How to Make Resin Candy Pendants

A Beginners Guide to Outstanding Awesomeness in the Field of Resin Casting

Do not be alarmed! Resin looks big and scary and I’m going to use words like “fumes,” but there

is no reason at all to be alarmed, you can do this, and I believe in you. Have a question? Scared

and confused? Email me or convo me on Etsy, I’ll help out in any way I can! This tutorial also

comes with a “forever” clause, which means if/when it is updated and/or changed there will be

no additional charge, I will send you the newest copy, what ever that may be, for as long as you

may want it, when ever you request it.

This tutorial is for personal use only, copyright P Brigitte Coovert / Zombukis Love You 2009,

and is not to be distributed in any way, shape, or form.

Contact: pcoovert@gmail.com

Blog: http://pbrigitte.wordpress.com/

Etsy: http://zombuki.etsy.com/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/riotsqurrl/

Supply List

In order to complete this tutorial exactly as instructed you will need the following items:

Protected (i.e. covered), Level Work Surface

Ventilated Area, 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit

Glasses if you wear contact lenses, protective goggles are recommended

Resin

Resin Molds

Mold Release/Conditioner

Protective Gloves, disposable, multiple pairs

Paper Towels

Mixing Cups, disposable

Mixing Tools, popsicle sticks and/or plastic spoons, multiple

Toothpicks, multiple

Scissors

Paint Brushes, small, disposable

Sprinkles/Candy Pieces

Zip Top Bags

Jewelry Findings, Bails

Loose Glitter, ultrafine preferred

Step 1: Prepare Thyself

Assemble your supplies in a well-ventilated area that’s room temperature (65-75 degrees

Fahrenheit, resin is sensitive and does not like any other temperature). You should have resin,

gloves, mixing cups (plastic only, no wax coating etc), stirring implements (popsicle sticks are

fine, I also use plastic spoons), mold(s), mold release, candies/sprinkles, paper towels,

toothpicks, and something to protect your work surface, I use scrap cardboard.

I use EasyCast Resin because it’s low odor, which you might not think is important until you buy

another kind of resin, and find your head spinning (trust me, it’s my brand of choice for a

reason).

Take out your contacts and put on your gloves (after much searching I still don’t know why I’m

supposed to take out my contacts, but it’s on the box, and it’s related to my eyes, so I’m going to

listen to the box).

What am I doing wrong here? Working on the floor, it’s like begging for a carpet-destroying

spill, and I’m only doing it for the tutorial, so don’t tempt fate!

Step 2: Conditioning is Key

Conditioning your molds is key, which at first I didn’t believe, and was very wrong – if a mold

isn’t conditioned properly you can have an unnecessarily hard time getting the piece out, even

after it has cured completely. The first time you use a mold go ahead and condition it twice, then

just once between each use, and twice again if you have occasion to wash it (which I do, glitter

accidents, dust, etc happen).

I use Castin’Craft Mold Release and Conditioner; to condition your mold (with protective gloves

on) shake the spray bottle well and spritz over the mold in a few, good coats, then rub in with a

paper towel, and repeat. Give it a moment to make sure it’s dry before pouring in the resin, that’s

why I condition at the beginning of the process. The spray is not a happy substance so I usually

spray the mold while it’s inside a cardboard box, just to minimize the number of chemicals

splashed around the studio.

Step 3: Mixing to the First Degree

EasyCast is meant for small castings (under 6 oz) and is mixed in a 1:1 ratio, which is fancy for

“equal amounts,” of the catalyst and hardener, aka “those two bottles that came together in a

box/plastic.” Measure equal amounts of each element into your mixing cups and then combine

them into one cup.

Stir the mix together slowly for two minutes, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the

cup. Why slowly? Because if you’re like me and whip it into a froth in a blaze of excitement the

tiny air bubbles can’t find their way out very quickly, and you’ll end up with bubbly pieces.

Bubbles = bad.

