect. Thanks to this, the lower part of the room resembles the ocean with its underwater inhabitants, flowering fields and everything you could wish for.

The self-leveling floor is multi-level, one of the layers is a special canvas on which a drawing is applied using the color printing technique. Whatever story is captured there will be the same on self-leveling floors. Their surface consists of transparent resin, so the image on the canvas is clearly visible.

Products made from epoxy resin are durable, resistant to water and sun. One of the most popular epoxy resins is Magic Crystal-3D. It is used to create jewelry, decorative items, for filling 3D and glossy coatings.

Epoxy CR 100 epoxy resin is also used to create polymer floors, which is characterized by antistatic properties, wear resistance, and good chemical resistance.

Epoxy resin sold together with solvent. Typically these two substances are mixed in a 2:1 ratio immediately before use.

The second type of resin is acrylic. It is also used to create self-leveling floors and souvenirs. Acrylic resin is used for the manufacture of bathtubs, waterfalls and artificial reservoirs, and molds for casting products. Artificial stone, including artificial marble, is made from this material.

Perhaps you have heard about transparent designer sinks and bathtubs. This type of resin is used for them.

Transparent polyester resin is also used to create sanitary products. But this type of polymer is most often used in industrial production, not in home production. Transparent polymer resin is used in the automotive industry, shipbuilding industry, and auto tuning. Fiberglass, known to almost everyone, is made from polymer resins.

The most popular for home crafts is epoxy resin, as it costs less than acrylic. But for the production of small pieces of jewelry, it is better to take acrylic, which does not absorb air bubbles like epoxy. However, there are subtleties that will help prevent this trouble when working with cheaper material. You will soon learn about them.

How to make a countertop from epoxy resin?

If you need to update the old one, then take it into service interesting idea. To implement it you will need:

coins;
epoxy resin with thickener;
pliers;
mites;
water-based varnish;
autogen;
wooden slats;
glue.

If you are decorating wooden surface, wash it, let it dry, prime it and paint it. If you have an old coated countertop, you will need to remove it, then paint it.

The most difficult thing is to bend the coins and cut them. Pincers and pliers, as well as male power, will help you. But if any of this is missing, do not make side ends on the tabletop, place the coins only at the top, it will still turn out beautiful.

The coins will need to be washed. There are several ways to do this:

Pour Cola drink into the pan, put in the coins, and put on fire. The solution will boil and cleanse your money. You can simply pour this drink over the coins, do not heat them, but leave them overnight. By morning they will be clean.
Place the pan with coins and water on the fire. When the liquid boils, add a little vinegar and soda. The solution will foam, so add enough water to fill the pan no more than halfway.
Take advantage special means for purification, which is called Tarn-X. It is diluted in water according to the instructions, not in food containers, and coins are placed in it. The container must be carefully rotated over the sink to evenly moisten the money and thus wash it.

After using any of these methods, you need to rinse the coins well in running water and put them to dry on towels. But you can also buy new coins from a bank.

Here's how to make the tabletop itself. Place coins on its surface, after which you need to fill them with a mixture of epoxy resin and thickener. But before that you need to make preparations.
If you don’t want to fuss for a long time, lay cellophane under the surface to be treated, and you can pour the resin. But after mixing with the thickener, you need to leave the mass for a while so that it hardens a little and is not too liquid.
In any case, it will flow down a little, so in order to save the solution, you need to periodically collect these drops with a spatula and apply them where there is little resin. But even if this is not done, the wiped resin will be on the cellophane, which should simply be thrown away when the work is completed.
You can first make an edging for the tabletop from wooden slats or bars, then place coins and fill it with epoxy resin.
Don't be disappointed if you see air bubbles on the surface you create. We drive them out with autogen flame.
Now you need to let the product dry completely, this will take a couple of days. At this time, the main thing is that no one touches the surface, that dust and animal hair do not settle.
After the resin has completely dried, coat the surface with water-based varnish; after it has dried, the new product is ready for use.

If you are interested in this process and have a whole piggy bank of coins, or maybe some metal money of the old denomination remains, then make a self-leveling floor, for example, in the bathroom or kitchen.

Epoxy resin jewelry: bracelet and brooch

See how to make a stylish bracelet from this material.

