Making of...JRandall Resin Necklaces!

Being a JRandall fan, I wanted to make something for myself and other fans to help spread the word about JRan! Naturally, I figured a resin jewelry piece. I really need to get another mold because these take FOREVER as I only have one square mold and can only do one at a time. Once you see the steps, you'll see why this is frustrating. So, next step for me is to get another mold! The steps below can be used for any paper item you want to preserve in resin.

Step 1- Find pictures you want to preserve in resin. (Since these are printouts on computer paper, I gave them a little more thickness by gluing them to cardstock first.) Coat the pictures, back and front with at LEAST 2 coats of Modge Podge. I did the first two coats, then cut out the pictures, then did the backs and the edges.



Step 2- Mix your resin according to the instructions. I use epoxy resin, so I mix equal parts of resin and hardener. Fill mold just enough to hold the picture in, then place picture in and gently push down to force out any air bubbles. It looks goofy but I have the stir stick anchored to hold the picture down until the resin has thickened enough and I don't need to worry about air bubbles anymore (usually about 4 hours.)



Step 3- Wait...and wait...and wait until the resin cures. If it was mixed properly, you can usually feel that the piece is solid the next morning, but wait at least 24 hours to be sure that it really is cured.


Step 4- I wanted to use a solid colored back but didn't want to wait another 24 hours for the second layer, so I mixed my quick-cure Alumilite polyurethane resin (again, equal parts A and B), with a bit of shimmery white powdered color (I use powdered eyeshadow, works perfectly!) and quickly poured into the rest of the mold. This resin sets up FAST so you have to work FAST. The fun part of Alumilite is that it cures completely opaque and pastel colored depending on the powdered pigment you add to it.

In 10 minutes, the piece is ready to pop out! After that, I superglued a bail to the back and here is the finished piece!