So what’s happening? A chemical reaction! The two elements are partying down, producing heat

(and resin can get very very very hot), and releasing oxygen bubbles, which is called

“degassing.”

See? You’re a mad scientist after all.

Step 4: Mix It Again

Yeah, again. Pour your 2 minute mix into another empty cup, and stir slowly for another minute,

using a new stir stick. Resin is picky, it doesn’t like your attitude, I think of it as the violet of the

DIY world. (I’m terrible with violets at any rate.)

The swirliness of the mixture should be completely gone by the time you’re done mixing and the

liquid resin should be completely transparent with a sprinkling of small air bubbles (a small

number of air bubbles is unavoidable).

If the mixture is still cloudy it’s a sign that the two elements are not mixed completely, which

can (read: will) lead to messed up resin pieces. Keep mixing slowly until the resin is completely

clear.

Step 5: OMG Finally

Pour your now three minute-old mix into its final cup, toss your stir stick, and get a new one to

avoid contamination from possibly left over bits of resin/hardener.

Pour your candy pieces into yet another cup and pour resin in on top of it, a little at a time, and

mix the two together very slowly (again, air bubbles are the enemy) gradually adding more resin

until, in the end, you have well coated candy, not like candy soup or candy that’s just barely

coated, but something in between.

Step 6: Pour You

Slowly pour or spoon (recommended) your candy

mix into the molds you’ve chosen. Be ready for

some compaction (candy sinkage) so don’t fill the

molds to the tippy top or there will be lots of

“clear” space in between the sunken candy on the

face of your creation and the background.

Air bubbles, if there are any created by the pour or

left over from the casting, will slowly work their

way out by themselves. If you like you can “help”

them with a toothpick, feel free to come back in a

half an hour or so after the initial casting to check

for any bubbles that aren’t making it out. You should be able to pop them with the toothpick and

the resin, while noticeably gooier, should settle back into place.

Note that pouring candy sprinkles coated in resin is actually kind of tricky, it tends to drip

suddenly and misbehave generally, something to keep in mind. Don’t get frustrated by candy

drips on a random part of your mold, once the resin has dried it will pop right off.

Step 7: The Waiting Game

Now we play the waiting game, depending on numerous factors (mixture, room temperature,

thickness of the cast, internal elements like candy, and so on) resin can take up to 24 hrs. to

harden completely. Leave the molds on a level surface, be patient, and wait for it, there’s nothing

sadder than a ruined piece of candy.

Step 8: The Morning After

The next day (a full 24 hour day) you can pop your creations right on out of the mold, yay!

Wiggle the mold around like you’re holding an ice cube tray and the cured pieces should pop

right out with almost no “encouragement,” if you will.

Admire your handiwork, but wait! The surface is dull! I know, how boring! We’ll fix it later, not

to worry. Is the surface all scratchy? This is normal, when you’ve used a mold many times it can

get small scuff marks, don’t worry, we’ll fix it.

It is cloudy? Sticky? If so, then you either did not mix at the 1:1 ratio, mixed it too

enthusiastically so that it couldn’t degas (un-air bubble) properly, or left it to “cure” in a room

that was too cold or too hot – remember, I told you: the violets of the DIY world.

Step 9: Prep Day 2

You’ll need to gather your supplies for Day 2. Today you’ll still need a ventilated area, protected

work surface, protective gloves, resin, mixing cups, candy/sprinkles or glitter (optional),

toothpicks (optional), and stir sticks/spoons; to this you’ll add scissors which you’re going to use

to prep your pieces before filling in the back.

It’s tempting to skip this step and leave pieces with a concave back, which looks, let’s be honest,

a little lazy, so let’s not do that.

Step 10: Trim

If you didn’t fill the mold to the tip top there’s a good chance you’re not going to need to do

anything to the piece, it could be ready to go, yay!