For him take:

a set consisting of epoxy resin with a thickener;
silicone mold for a bracelet;
plastic cup;
toothpick;
a stick (you can use an ice cream stick);
scissors;
dried flowers;
disposable syringes.

Pour 2 parts resin and one thickener into a glass.

To measure the exact amount of thickener and epoxy resin, use disposable syringes. To create as few air bubbles as possible, mix these mixtures slowly.

If air bubbles still remain, let the mixture sit for a while until they disappear. But don’t let it get too thick.

Pour the stringy mixture into the bracelet mold. Place dried flowers cut with scissors there, helping yourself with a toothpick. You can also use them to pierce air bubbles so that it comes out.

Leave the bracelet to harden for a day, then carefully remove it from the mold and try on your new fashion accessory.

Instead of dried flowers, you can decorate the bracelet with beautifully colored buttons.

If you want to make a brooch in the shape of a butterfly, then watch the next master class.

For it you will need:

dry butterfly bought in a store;
scissors;
epoxy resin with solvent;
two toothpicks;
gloves;
aqua varnish;
brooch mechanism.

Manufacturing instructions:

Cut the butterfly into 5 parts: separating the wings and bodies. Coat these parts with aqua varnish first on the reverse side.
Place the blanks on a surface covered with film. A tile on which the bag is placed and secured is suitable for this.
Apply varnish to the front side of the butterfly. While it is drying, dilute the epoxy resin with the solvent, stirring slowly.
Place the container in a warm place so that the solution thickens a little and does not drip off the workpieces when pouring. Cover them with a small layer and spread it over the surface with a toothpick.
We wait until the parts dry, then we cover them with epoxy mixture on the back side. We also wait for this layer to dry, after which we dilute a third portion of the solution, set it aside so that it thickens well, but is plastic. This will make it easy to glue the wings to the body, which is what you will do. At the same time, give the wings the desired position.
Using the remaining solution, attach the metal mechanism to the back of the brooch. Remove the decoration, covering it from dust so that the solution is completely dry.

That's how you got a beautiful new brooch.

How to make a pendant: 2 master classes

See what other wonderful resin jewelry you can make with your own hands.

You will need:

epoxy resin with hardener;
metal mold;
disposable cups and spoons;
small scissors;
mandarin;
stained glass paint;
Fimo Vernis brillante fixing varnish;
stained glass paint;
sandpaper;
brooch holder;
Alcor silicone compound.

Peel the tangerine. Take the most beautiful slice, carefully, using scissors to catch the skin, remove it from one side. On the other side, a pin will subsequently be attached, not to the slice, but to a blank made from it.

Form 2 slices in this way and place them in the mold. Knead the silicone compound and pour it into the prepared container. Let the silicone harden.

Now you can remove the slices from the container, throw them away, and rinse the form itself in cold water. If the edges of the indentations are uneven, trim them with scissors.

After a day, the silicone will completely harden, then you can pour the prepared epoxy solution into the mold. When the workpiece is dry, sand it a little with fine sandpaper or an engraver. Attach a brooch clasp to the back of the blank, paint the tangerine orange stained glass paint. Apply 1 layer first, then the second. After drying, brush the surface with varnish.

You can make such wonderful decorations from epoxy resin in the shape of a tangerine if you are diligent.

If you want to learn how to make a round pendant, then check out another master class. For it you will need:

dried flowers;
molds for filling round shapes;
epoxy resin;
thickener;
disposable plastic cups;
tweezers;
scissors;
sandpaper;
polishing paste;
felt nozzle;
accessories for a pendant.

If you don't have round molds, then take a plastic ball. It needs to be sawed in half, greased inside with Vaseline. After pouring the resin, seal the cut with plasticine so that it does not leak out.

In the absence of purchased dried flowers, make them yourself from a given bouquet. Dry voluminous flowers, such as roses, by tying them to the stems and lowering the buds down. If you want to dry individual petals, then place them between the pages of an old book. Fragile voluminous flowers are dried in a container into which semolina is poured.

It is important to dry these blanks well, since if the process is not performed well, the flower or part of it will rot over time while in the pendant. To ensure that the plant retains its color for as long as possible, use epoxy resin that protects against ultraviolet radiation.

Assemble a mini-bouquet by gluing flowers, petals, and leaves using epoxy resin mixed with a thickener.

