I have been practicing soldering and trying new projects including backless bezels and prongs. All the pieces below are made from recycled metal.
I poured the resin into the bezel after completing the bezel. I put packing tape on the back to keep the resin from seeping out. The color comes from alcohol ink. I put in a tiny bit and carefully swirled it with a tooth pick so as not to make more air bubbles. After pouring a layer of resin, I put in another tiny drop and allowed it to spread without swirling. I also put in some glitter and metal leaf to see what it would do.
The back. I had a hard time cleaning the metal as you can see. Next time it will go in the tumbler with the stainless steel shot!
I didn’t like the way the top turned out, so I sanded it and poured it again. I think the dome is a little too high, but now the top has no dings.
The circular pieces of metal are scraps left after I trimmed a thin piece of metal with tin snips. The blue comes from blue pulver powder. Pearlex would work, too.
There are obvious air bubbles in the resin, but I didn’t try to coax them out. I think they give the pendant an aquatic feel. I also floated some metal leaf in the resin.
My first attempt at prongs using Joanna Gollberg’s article “Fresh Prongs” in the July 2011 issue of Art Jewelry as a guide. No binding wire needed! Check out Gollberg’s book, Making Metal Jewelry for more great ideas.
I poured the resin cube in a plastic pill organizer. They make great resin molds; the cured cubes just slip out and the surface on the top and sides are nice and shiny. I probably poured resin in the back before unmolding because the resin will shrink and dip a bit in the curing.
The prongs need to be higher, but they hold the cube securely. I don’t think the resin cube is spectacular enough to make this a memorable necklace, but I wanted to try making a prong setting before attempting to make five or six more and using them and resin cubes to make a bracelet. I think that would look interesting.
Take a look at Susan Lenart Kazmer’s DVD Exploring Resin to learn some interesting resin techniques including how to cast resin in an open bezel.
Ornamento 