If there’s excess or splashes, uneven “walls” that come up from the back of the piece, etc, you

should trim them away with the scissors. Don’t go crazy with the scissors though, leave a little

bit of a lip coming up from the back of the piece, because it will help you fill in the back without

overflow. The important thing is that the sides of the piece even.

This is also a good time to see if your piece is balanced, all the same thickness, symmetrical, as it

were. In any given mold there can be cavities that are just flat out defective and slanty, you can

prop them up like a they’re wobbly table, or you can mark them with a Sharpie “X,” like I do, so

you can avoid using them again in the future.

Step 11: Repeat After Me

It’s time to cast your resin again so repeat Steps 3 and 4.

Step 12: Backfill

Time to backfill the piece! It’s up to you how you

want the back of your piece to look, if you want

your piece to have a clear back, follow the steps

below without adding glitter. If you want glitter

or more candy as the backing, it’s time to repeat

Step 5. It’s a personal choice, there’s no “right”

way to do it. Me, I’m a glitter girl, so I’m going

to go with white glitter for the backs of these

pieces.

Now, I’ll fill you in on a little secret, when you’re

using glitter to backfill a pendant it’s best not to

cut corners. You could use clear resin to fill in the back and then top it with glitter, but in doing

so you run two risks:

1. Either overdoing it and ending up with a lumpy back to your piece, or

2. Underdoing it and ending up with accidental spots of translucence.

To avoid the above problems, what I do is I mix the glitter as if I was going to cast a whole piece

with it, so I have a glitter resin mix to work with. To backfill (and I think you should use a spoon

for this step) just drip some of your mix (clear, glitter filled, or even fill with more candy) onto

the pendant back and watch it for a second, make sure it’s spreading out evenly.

If not (and it will be obvious when it’s wrong) move to a different surface carefully. By “obvious

when it’s wrong” I mean lurching to one side and threatening to cascade over the edges of your

piece.

Step 13: It’s Sparking Time

Once you’re sure everything is stable just pour a bit of resin onto the back of the pendant

(remember adding is easier than subtracting). You should place it about in the center of the piece

and then gently guide it out toward the sides/corners with the stir stick or spoon to kind of show

the resin where to go.

This way you add the minimum amount and reduce the risk of catastrophic resin overflow, so to

speak. If you used a glitter mix you should take the extra step of sprinkling some glitter over the

back of your already very glittery pendant, this makes for an attractive, opaque looking glitter

back.

You don’t need to go crazy with the glitter because the mix is there already, just a nice, even

dusting of the surface to make it really pop. If you’re having a problem with pouring try using a

spoon instead, and if you end up getting glitter everywhere like I did in the photo above, try

using a little pot or container to hold the glitter, and sprinkle it on top onto the pendant with your

fingers.

Step 14: Again?!

Go away again. Yes again. Yes for another day. Yes it will seem fine after 12 hours but then you

run of risk of working on it prematurely and it not being completely cured, messing the piece up,

and then crying (or maybe I just cry easily, either way, better not risk it).

Step 15: Bring On the Shine

It’s another “your choice” moment – what kind of finish do you want on your piece? Matte or

shiny? For me matte is not an option, I want shine, sparkle, pizzazz! If you want a more matte

finish regardless go ahead and pick up a buffing agent like Castin’ Craft Resin Spray. However,

if you want shine, it’s time to prep that area again!

Get out your ventilated area, work surface, gloves, resin, mixing cups, stirrer, scissors, and to this

lineup add zip top bags and a small (under 2/3” wide) paint brush, which you should clean/rinse

before using to eliminate dust contamination, and allow to dry. Regardless of what you choose,

shine or no, grab the scissors and take a moment to snip off any rogue glitter crystals that may

have encrusted the edge of your piece. Prefer totally matte? Skip to Step 17. Shinesters? Follow

me!

Step 16: Seriously, Again?

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 again to mix more resin and use your clean paint brush to thinly, but

completely, coat the surface of your piece with resin. Make sure any dust, stray glitter, etc gets

moved away; the surface of the piece should look even. It’s easiest to do this while holding the

piece in one gloved hand, but since that hand had to hold the camera, it’s shown on the work

surface.