When it hardens, carefully place this small bouquet in a round mold or half a plastic ball. A freshly prepared epoxy mixture solution should be left for 2-3 minutes so that the air comes out and the bubbles do not spoil it appearance products. Now you can pour the resin into the mold and wait until it thickens.

While you get a ball like this, it will not be completely even in shape. To fix this, first go over the surface with a coarse-grain sandpaper, then with a fine-grain sandpaper. It is better to do this in water so that there is no dust and the process goes faster.

The next stage is polishing. A polish for plastic or for headlights, purchased at a car dealership, works well for this. Apply it to a felt nozzle, go over the workpiece from all sides.

Here's how to make the pendant next. To attach the chain to the ball, take a cap and a pin.

Place a pin on the cap and use pliers to fold it into a loop. Glue this blank to the pendant with epoxy resin.

All you have to do is attach the chain and enjoy wearing such an unusual pendant.

And now we invite you to sit comfortably in a chair and watch an educational story about how to make a ring from wood and epoxy resin.

These two materials are also the main characters of the next video. From it you will learn how to make a table using a similar technique.

Cool

One of the largest fashion trends in the fashion and beauty industry is the creation of hand-made jewelry. Therefore, I bring to your attention a trendy technique for creating original jewelry from epoxy resin.

To create epoxy resin jewelry you will need:

Silicone forms (molds),

A variety of natural materials (dried flowers, shells, etc.),

Epoxy resin,

- container for stirring, toothpicks, disposable gloves.

So, epoxy resin - what is it? This is a product that consists of two components: the resin itself and the hardener. When they are mixed, the material hardens and then polymerizes. The hardener is a significant component in the working mixture, so it is added 1:1 in relation to the resin or more (depending on the type of resin). After hardening, epoxy resin turns into a transparent and very hard plastic, externally imitating plexiglass or even real glass, only unbreakable.

Epoxy resin has high strength (much higher than conventional glue), it resists wear better, and its ability to take the desired shape during polymerization even at low temperatures is what is required when making jewelry at home.

Dried flowers, pebbles, shells, beads are original decor, which is used in epoxy resin jewelry. These natural materials add variety and set the color scheme for the decoration.

Master class on making a bracelet from epoxy resin

And now I bring to your attention a simple master class on making a bracelet from epoxy resin from needlewoman Ekaterina, known under the nickname Devona Sun Design.

Materials:

Bracelet mold (can be purchased at craft stores or online stores that stock epoxy resin)

Disposable resin mixing cup

Mixing stick

Dry leaves

Toothpick, scissors

So, first, wash and dry the silicone mold. Mix the resin with the hardener (in this case in a ratio of 1:3, but each manufacturer has its own proportions, so you need to carefully read the instructions for the resin). Stir well until smooth and set aside to release any bubbles.

Prepare the dry leaves by cutting off the excess with scissors so that they do not protrude from the mold.

After 10 minutes, when the resin has settled, pour it into the mold. The more carefully you pour the resin into the mold, the less you will need to sand the finished product later.

Then use a toothpick to place the leaves into the resin. Spread them out carefully. In order for the remaining bubbles to come out of the resin and for faster hardening, place the mold with the bracelet in the oven for 10-15 minutes, heated to 80 degrees and turned off. Then you should remove the mold from the oven and leave it to harden for a day. When the bracelet has completely hardened, carefully remove it from the mold.

The sharp edges of the bracelet should be sanded with fine sandpaper. Then the bracelet needs to be opened with varnish (any acrylic will do). The bracelet is ready!

Bracelets made using the same technique.

In addition to natural materials, you can use photographs

and other materials.

Master class on making pendants, rings and earrings with rose buds from epoxy resin

You can make not only bracelets from epoxy resin, but anything you want, any unique jewelry. I offer you a master class on making pendants, rings and earrings with rose buds from epoxy resin from the wonderful craftswoman Rusalina.

Materials:

Silicone forms

Two-component epoxy resin (with hardener)

Dried rose buds

Metal fittings

Hot glue gun

Prepare silicone molds: wash with soap and dry well. Rosebuds should be taken with a color transition or with inclusions - they will not change their color after complete drying. They should be dried with their heads down.

