How to Make Resin Jewelry

See how to make resin jewelry with this easy step-by-step tutorial! You’ll learn the best resin jewelry molds and different techniques to create epoxy pendants, necklaces, earrings, and DIY resin jewelry with open bezels.

DIY Resin Jewelry for Beginners

If you’re looking for a resin craft project that is not only fun, but a statement to wear, you’ll love DIY resin jewelry! You can create and craft resin jewelry that fits your style. And after making jewelry for yourself, create some pieces as gifts for your friends and family.

In this resin tutorial, we’ll talk about making pendants with resin, resin earing ideas, rings, necklaces, and how to make resin jewelry with flowers. What resin jewelry techniques are you most excited about?

This post is sponsored by our friends from IntoResin. All our opinions are my own, and I only share products I personally love. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this site possible.

Resin Jewelry Making Supplies

What do you need to make resin jewelry? This is a comprehensive list of all the tools and supplies you could ever need for making resin jewelry.

Whether you’re a resin pro or just beginning to explore the world of epoxy art, having the right materials is one of the most important things.

Resin Jewelry Molds

IntoResin offers a huge range of resin jewelry molds. You’ll find everything from rings to pendants to earrings and charms. The variety of molds provides endless possibilities to design unique and exciting epoxy jewelry.

Their resin molds are made of soft, high-quality silicone that cast beautiful resin pieces and is very long-lasting. I’ve poured hundreds of jewelry pieces, and the mold is still in top shape.

Most importantly, the resin pieces come out with a perfectly glossy finish, meaning you don’t have to polish or sand them.

Here are a few jewelry molds that you can try:

• Set of 3 Pendant Molds (great for necklaces, earrings, and keychains)
• Ocean Inspired Pendant Mold
• Earring Molds
• Rhombus Earring Molds
• Gemstone Jewelry Mold
• Spherical Mold (for pedant ornaments)
• Teardrop Pendants
• Lace Ornaments
• Zodiac Sign Pendants
• Open Bezels (I’ll show you how to craft with those later in the post)

Resin Jewelry Kit

With so many wonderful options, it can feel a bit overwhelming to choose a mold. I highly recommend the following 2 sets if you’re new to resin art because they have everything you need to create resin art jewelry.

• Resin Jewelry Kit: This set comes with 8 different molds and includes pipettes, stirrers, a pedant drill, and hook screws. The kit has 2 epoxy molds for pendants, gemstone molds, a bracelet mold, a charm mold, and 2 adorable bear molds.
• Jewelry Casting Mold: This mold features over 40 different shapes in various sizes. It’s the perfect mold to cast all sorts of pendants and accessories.

The Best Resin for Jewelry Making

Of course, when you’re creating epoxy resin jewelry, the quality of the epoxy resin is of the utmost importance. I used my absolute favorite epoxy resin for this resin jewelry tutorial: Fast Cure Casting Resin from IntoResin.

I’ve been using this product for a while now, and I absolutely fell in love with the quality. Here are things to know about it:

• 1-to-1 ratio: The mixing ratio resin-hardener is 1:1, and the product is measured by volume.
• Easy to mix: The resin and hardener must be stirred together for 5 minutes. After combining the resin and hardener, you have approximately 20 minutes of working time.
• Short cure time: The cure time is 8 to 12 hours. For comparison, other types of casting resin need to cure 24 to 48 hours.
• Almost bubble-free: After pouring, most bubbles rise to the surface and disappear. You could use a lighter or heat gun to dissolve bubbles, but I didn’t find it necessary.
• Crystal clear: As you can see in the photos, the resin cures crystal clear.
• No yellowing: A few months ago, I created resin dice and resin ornaments with the Fast Cure Casting Resin. The dice and ornamnets are still in immaculate condition. No trace of yellowing in sight!

If using another resin, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Things to put in resin

When it comes to decorations, there is almost no limit. You can play with different colors and materials to dress up and style your resin jewelry. Here are a few ideas of things you can put in resin:

• Resin colors are perfect to dye resin in vibrant colors. IntoResin offers a set of 15 epoxy dyes in all colors of the rainbow. This type of colorant is ideal for maintaining the translucent qualities of resin.
• Mica powder is a fantastic colorant for resin. Mica colors come in every color imaginable. It adds a subtle shimmer effect and makes the resin opaque, perfect for rich and saturated colors.
• Embellishments: Dried flowers, pressed botanicals, glitter, gold leaf, and rhinestones are all great ideas to dress up and embellish your handmade resin jewelry. I’ll show how you can incorporate these materials and create beautiful DIY resin jewelry.