Once coated, leave the piece on top of a zip top bag, that way you will be able to peel it up easily

once it’s dry. It’s almost impossible to clear coat a piece without some of it sticking to what ever

surface it’s left on. The next day peel it up and if you’ve used just enough you can move on. If

you’ve used too little it might be streaky/patchy, in which case you need to repeat the coating,

and if you’ve used too much the resin has puddled down the sides and you’ll need to trim away

the excess.

If trimming leaves rough edges, just coat, thinly, the back of the piece again; you can also do this

if excess resin has stuck to the back of the pendant and made it rough or uneven.

Step 17: Find Yourself

Get your work surface ready because today’s the last day of casting! You’ll need your now

familiar friends: the ventilated area, gloves, resin, mixing cups, stir sticks, toothpicks (if you

like), and to this list add your findings.

Findings are those thingies that allow you to make a piece of resin into a piece of jewelry, you

can use earring blanks, ring blanks, bezels (used in the photo above), hair pins with glue pads,

pendant settings, but in this case we’re going to use bails.

The standard bail is the Aanraku, the small size, which you can get in sterling silver and gold

plate, you can buy them just about anywhere, but the price you should look for is about 50 cents

a bail. Lots of people charge $1+ especially on smaller quantities, if you pay this, you’re

overpaying for absolutely no reason.

Step 18: Patience, Grasshopper

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 one last time and dab a small amount of resin, with paintbrush, spoon,

toothpick, you choice, on to the back of the piece where you want your bail. Make sure it’s a

little dab, brushing a thin coat isn’t quite enough, but too much and the extra resin can run wild

and ruin your hard work.

Position the bail carefully and then leave the pendant to set. You should consider leaving it at a

bit of an angle so the bail isn’t encouraged to move. See that ugly clear plastic thing? It’s an

empty gum tray! They’re brilliant, low-fi stands for curing jewelry to rest on.

Note: You can use other adhesives like E6000 or Diamond Glaze, however, I personally use

resin because, if executed properly, it’s an amazingly strong bond. I’ve literally tried to break

bails off pendants that were old/unacceptable and had to give up.

Note #2: This it not the case if your finding is something flexible, like an adjustable ring base, in

which case E6000 is a much better match because it can still flex once it has dried, unlike resin.

Step 19: Gloat

Now that it’s the next day, pop your pendant on a chain, ring on your hand, etc, sit back, and be

proud! As mentioned above I actually try my darndest to break the piece, what ever it is, just to

test it for the normal wear it will surely receive. Better to break it where you can fix it then get an

email from a customer or, even worse, no email and them thinking you make cheap jewelry!

Quelle horreur!

FIN

Shopping Guide

As a wee bonus I’ve included this shopping guide with my recommendations for places to find

many of the harder to find supplies that I’ve mentioned in this tutorial. If there’s anything that

I’ve left out that you’re having a hard time finding just drop me a note and I’ll let you know what

I know.

Resin is considered a hazardous substance so if you order it online it will cost you a pretty penny

in shipping, you can find it in person at Michael’s Craft Stores; an 8 oz. Kit should cost around

$10. You can also find Mold Release there, along with Stir Sticks and E6000. An online

alternative is http://www.delphiglass.com/ but they do mark up their prices higher than retail.

For Resin Molds I strongly recommend a type called “deep flex” which can be recognized by

their thicker plastic and slightly rounded edges. Molds with sharper edges, as made by Castin’

Craft, bend easily and even perfectly mixed pieces can be extremely hard to remove from them.

You can buy “deep flex” molds directly from the company at http://www.yaley.com/

Aanraku Bails can be bought on Etsy from http://raydichroic.etsy.com/ an official distributor

that I highly recommend.

Ball Chains and Loose Glitter can be found in my Etsy shop at http://zombuki.etsy.com/