The epoxy resin must be diluted with the hardener according to the instructions using a wooden stick to a uniform transparent consistency. To avoid bubbles in the resin, you need to put it in an oven preheated to 60 degrees for 5 minutes.

Then, using a syringe or using a wooden stick, fill the silicone molds halfway with resin, place the rose buds in them head down and top up with the remaining resin.

Then you need to leave the mold until completely dry in a warm, dry place for a period of 24 to 72 hours (depending on the depth of the mold).

After complete drying, you can remove the product from the mold; this is easiest to do under running water. The edges of the product, where there was open space that was not hidden in the mold, need to be sanded using sandpaper. Then take the hardware you want and use a hot glue gun to glue the epoxy resin product to it.

Master class on making jewelry from epoxy resin with dandelions

And one more interesting master class from craftswoman Anastasia Parfyonova known under the nickname NikaLiza. This time there will be dandelion parachutes in epoxy resin. Dandelions in jewelry evoke associations with lightness and serenity.

Materials:

Two-component epoxy resin (with hardener)

Silicone forms (molds)

Dandelion parachutes

Disposable gloves, cups, syringes, mixing stick

First you need to wash and dry the molds. Then, wearing gloves, pour the resin and hardener into the cups. Having measured out the required amount of resin and hardener using syringes, pour them into another glass and mix together with a wooden stick. You need to knead thoroughly, in a circular motion, so that all the air comes out - this will take about 10 minutes. After this, you should leave the epoxy resin for half an hour.

Then place the dandelion in the mold and carefully fill it with resin on top. For complete hardening, wait exactly one day and remove the product from the mold. If necessary, sand a little with fine sandpaper.

You can also make similar decorations with sea pebbles, shells, pieces of glass, gold leaf, etc. And if you add a little stained glass paint to the resin, you can get products with a variety of colors.

Jewelry made using the same technique.

List of everything you need:

Epoxy resin, two-component
Two syringes without a needle (sold at any pharmacy)
Container for mixing resin and hardener (plastic cup)
Stick for this mixing (wooden)
Ceramic tiles or cardboard (in general, any flat, hard surface, preferably on a flat table)
Scotch tape (wide, single-sided)
Accessories for jewelry (connectors, earrings, connecting rings, bases)
Mini drill (sold in almost any construction store, take the cheapest one, I personally use DREMEL 300)
A set of attachments for it (a small drill and an emery head for turning)
Good mood for yourself;) Well, gloves with a respirator would be nice

Advice: Before you shop, make sure you have a suitable workspace. If you live in a one-room apartment with your grandmother and mother, you will have to wait a little while making jewelry from resin. At a minimum, you need a separate room where you can inhale harmful resin vapors (if you don’t take care of ventilation) in splendid isolation.

This work is dirty, noisy and generally not conducive to health, but a few simple manipulations will help reduce negative influences creativity to a minimum.

Safety precautions when working with epoxy resin:

if you are not a substance abuser, at least open the window
always keep a cloth at hand - believe me, it is much easier to wipe off the resin than to then chip it off the linoleum
don't want a thrill? Then remove all carpets within sight
Have pity on your neighbors in your living space, don’t grind your jewelry while they’re at home. Wear a respirator during this activity.

Speaking of leaves

Leaves (petals, flowers) must be well dried. This is not a quick task (4 weeks), so prepare them in advance. I place fresh petals in folded white paper, then in a book (this is to prevent the letters from imprinting on the flowers). The thicker the book, the better (old Soviet textbooks work great). Magnetic photo albums can be used to store dried leaves.

If you decide to work with buds (for pouring into balls), you will need a dark, dry space, such as a closet. Thread the thread into the needle, tighten a thicker knot at the end of the thread and pass the needle through the stems of the buds (it is for this operation that these very stems should be left). We tie the resulting garland to two hangers and hide it in the closet. Four weeks and the material is ready.

It is worth keeping in mind that many petals visually change during work, and completely cease to resemble what you picked in the garden. Some shrink to something awkward, some turn black or completely discolored. And if you don’t feel sorry for a stupid daisy at all, then ruined expensive hydrangea flowers will definitely make you sad.

Accessories

The lion's share of the pleasure of working with jewelry is the choice of accessories. It's simple: the more expensive it is, the better the quality. You can save money in the entire process of creating jewelry, but not on accessories; this is exactly the case when the stingy pays twice. Not only do fasteners made in China regularly break, but they also look downright pathetic and, most likely, you won’t be able to stick something like that on your painstakingly nurtured leaf.

