How to Make Resin Pendants

Resin is a fun and easy product to work with, so making these easy resin pendants have been a joy for me. I am still not an expert on the subject of resin, but have been enjoying myself greatly while learning some new tricks and making some spin offs of some old projects.

For this project I am making pendants using open face bezel frames- one using UV resin and one using 2-part epoxy- along with glitter and mica. Though these bezels came in a starter kit for making necklaces, you could easily attach them to a pin back to wear as a broach.

Here is how I made a open faced bezel pendant out of UV resin.

How to Make Resin Pendants with UV Resin

Materials:

• Shynek 72Pcs Hollow Frame Bezels for Resin Jewelry Making Kit – (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/1wtZGJJ
• LEOBRO 16 Colors Mica Powder for Epoxy Resin (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/5iY0
• Mr. Resin 250g UV Resin (Starters Kit) (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/nw3QDuR
• 30pcs Mixed Inspiration Words Charms (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/VxSBRyB
• 2+ Mixing cups- I used reusable silicone mixing cups that came with my resin.
• Stirring sticks
• UV Seamless Sticky Paper Tape (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/0x1ke
• Safety goggles
• Gloves
• Needle nose Pliers
• BBQ Lighter

Instructions:

1. After setting up your work station and putting on your gloves and goggles, begin by adding a very small amount of white mica to your mixing cup. Add in about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of UV resin to the cup. (You don’t have to measure this; we are just eyeballing 1/2 – 1 teaspoon.) Mix together.
2. Attach a piece of seamless resin tape to the back of the open face bezel. Make sure to press the tape down firmly as to not end up with leaks.
3. Start by working at the top of the pendant and placing a bit of the white resin mixture into the bezel. I filled the bezel with the white about 1/3 of the way down the frame.

4. In a separate mixing cup, mix some purple mica in with a small amount of UV resin (about 1/4 teaspoon) and stir well. Pour the purple resin into the bezel, overlapping the white.
5. In the same cup as the purple (you do not have to clean it out) mix a small amount of blue mica and about 1/4 teaspoon of resin. Mix well and then pour into the bezel overlapping the purple resin. Leave just a small amount of the blue resin mixture in the mixing cup.
6. Now mix a small amount of a darker blue and resin in the mixing cup. Add the dark blue mixture to the bezel the same as you did the colors before, Leave enough room in the bottom of the bezel for one more color. Leave some of the mixture in the cup.

7. To the remaining mixture, add some silver mica. Mix in well and pour the remaining silver resin mixture into the bezel.
8. Now with the tip of a pointed pair of tweezers, or something pointy like a toothpick, start dragging one color into another in a swirling pattern.
9. Once done swirling, run your lighter back and forth over the top to pop any bubbles. Be sure to do this quickly so you do not burn your resin.

10. place your pendant under the UV lamp for curing. The resin should still be lower than the top rim of the bezel so that glitter can be added.
11. After curing your swirled base, start adding embellishments like small glitter stars, then cover with a layer of clear UV resin.
12. Place back under the UV lamp to cure completely. Check for softness and stickiness. If the resin is still soft or sticky, place back under the UV lamp until solid. You can also cure the backside of this project with the tape still on.

13. Once cured, remove the tape from the back of the bezel. Add an inspirational word charm using a jump ring. Attach to a necklace or pin back for wearing.
14. Clean your mixing cup by curing under the UV lamp and then peeling away the cured resin residue.

UV resin is the fastest and the easier of the resins to work with. However, you have to be careful not to mix too much glitters, mica or coloring into your resin. This can cause the UV light to not be able to penetrate the piece. If the UV light cannot reach the center of the project from each side, it will stay liquidy or soft and not cure.

How to Make Resin Pendants with 2 Part Epoxy Resin

2-part epoxy resin takes a bit more effort than UV resin. With a longer dry time, and needing just the right working temperatures for 2 part expoxy to turn out correctly, this one is not a fast project, though it does have its perks. Unlike UV resin, with 2-part epoxy resin you can mix mica and colors in without fear of your project not curing. Here is how to make a pendant with 2 part epoxy resin.

Materials:

• Shynek 72Pcs Hollow Frame Bezels for Resin Jewelry Making Kit – (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/1wtZGJJ
• 12 Colors Iridescent Chunky Glitter (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/nMGjl
• CRAFT RESIN Epoxy Resin Kit (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/DiG8lt
• Mixing cups- I used reusable silicone mixing cups that came with my resin.
• Stirring sticks
• UV Seamless Sticky Paper Tape (Found on Amazon) https://geni.us/0x1ke
• Safety goggles
• Gloves
• Needle nose Pliers
• BBQ Lighter

Instructions:

1. Set up your work station and put on your gloves and safety goggles.
2. Mix your 2-part epoxy resin according to your resin’s package directions and set aside.
3. Place a piece of the seamless tape on the back of the open faced bezel of your choice. Make sure there are no gaps and the tape is tightly secured to the back of the bezel.

4. In a mixing cup, add a heavy amount of black chunky glitter and the chunky opaque white/ pearl glitter (about 1/2 teaspoons of each). Mix in some of the resin.
5. Pour the resin and glitter mixture into the bezel. This glitter mixture will be thick, but will settle over time.
6. Wave your lit BBQ lighter back and forth over the top of the resin and glitter filled bezel to pop any bubbles. Do this quickly so you do not burn the resin or glitter.

7. If the glitter layer does not fill the bezel completely, you can use some of the plain resin to top off the bezel. Just remember to repeat the BBQ lighter step.
8. Place in a warm, safe place to cure according to your package directions. Mine was between 73-76 degrees and for a time of 24 hours.
9. After 24 hours, pull off the tape backing and check for any overflow spots or leaks. Small ones can be cleaned up using a pair of pliers.
10. Hook to a necklace or display from a pin backing to use as a broach.

I absolutly love the look of the chunky glitter in the resin. It gives it an opal type look, but darker. I did have the problem of a leak at the top of this piece, though it was easily fixed by using a pair of needle nose pliers and prying the leak pieces off. You could easily make a number of these pendants at the same time using different colored glitters for gifts, or to just add to your own collection.