Tools

Once you have your epoxy resin and jewelry molds, you also want to gather the following tools and supplies:

• Plastic cups to mix the resin and hardener.
• Wooden stirrers or popsicle sticks for mixing.
• Disposable pipettes: Resin rings require precise pouring, and the best for this job are disposable plastic pipettes.
• Toothpicks and a fine needle to perfect the details and burst air bubbles.
• Tweezers to insert ornaments and dried flowers.
• Nitrile gloves protect your hands from being exposed to resin.
• Mouth cover or a face mask to ensure you aren’t inhaling any resin fumes.
• Drop sheet: Cover your work surface with a drop sheet, wax paper, a resin mat, old newspaper to protect it from spills and drips. Uncured resin is super sticky and hard to remove.

How to Make Resin Jewelry

Time to make wearable art! I used the large jewelry epoxy mold and focused mostly on the smaller shapes to gemstones for my resin jewelry. Let me walk you through the process step-by-step:

Where to start

Before getting started, it’s a good idea to get a sense of what kind of style you’re going for. For example, do you prefer nature-inspired jewelry with dried botanicals, or do you want something golden and sparkly?

Resin sets fast and begins to soft cure after 25 to 30 minutes. Once you mix the resin and hardener, you have limited time to create your jewelry. It’s a good idea to have a clear picture of the design and assemble your molds, mixing cups, gloves, and decorations.

Step 1: Set up your work area

• Ensure your work area is clean and free of dust. Cover your work area with a drop sheet or old newspaper.
• Gather all supplies and materials.
• Put on nitrile gloves and a mouth cover.

Step 2: Mix epoxy resin

• The Fast Cure Casting Resin is 1-to-1 part by volume. So, mark 2 disposable plastic cups with measurements lines. Other resin brands may have a different mixing ratio, so be sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions if working with another type of resin.
• Measure out equal parts of both resin and hardener into the cups.
• Pour the hardener into the resin.
• Using a wooden stirrer, mix for 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly until you see no more streaks between the resin and hardener and the mixture looks clear.
• Tip: Stir slowly to avoid creating air bubbles. I also like to gently tap the container against the work surface to release air bubbles.

Step 3: Color resin

• Optionally color the resin with a few drops of alcohol ink or mica powder.
• Stir the resin until the colorant is evenly distributed throughout and all blobs of powder or ink have dissolved.
• I divided the epoxy between two cups, colored one with light pink mica, and added glitter and metal leaf to the other.

Step 4: Mold resin

• Next, load up your pipettes with resin and carefully fill the mold.
• I added resin with two pipettes at the same time to create a marble effect.
• If you’re pouring into a pedant mold, make sure the resin goes around the little knob that creates the hole in the pendant.
• Tip: If you notice bubbles at the surface, prick them with a toothpick or needle to burst. I don’t recommend treating the resin with a heat gun, as you may accidentally blow the resin out of the mold.

Step 7: Cure

• Let the resin cure, undisturbed, and at room temperature.
• The curing time for the Fast Cure Casting resin from IntoResin is 8 to 12 hours. The curing process can take 24 to 48 hours if using another brand or another type of resin.

Step 8: Unmold

• Once the resin has fully hardened, remove the resin from the mold. Simply push the shapes out of the mold until they pop out.
• Tip: If you notice any overflow or spills, use scissors or a blade knife to trim it away.

Resin Jewelry Ideas

By now, you should have a gorgeous collection of resin gems and pendants. Now it’s time to assemble your jewelry and add jewelry fixtures.

Resin jewelry can be as complicated or simple as you like, and you have different options to apply jewelry hardware.

You’ll learn how to drill holes for pendants, make necklaces, earrings, and rings. After that, we’ll be making resin flower jewelry and working with open bezels. So exciting, right?!