Resin preparation

Well, all preparations are completed, we can begin. First, read the instructions for your resin - mixing proportions vary from brand to brand. Personally, I use Crystal resin, 4 ml of resin per 1.2 ml of diluent.

We take both the resin and the hardener with syringes without needles, naturally different ones. It’s better to throw them away after using them; they cost pennies. It is better to carefully lower the hardener along the wall of the cup so that it does not splash.

After this we begin mixing. There’s nothing phenomenal here: you can stir it with your finger for 3-4 minutes. Don't be embarrassed by the abundance of bubbles in the resin, let it sit and they will go away.

Stir the resin periodically. The ready-to-use mixture should have a consistency similar to honey. It is difficult to explain with your fingers exactly how much to mix; it naturally depends on the number of prepared petals, their size and, notably, the thickness of the resin. The fresh one instantly spreads and it turns out that you have tarred the tray itself more than the petals. So it’s important to seize the moment here.

While the resin is settling, prepare your work area. Clear the table, take out the tray and flowers. It is advisable to do wet cleaning, because there is nothing more offensive than a potentially beautiful piece of jewelry stained with dust.

Preparing the tray

You need a flat table that you don’t mind getting dirty, and a tray. The key point here is the choice of coating, which should have a number of properties, such as:

cheap
affordable
should not stick to the resin
should be glossy (a matte surface makes the cured resin matte)

The store one immediately comes to mind. plastic bag, but unfortunately it does not satisfy point 3 and sticks tightly. At one time I used food bags for baking, but they also periodically failed and ruined entire trays of decorations.

Advice: Cover the tray with tape and forget about the problem of decorations sticking forever.

Fill

So, the resin has thickened, the petals are laid out on a surface covered with tape, and we begin to create. We take our fighting stick, dip the tip in resin and apply a drop to the petal.

In principle, you can smear it over it, holding the leaf with your finger (with latex gloves so that there are no greasy marks left), but it spreads quite well on its own. Here you will check how level your table is. Having covered all the prepared petals with the first layer of resin, cover our miracle tray with a lid and leave it all for 24 hours. Then we apply another layer of resin (for now both layers are on the front part).

After a day, we turn the petals over and apply the last layer, but on the back sides of our products.

Turning

Now these shapeless epoxy blots with petals inside need to be processed.

It's time to uncover our mini drill. Attach an emery attachment to it and sharpen the jewelry (with a shudder I remember how I sharpened them by hand with a nail file). Keep the edge of the product perpendicular to the drill. After turning, you can coat the edges of the products with varnish or do another fill.

If you are satisfied with the resulting decoration, make holes for attaching rings. We make holes with the same drill, but with a drill (diameter 0.5 mm).

In general, we have done the most difficult work, now all that remains is to attach the fittings. We thread a ring into the drilled hole and a wire into it. Our earrings made from real flower petals are ready!

Rules for storing and caring for flower decorations

Products covered jewelry resin, do not wipe with alcohol or any other solvent, as this may damage the glossy surface. Epoxy is generally not friendly with chemistry, so keep it away from detergents, air fresheners, etc.
Wear jewelry after applying decorative cosmetics, perfumes, and deodorants. Do not expose the glossy surface to acetone. It is better to wash off nail polish without rings, since acetone is a volatile substance, and it is not so far from the nail to the ring with a leaf.
Don't wear jewelry while playing sports or go to bed with it on.
Pin brooches onto your clothing before putting it on (this will ensure that the pin is securely fastened).
Cured epoxy resin itself is very strong, but with the right amount of diligence, anything can be broken, and in this case it is no exception; store products in boxes.
You should not leave them in the open sun for a long time.

To work you need:

- epoxy resin;

— silicone molds(for epoxy resin);

— disposable gloves, syringes, cups, stirring stick;

— various natural materials (dried flowers, shells, pebbles, etc.);

- gold leaf, stained glass paints, Perlex powder.

I work on a regular file so as not to stain the table.

To create the hemisphere pendant, I selected two different dandelions so that I could compare how they would look in the final version.

