Learn to Make Amazing Resin & Epoxy Clay Jewelry. Gay Isber
come in a limitless array that will surely inspire you as you shop for them in stores. In this book, you will be able to use countless different beads by embedding them in resin or clay, but you’ll also want to incorporate them indirectly through jump rings and wire. Stringing beads onto a wire or thread is pretty self-explanatory but also somewhat limiting. Creating bead links is more interesting and requires a bit more effort.
A bead link is simply a bead (or beads) collected on a short piece of wire, usually with a wire loop rolled on each end. The loop secures the beads in place and acts kind of like a jump ring. Connecting beads by creating bead links is one of the most basic jewelry-making skills you will learn. You’ll often need to use this skill to connect your clasps to your finished pieces, too. Once you have mastered the skill of creating bead links, sometimes called the rosary style of linking, you can make anything. Follow along with the tutorial starting on page 11 to learn all the basics you’ll need.
In order to follow this tutorial, you’ll need a variety of small and large beads, flush cutters, pliers, 20- or 22-gauge wire, a length of chain, jump rings, and a lobster claw clasp. When it actually comes time to make specific projects in this book that include bead links, you may need some or all of these supplies.
HOW TO MAKE BEAD LINKS
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1. Thread a bead onto the wire and hold it in your left hand. You’ll need about ½" (1.3cm) of wire to protrude from the top of the bead. Do not cut the other end of the wire off of the spool yet.
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2. Bend the short end of the wire 90 degrees, into a right angle. You can push it over with your fingertip, or use pliers if doing it manually hurts your hands.
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3. If your wrist could rotate 360 degrees, you could do this in one step, but our wrists don’t work that way. Therefore, completing the loop is typically a two-step movement. Use your pliers to create a J shape at the tip of the bent wire, using a rolling motion.
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4. Now grab the wire in the pliers again, at the J, and continue to roll the wire closed so that the end connects neatly with the bead’s hole. Keep your eye on the bead’s hole when you are making this final movement. It needs to match up, not sort of or almost—it needs to be a clean, closed loop.
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5. Now flip the bead over, cut the wire off of the spool leaving ½" (1.3cm) of length, and repeat on the opposite side to create a second, identical loop.
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6. Once the first bead link is finished, start on the next. Before you close the second loop of the second bead link, link it into one of the other bead link’s loops. Only then should you close the second loop of the second bead link. You’ve connected your first two bead links!
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7. As you can see here, both loops should be completely closed and not overlapping. The loops should be approximately the same size. You can use your pliers to adjust the loops if necessary.
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8. Continue linking beads this way until you are happy with your result. Check all of the links once you are completely finished by holding the piece up to eye level and allowing it to dangle. If you see anything too big or crooked, you can correct it.
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9. The easiest way to connect the ends of your bead link chain to a finishing chain is by using jump rings; it creates a nice, clean finish. Sometimes, you can connect the bead links directly to the chain using the loops in the same way that each bead link is connected to the next. Remember to open the jump rings properly (see page 8).
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10. If you’re making something with a clasp, cut the chain and attach the clasp (such as this lobster claw clasp) to one end. Make sure the clasp is the right size to close through the chain. If the clasp is too chunky for the gaps in the chain, the closure won’t work.
If you have never used casting resin before, then this book is a great place to start. When I first started using resin, I was immediately hooked, and you will be too.
Resins occur frequently in nature and have played a part in human history as well, so it’s basically in our DNA to enjoy them! Think of the tree sap that you might have seen on the outside of a tree; it’s a sticky substance that hardens with time. You might already be familiar with amber and frankincense, too—they are also resins. Amber has been documented in jewelry since the Neolithic times, more than 12,000 years ago. The fossilized resin that becomes amber (also called resinite) is from coniferous (pine) trees and other tree species. Resins from the cones from the cedar trees of Lebanon were used in the mummification of Egyptian pharaohs. And if you have ever used turpentine, you guessed it—it’s distilled from pine tree resin. Isn’t it fun to realize how much history resin has behind it?
Resin is a way to make glass-like objects and effects without having to work with actual glass. Items can be encased in resin like little stories frozen in time. It can reinvent a classic look when you drop in small cameos, trinkets, gems, fossils, and pearls. Finding a pleasing composition and color palette that will forever be encased in “glass” is a jewelry maker’s dream. It also gives substantial weight to an object by making the item look bigger and more noticeable when wearing it. Resins can transform a small charm into a work of art.
Casting resin requires mixing two chemicals, but it is surprisingly easy to use.
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Mix colors and pigment powders into resin to make it shimmery and turn it different shades.
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The resin acts like glue in a mold alongside beads and the like and will harden into a finished product.
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You can also colorize resin in a rainbow of custom