Resin Cloud Pendants
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I love clouds. I have always loved them. I think I just love pretty much anything having to do with the sky. Back when we had a guest room (pre-kids), it was decorated with sky pictures I’d taken. Sunrises, sunsets, and gorgeous blue skies with fluffy white clouds. Even earlier than that I remember desperately wanting Nick & Nora cloud pajamas that I’d seen somewhere. My collage roommate and I even bought matching cloud bedding and used blue wrapping paper and white paper clouds to cover our dorm room ceiling.
One of the first things I did with resin was make cloud pendants. They came from a vision I had in my head, and I was SO EXCITED to make my vision come to life. I think that’s really what got me hooked on resin. I recently discovered open back pendant bezels for other projects, and I had a new vision form for some smaller pendants. I used molds and epoxy resin to make the original pendants, but this time I used UV resin. There are a lot of similarities to the two methods, so I’ll show you how to make both–though I’ll focus on the bezel pendants because that’s what I did most recently and have pictures and video of. The main difference is time. UV resin cures in a matter of minutes, while the epoxy resin requires hours to fully cure.
SUPPLIES:
UV Resin Pendants:
Epoxy Resin Pendants:
Resin mixing supplies—cup, popsicle stick
Notes on Materials:
Both epoxy and UV resin can be used with either bezels or molds. I’ve used all combinations. I liked being able to look at the side of my original pendants to see the clouds “floating” in there, but I also really like the finished look of these new pendants. The bezel just gives it a different look. You can’t go wrong either way.
I spent a lot of time on Etsy looking for open pendant bezels for a different project, and I happened to come across these tiny ones. I haven’t seen any others like it elsewhere, and I can’t find them again. I did buy them on Etsy, so maybe they’ll pop up again–or maybe you can find them elsewhere. I linked to some 25mm ones (about 1″) that would also work well. I just had the thought, that you could probably use a bezel with a solid back. That might open up more size options. If you don’t mind bigger pendants, there are a lot of options for those out there.
* One quick note when you’re shopping for bezels This might seem picky, but pay attention to how the loop on the top of your bezel is positioned. If it’s facing forward, it’s going to be a lot easier to attach either a jump ring or a pendant bail onto it. If it’s facing sideways but is too small to slide a chain through, it might be more challenging to get the pendant to lay right.
There are multiple ways to color resin, but I have only used mica powder. It has such pretty colors, and I am in awe of all the colors you can get it in a set. I started with a small set and upgraded this year. It is fabulous. One thing I’ve learned is that mica powder is just messy. I don’t think it matters how it’s packaged; it just gets everywhere. As soon as you even touch the bottle you have it all over your hands. BUT it also cleans up very easily. You can use it to color soap, so it makes sense. Having said that, I really like the bottles these come in.
I did a lot of research on what to use to keep the resin from running out of the bottom of an open bezel pendant, and it seems as though most people use packing tape. It does leave a residue sometimes after you peel it off of the pendant, but it’s easy to clean up AND it’s easy to find. I already had some, so I didn’t have to buy any.
***Any time you’re working with resin, make sure to do so in a well-ventilated area. Check the instructions for the particular resin you’re using for more information about this. ***
Let’s get started!
The first thing you need to do is make your clouds. You only need a very little bit of Model Magic. The first time I made these clouds, I pulled off a little bit of the Model Magic and used a toothpick to pull off little bits of it. Sometimes I needed to form them a bit with my fingers. This time I was using a package that was a little on the dry side, and it was super easy to pull off some little bits. You could just as easily pull off a little piece, let it dry out on purpose, and then pull some clouds off of it.
Once you have your clouds, you need a sky! Start by mixing some mica powder in some resin to get the shade of blue you want. If you’re using epoxy resin, mix the two parts first, and then add in some mica. If you’re using UV resin, pour some out and then add the mica. I needed so little of it for this project that I squeezed out a little resin onto a piece of wax paper and used a toothpick to mix in some blue mica. If you’re using an open bezel, press it onto a piece of packing tape. Then spread out a thin bottom layer of the blue mixture. If you’re using UV resin, cure the layer under the UV light for a minute or so. If you’re using epoxy resin, let it sit for 45 minutes or so until it starts to set up.
Next add a thin layer of clear resin. Arrange your clouds in this layer. I use a toothpick for this. You can add them right away to the epoxy resin or wait a few minutes. If you wait until it starts to set up just a bit there’s less of a chance of your clouds floating. As soon as you like the arrangement in the UV resin go ahead and cure it for another minute. Add a third layer on top that fully covers the clouds. My bezels are so thin that the top layer domes a little bit, and I love the way it looks.
If you’re using UV resin, go ahead and cure it again. If you’re using epoxy resin, you’ll have to wait 24 hours or so. Then you’re good to go! When I held up the pedants I just made to the light, the blue layer wasn’t as thick as I wanted. So I flipped them over, mixed a little more blue resin, and spread another thin layer on the back. After another minute under the UV light they were done and I was very happy.
To finish off the pendants, use jump rings or pendant bails—whatever works with the pendants you have. As soon as I find my wax string I’m going to make a bracelet out of my connector charms. You could use supplies you find at the craft store, though.
Just for fun I decided to see what a sunrise/sunset cloud pendant would look like. I used four colors—yellow, orange, pink, and purple—and it didn’t require much of each. I was even able to get two pendants out of it! The only thing I really did differently besides for using multiple colors was to spread a little color over the clouds instead of just using clear resin. I did finish them off with a nice, thick layer of clear, and then I flipped them over and added another layer of the colors to the back. Aren’t they pretty?!
Have fun with this! There are so many things you could do with this. Sky’s the limit! 😉