DIY Resin Necklace

To make a simple resin pedant necklace from the ornament we just poured, follow these directions:

1. Create hole. Use the small drill that comes with the resin jewelry kit and drill a hole in the top of an ornament. The smallest drill bit works best. Also, do this step immediately after the resin has cured. The resin will still be a bit malleable and is easier to work with.
2. Secure screw hook. Next, twist the screw hook into the resin ornament. Now you have a lovely little pedant that can be strung on a necklace.

How to make resin earrings

Simple DIY resin earrings

Let’s start with simple ear studs! Resin ear studs are super cute and pretty easy to create. You need flat pad ear studs. Nickel-free, hypoallergenic steel is best.

1. Pour resin. The first step is to pour resin into the mold. Smaller shapes are best for stud earrings.
2. Soft cure. Let the resin cure for 4 to 5 hours. The texture of the resin should be thick and viscous but not all the way hardened.
3. Insert stud. Once the resin has set a bit and is no longer liquid, carefully push an ear stud in the center of the resin ornament. Make sure the post is standing upright, otherwise the earrings might be crooked.
4. Fully cure. Allow to cure completely and unmold. Now the stud will be securely attached to the resin, and you have a lovely set of epoxy resin earrings!

Pendant earrings

There are two ways you can go about making pedant resin earrings. The obvious choice would be to simply attach pendants to earring hooks. Or you drill a screw hook into a resin gemstone and affix it to an earring hook (as you see in the photo on the right).

Epoxy rings

For beautiful resin rings, you need rings and your resin gemstones. I bought a set of gold metal rings at Claire’s, but you can use any rings you’d like. Follow these steps:

1. Apply glue. To create the ring, apply 1 drop of superglue to the ring and the back of your resin gemstone.
2. Adhere. Then bring the pieces together and press firmly for 30 seconds.
3. Dry. Leave the ring undisturbed to cure for 12 to 24 hours. If necessary, cut away any cured adhesive that’s sticking out.

I also have a tutorial on how to make resin rings, which includes a detailed guide and different design ideas.

DIY Resin Pendants with Flowers

Let’s talk resin flower jewelry! I’m using the pendant mold from this set to make resin jewelry with dried flowers. Additionally, you’ll also need pressed flowers and leaves small enough to fit into the mold. Here’s how to make resin flower jewelry:

1. Layout the design. Before pouring the resin, consider the design of your resin flower pendant. I like to place the flowers in the mold and try different combinations until I find a design I like. If necessary, trim and shorten flowers and leaves to fit the mold.
2. Pour base. Fill the mold with resin until half full. Ensure the resin reaches into every corner and around the little knob that creates the hole.
3. Add botanicals. Using tweezers, carefully arrange your pressed flowers and leaves in the resin.
4. Seal pedant. Add a second layer of resin to seal the botanicals in place and pay attention that no plant materials stick out.
5. Cure and demold. Allow the resin flower jewelry to cure before unmolding the epoxy resin pendant.

Can I add fresh flowers to resin?

No, fresh flowers will wilt and rot if cast into resin and might even change the color of the resin. Make sure that your botanicals are completely dry and relatively flat.

Resin Bezels

Bezels are small metallic frames that come in different shapes and can be filled with resin. The metal frame adds an elegant touch and comes with a hole, allowing you to attach the bezel to necklaces and earrings or use it as a keychain charm.

To make resin jewelry with open bezels, have a look at these instructions:

1. Prepare. To prepare the bezels, dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol and run it inside the bezel to make sure there’s no dust or oil.
2. Seal. Then stick the bezel firmly down on a piece of packing tape to seal the back of the bezel. Ensure that the tape is secure and that there are no gaps.
3. Fill. Start by putting a little resin in the bottom to seal it. I tinted the resin with a bit of mica.
4. Add decorations. Let the resin cure for 1 hour. Once the resin is sticky, add embellishments. I used a fee piece from a nail art set. Let cure completely.
5. Seal ornament. Add a layer of clear resin to seal the decorations in place. Wait until the transparent layer has cured, then carefully remove the tape. Clean the back with rubbing alcohol to wipe away any stickiness.

Tie-dye resin pendants

I also created a few resin bezel pendants with a tie-dye effect. To do this, fill the bezel halfway with transparent resin. Then use a toothpick and stir a tiny amount of resin color into the resin. Add one or two more colors and blend them together.