Resin Bangle Casting

Years ago I bought the most beautiful bangle. At the time it set me back a great deal of money considering it was plastic (not gold). It had a waved effect and was an aqua colour with darker flecks of blue and white swirled through it. It had a frosted look (like sea glass) I was so drawn to it, it reminded me of a mermaid. I wore the bangle daily (for a few years), it went with everything, and it received many comments and compliments. One day I dropped it, sadly it snapped; I was devastated.

I searched everywhere for a similar type but had no luck. What I did discover was the wonderful world of resin. I looked further into the art of resin making and decided to purchase a two part kit and some jewelry molds. It was easy enough to do… Mix two parts of liquid A with one part of hardener, add some dye, pour, and wait for it to cure. The most time consuming part was the sanding, buffing, and finishing.

I’ve since experimented with many different colours and have tried casting bangles, pendants, rings, etc. I experimented by adding shells and flowers… But I always go back to the multi toned bangles. My latest experiment has been making molds so that I can experiment with different shapes. I’m getting more confident and am hoping to perfect the waved bangle shortly (so I can re-make my dream bangle).

I made this bangle in one of my first handmade molds. It is a Mother’s Day gift and I’ve experimented with a blue and green colour scheme, you can really see the tone change in the sun, its beautiful. I prefer the frosted look so once the bangle has cured I use a coarse wet sandpaper to break through the resin shine, followed by a finer wet sandpaper finish to smooth over the roughness.

To make…

You will need:

2 Part resin kit

bangle mold

resin dye

wet/dry sandpaper

Syringe

Paddle pop stick

disposable container

Directions:

1.Follow the kit directions and use the disposable container and paddle pop stick to mix enough resin to fill your mold.

2. Ensure the resin is thoroughly mixed. Add the desired dye to the mix.

3. Use the syringe to distribute the resin into the mold. Do this slowly and carefully to minimize air bubbles.

4. Now you can swirl through more dye if you’d like to create a multi toned bangle.

5. Set the mold aside and let the resin cure overnight.

6. Carefully remove the bangle once its cured and hardened. Used the wet/dry sandpaper to sand, frost, smooth and finish.

7. Wash the bangle to remove any sanding dust. I then use a rag with some spray olive oil to rub into the bangle, this helps to shine, clean, and remove and remaining particles.

8. All done. Go show off your new jewellery!