Make your own beads from epoxy resin

In this manual you will learn how to make beads yourself. You can easily make beads in any color you want, and then make jewelry from them.

Hi, nice that you are reading this manual! My name is Karin and since the end of 2020 I started making things with epoxy resin such as buttons, beads and more. With epoxy resin you can go in all directions and it is of course super fun to wear something that perfectly matches your outfit!

In this manual you will read my tips and tricks about making your own beads. On my blog karinkay.nl you can read all about it.

Supplies needed for making beads:

• Epoxy casting resin 1:1 or UV resin
• Silicone mold for beads
  
• Pigment colors for epoxy
• Decorations for epoxy

Tools

• Gloves , mixing spatulas , mixing cup(s) , pipette , heat tool or lighter
• Kitchen paper to prevent spills
• Clothes that can get dirty
• A well-ventilated work space

Silicone molds beads

The molds for making beads all contain six beads. Do you want to make a lot of beads that look the same? Then you better use multiple molds at the same time, because it is difficult to make exactly the same ones again.

There are molds for round, square or flat beads. In terms of size, you can choose between 12 or 16 mm. In my project I only used the round ones, and then both 12 and 16 mm. In the middle of the mold is a 'stick' with which the opening in the bead is created. So you don't have to do the difficult thing afterwards and drill a hole in the bead!

Step 1: Prepare Epoxy Resin

If you use epoxy resin 1:1 , use the same amount of liquid from each bottle and stir well. If you only make the beads, you need very little resin and about 10 grams is enough. That is why it is actually more convenient to use the jewelry resin, because it is already ready-made and you do not have to mix it.

Then, after stirring, let the resin sit for a few minutes so that the bubbles disappear. Then add your pigments to give the resin a nice color. A few drops are enough. You can also add decorations such as glitter now, but make sure it is not too big and heavy, because then the decoration will sink to one side of the bead.

Step 2: Drip the epoxy resin into the mold

It is quite a challenge to fill the molds with water or drips. The opening is very small, so you have to work very precisely. Especially with the smallest beads it is quite a challenge not to make a mess. You can do this in the following ways:

• Pour the resin very slowly into the mold. It is easy to use too much resin and the mold will overflow. So be very careful.
• Still having problems with overflowing? Then use a mixing spatula or pipette. Carefully drip the resin from a mixing spatula into the mold, and keep dripping until the bead is full. Another way is with a pipette. Squeeze the bulb of the pipette, and then insert it into the resin. Then release the bulb again, so that the pipette is filled with resin. First check that you have no air bubbles, and then squeeze the pipette out into the mold again.

Make sure the mold is not too full, because then the bead hole will get clogged. Normally you can use a lighter or heat tool to pop the bubbles, but because the top of the mold is so small, you will not have much trouble with this.

Step 3: Waiting

And now comes the hardest part: waiting! With the jewelry resin you wait between 10 and 45 minutes, depending on how sunny it is. With the mixed resin it takes about 24 hours before you can remove them from the mold.

Step 4: Remove beads from the mold

Once the beads have hardened, you can finally remove them from the mold! It can be difficult to remove them from the mold because the opening is so small. Therefore, press against the bottom of the bead so that the mold turns inside out. If there is still a little too much resin on the top of the bead, you can carefully remove it with a knife.

Step 5: Making Jewelry

You can now assemble the beads into a unique piece of jewelry. You can string them together or knot them to a cord for a bracelet or necklace . You can also use a large bead as a pendant, as I did. With earring hooks you can also make nice hanging earrings with one or more beads. In short: you can really go in all directions with your beads to make nice homemade jewelry!

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