Before starting work, thoroughly rinse all molds that we plan to use and wipe them dry. Wearing gloves, pour resin and hardener into disposable cups (it’s more convenient to fill them with a syringe). We work in a well-ventilated area.

Having measured out the required amount of resin, pour it into a clean, dry glass, use another syringe to measure the required amount of hardener and add it to the resin. U different manufacturers your proportions, so carefully read what is written on the package and follow all recommendations for work. The final result depends on the accuracy; if the resin has not hardened, it means the proportions have been violated, or the mixture is not mixed well enough.

If you take a syringe with a rubber insert inside, the hardener will not splash when you pour it into the epoxy. Using a wooden stick (you can use skewers for kebabs) thoroughly mix the resulting mixture. I time it for 10 minutes and stir it in a circular motion to prevent air from getting in.

We carefully place the dandelion in the mold (I removed the lower parachutes with tweezers)

After mixing, I leave the resin for about half an hour so that the chemical reaction takes place: you can judge that the reaction is taking place by the heated glass of resin. I found experimentally that you should not work in very hot weather, the reaction will begin to proceed very violently and the resin will harden completely within half an hour. This applies to the resin I use; different manufacturers have different criteria.

Gently pour the resin into the mold in a thin stream, onto the dandelion.

Because After it hardens, it will settle a little, pour it so that you get a small convex lens.

Now I will show you how you can make beautiful rings from pieces of glass washed and polished by the sea.

Pour a little resin, place the pebbles, carefully add on top, as when working with a hemisphere, to create a convex surface.

I'm making earrings with dandelion parachutes. Pour a little resin and spread it with a stick. At this stage, the resin begins to gradually thicken, this is exactly what is needed so that the parachutes remain in the position in which they were placed.

We arrange the bouquet.

Top it up with resin with a small bulge. If you do this carefully, you will end up needing minimal sanding.

A truncated ball is obtained in exactly the same way. Pour resin halfway into the mold.

We place the required number of parachutes with a toothpick or, as I did, with a large needle (it’s good to wipe it off the resin).

Add resin to the mold with dandelion.

Now we’ll make a bracelet with shells from the Black and Azov Seas. In the same way, pour epoxy resin into a clean, dry bracelet mold. By this time it has become even thicker, so some of it remains on the walls, which is what I need. Add shells, pebbles, starfish, anything interesting to the mold) Pour out the crushed shells, which stick to the walls, creating the effect of a suspended state.

Half an hour before this, I prepared a new portion of resin, very carefully pour it on top to avoid the appearance of unnecessary bubbles. If there are still bubbles, you can preheat the oven to 80 degrees, ventilate, place a mold with resin there (molds can withstand temperatures up to + 204 C). The bubbles will come out.

It is important that the mold stands on a flat surface, otherwise the resin will harden in an inclined position. The more carefully you pour the epoxy, the less sanding you will need to do later. I poured resin as much as possible to the very top, with a slight bulge.

Now we wait a day until the resin dries completely. To prevent debris/dust from getting on the surface of the products, you need to cover them with something, a box, a lid.

At this time we will make a pendant. We prepare the main background - apply liquid plastic to the workpiece. Polymer clay, rolled into a thin layer, cover, distribute and bake in the oven. Let it cool and you can start working.

We pour a few drops of resin so that it can be distributed on the surface and, using tweezers and a needle, we make a composition from completely dried leaves - flowers. The resin acts as a glue that prevents the light dried flowers from moving from their place. You should not use live or poorly dried flowers for filling with resin; over time they will deteriorate and turn black.

Because There is a holder on the back of the pendant, I had to put it in a mold so that the surface was horizontal. I never think in advance what the composition should be, so I lay out all the suitable flowers and herbs and with inspiration begin to assemble a small living picture.

The end result is such a small world. We leave it to dry, after the resin has hardened, you can fill it with a second layer, forming a convex beautiful lens.

A day passed, the resin was completely cured and I took out all the resulting blanks. This is a bracelet, its upper part.

Using the same principle, you can make a pendant, earrings, ring, etc.

This is a hemisphere with a dandelion, next to it is a second one, orange, for comparison.

These are the resulting truncated balls with parachutes:

I also filled in small hemispheres:

Rings made from sea glass; for comparison, I used the ones I made earlier.

