Harvest Moon Papiere: Art Resin Necklaces

Hi!
I am so excited to share this post today! I was lucky enough to be able to work with an awesome product, called Art Resin! For quite a long time, I've wanted to give resin a try, but there were a few things that always held me back. I was concerned about how it would react with my skin if I touched it (I have super duper sensitive skin), I didn't want that smell anywhere near my house or kids, and I was just plain nervous to try something new.

Guess what? Art Resin met and exceeded all of my expectations! First off, I did wear gloves when I mixed it, BUT some did get on my skin and I had zero issues (I washed it off within a few minutes with soap and water). Secondly, there are no VOCs. It is completely safe; so I didn't even need to think about a mask or a respirator and I didn't have to shoo my family out of the house! Lastly, I am so glad I took the plunge; Art Resin was incredibly easy to use and I got results so much better than I dreamed of!

To start off, I mixed equal parts Resin and Hardener. I used an extra measuring cup I had from some old cough syrup.

Then, I mixed it all with a popsicle stick for three minutes. If popsicle sticks aren't up your alley, you can get an Accessory Kit from Art Resin!

I purchased a pendant from a local craft/ art supply store. Then I printed out a picture of the image I wanted to use and I trimmed it down. I also covered it with Mod Podge and let it dry, just so the colors wouldn't bleed or react with the Resin.

In case you're wondering the image is from one of my favorite shows (Doctor Who). It involves time travel (yep, big sci-fi fan over here), so I also added some mini gears to reflect that idea. I adhered the image into the pendant and then placed the gears over it. You can glue everything down if you want; I chose not to glue the gears since it didn't really matter to me if they moved while I added the resin!

Now, I was working with a very small area, so instead of just pouring the resin into the pendant, I used an old (unused) medicine dropper to add the resin. Warning: this COULD cause some bubbles, but honestly, I had none!

I then set it aside to let it dry.

But... I wasn't done yet! I wanted to make a second pendant, also inspired by The Doctor.

I printed out one of the symbols from the show and punched it out with a small punch. I could have cut it out, but punching was so much cleaner!

I decided that I wanted to tint the resin this time around, so I added some Salty Ocean ink from my Distress Ink re-inker.

I added 3 drops and mixed it up, then added it to the pendant, using the same technique as I did previously!

I placed both aside to dry. I did cover them (but I didn't take a picture of that!) so no dust or hairs would land and contaminate the resin.

They were hardened within 24 hours, but I waited 72 to attach them to chains. I didn't want to risk scratching or getting fingerprints on them.

So, 72 hours later, I had two amazing necklaces!

I just might be the envy of all Doctor Who fans everywhere! :)

I never, in a million years, would have thought that it could be so easy to make my own jewelry with resin! I've been a papercrafter for quite a long time now, but I am quickly being converted into a jewelry maker, too!

Everything washed up perfectly with warm water and a little soap. I even spilled a little bit on my non-stick craft mat that I didn't see until a few days later and it peeled up, no problem. So, if you are planning on working with Art Resin (you should!), a non-stick craft mat is a great way to protect your surface.