DIY Network

Create a Teen Sensation With Rock-Star Necklaces Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza, cohosts of Creative Juice, show how easy it is to make homemade resin jewelry.

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Hand-craft your resin necklaces like these to keep or give them away as holiday gifts.

By Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza

Oct. 22, 2007 — Show off your wild crafty side with a rock-and-roll resin necklace. You can make a whole slew of them and give them as holiday gifts, or just treat yourself to a few new accessories.

These easy-to-make pieces of jewelry are embedded with guitar picks but of course you could embed them with items such as small bits of paper, confetti shapes, tiny toys and glitter. It is endless how many different items you can embed; just make sure the item fits into the mold.

The molds are available in many different shapes, everything from small rings and earrings to large pendants and heart shapes. Resin and mold supplies are available at craft shops and online retailers.

Have fun creating your own rock-and-roll style and be careful: making resin jewelry is addictive!

Materials:

mold-release spray
vinyl gloves
EasyCast resin
plastic measuring/mixing cups
wooden stirring sticks
mold
foam paintbrush
tweezers
guitar picks or other items of choice
ball chain, rope or cord necklace
hand or electric drill
1/16" drill bit
18- or 20-gauge wire
round-nose pliers

Steps:

1. Prepare the mold with a mold-release spray.

2. Wearing protective gloves, carefully measure equal amounts of resin and hardener into a plastic measuring cup. Make sure you do not use a wax-coated cup.

3. For EasyCast to blend chemically, it must be mixed together in two stages. Combine resin and hardener according to package directions and stir for two full minutes.

4. Quickly pour resin into a mold until mold is half full.

5. Brush the guitar pick or object that will be embedded with resin (hold object with tweezers and apply resin with a foam brush). Next, set the object in the half-filled mold, face down.

6. Fill the remainder of the mold with resin. Fill to just below the top of the mold to prevent a lip of resin forming at the edges. If bubbles form, use a hair dryer and pass heated air quickly over the surface to remove bubbles. Be careful, though: excess heat can melt or warp plastic molds.

7. For best results, cast pieces should cure at temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal cure for castings that are 1/2-inch thick is 72 hours for hard cure.

8. When the item has cured, release it from the mold. Rigid plastic molds can usually be twisted slightly to break the cast pieces free. Pushing in from the back side of the mold will also help.

9. Drill a small hole in the top of the pendant using a 1/16-inch drill bit. Use a small file to smooth hole edges.

10. Thread a five-inch piece of wire through the hole, form a small loop, and wrap the base of the loop with the end of the wire. Add the pendant to necklace style of choice.

(Emmy nominated Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza cohost Creative Juice. For more information log on to www.cathiefilian.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

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