If you add a drop of stained glass paint or Perlex powder to the resin, you can get different shades of resin. When painting with stained glass paint, you should add just a drop, because... The proportions between the resin and hardener may be disrupted by coloring, and as a result the product may not harden or may become sticky when touched.

You can add gold leaf and get interesting decorations.

And these lenses with parachutes, as you can see, lie beautifully. Just as it was intended.

The reverse side remained flush with the edges of the lenses.

After complete hardening, it is necessary to sand down uneven and sharp edges.

Flowers, shells and insects in transparent capsules attract the eye, regardless of whether such bracelets, rings, pendants and souvenirs suit our taste. But few people think that you can make such a miracle with your own hands, devoting some time to mastering the technology of step-by-step production of jewelry from epoxy resin.

This liquid synthetic polymer, subject to a certain temperature regime for thickening and hardening, successfully imitates glass, providing almost unlimited freedom in choosing shapes and filling.

How to choose epoxy for filling

The range of epoxy resin is quite wide, so the first piece of advice for beginners is to read the product description to choose it according to its purpose.

The optimal choice is a special resin paired with a hardener for mold filling and glazing. As a rule, such a product has additional properties of increased transparency, ultraviolet resistance, etc.

The second selection criterion is the authority of the manufacturer, which is reflected primarily in the price. To begin with, you need a small volume, so you shouldn’t skimp and it would even be logical to purchase several different sets of epoxy resin at once to test a jewelry master class.

Workplace and safety rules

Before making your first attempt at creating jewelry from epoxy, you need to choose the right workplace and read the instructions for safe handling of polymers:

You need to work with the polymer composition in a well-ventilated area, preferably in a workshop, fenced off from the residential part of the house.
It is necessary to avoid getting the resin on the skin and mucous membranes, so you should use gloves, a medical mask and safety glasses.
Polishing of the finished product is carried out in a respirator.
If resin gets on your skin, you should immediately rinse it under running water. If the solution gets on objects, it must be removed immediately with a dry cloth.

It should also be taken into account that during the manufacturing process and during use of finished products, contact with food products must be avoided.

Decoration from epoxy resin can be made either by pouring or glazing, but in both cases it is important to have a perfectly flat working surface.

Containers and tools

To mix the solution, you will need a heat-resistant plastic container and a stick, which are usually included with the kit. To work accurately with the polymer, disposable syringes are used; to correct fillers (flowers, insects, stones, etc.) you need tweezers.

To fill, you need to stock up on silicone molds. An alternative method is to apply the thickened mixture directly to the dried litter. In this case, two layers are made on the front side, and one on the back.

The filler is placed on a tray with a glossy surface that prevents sticking. This procedure will take more time: you need to wait 24 hours for each layer to dry.

Uneven edges and roughness are removed with sandpaper or using a grinding machine.

In the process of mastering the process of working with epoxy resin, you can also master the technique of creating interesting silicone molds with your own hands for original jewelry and souvenirs.

Preparation of fillers

Before you make your own model, you should familiarize yourself with photos of similar epoxy jewelry with various fillers. For a plant theme, it is necessary to dry the fillers in advance, 3-4 weeks before starting work.

The leaves can be placed under a press in a book, as for a school herbarium. Bulk plant fillers, such as buds or berries, are strung on a string and air dried.

Almost any item that has decorative value can be used as a filler - shells, tree bark, rhinestones. Images printed on matte photo paper can be placed in an epoxy capsule. For additional effect, special dyes are used.

Note!

Stages of work

Preparation of the mixture. At this stage, it is important to carefully adhere to the proportions recommended by the manufacturer. Mixing with the hardener is carried out for 10 minutes, using uniform and smooth circular movements.

Setting process. The chemical reaction with the hardener requires from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the parameters stated in the product instructions. After mixing, bubbles form in the solution, which should disappear during the chemical reaction.

Pouring into molds or creating layers on the filler should be done in strict accordance with the timer and as quickly as possible.

The hardening process is completed after 24 hours. The workpiece must be located in a stable and dust-free place.

Note!

Even the most best ideas epoxy resin jewelry can remain a dream without careful adherence technological subtleties and when using low-quality material.

Therefore, it would be more correct to first master the process of creating a solid and transparent capsule, and then start experimenting with fillers and combining epoxy parts with metal fittings for jewelry.