Make These Sculpted Relief Epoxy Clay and Resin Pendants

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Learn how to create perfectly registered pendants with this Sculpted Relief Tutorial. Keep connected as we show projects and offer a chance to win the Sculpted Relief Giveaway in the upcoming weeks!

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Instructions For Sculpted Relief Epoxy Clay Resin Pendants

Buy&Try Sculpted Relief
Designer: Becky Nunn

Supplies Needed:
Easy Mold Silicone Putty
Crystal Clay in Brown, Black or White
Nunn Design Brass Stampings
Nunn Design Bezels-Patera
Craftin’ Cast Colorant
Nunn Design Resin

Tools Needed:
Wet-wipes
Toothpicks


PART 1: MAKING THE MOLD:

Step 1: Prepare Silicone Putty

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Pinch off two equal sized balls of Part A and B of the Silicone Putty. Be sure that the balls are large enough and will allow you to make an impression to fit your bezel.


Step 2: Choose Brass Stampings

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Make sure that your Nunn Design Brass Stampings fit into the Nunn Design Bezel. If it doesn’t, that is fine, you will just want to decide how the image will be cropped to fit.


Step 3: Mix Silicone Putty

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The Easy Mold Silicone Putty has a 3-minute working time before it begins to harden and not take the impression. Knead both part A and part B together until the putty is blended completely and has a uniform color.

Tip: Getting the knack for mixing just the right amount will take some practice. You might mix too much or too little putty the first time.


Step 4: Roll into Ball, Flatten

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Roll the fully mixed Silicone Putty into a round ball and flatten slightly. Keep in mind the size of the bezel that you will be working with. You will want your flattened ball to be larger in size than the outside rim of the bezel. Make sure the putty is smooth and not wrinkled.


Step 5: Make a Impression Mark with Bezel, Then Press in Embellishment

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Press your bezel into the silicone putty to create an impression mark. This impression mark will help you see where to position your embellishment so it is centered (or off-center if that is the look you want).


Step 6: Repress Bezel For Registration

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When you pushed in your embellishment, your first registration will push out and no longer be true. Using your bail area as the registration, repress your bezel into the clay. Let the Silicone Putty set for 25 minutes before removing the embellishment.


Part 2: Creating the Sculpted Relief

Step 7: Mix Epoxy Clay

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Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the handling and mixing of the Crystal Clay. While wearing gloves, pinch of two equal sized balls of Part A and Part B and blend together fully until the clay is no longer marbled and uniformed in color. You have approximately 90-120 minutes of working time before the clay starts to harden, so take your time.


Step 8: Roll into Ball, Pat into Bezel

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Once your clay is thoroughly mixed, roll it into a smooth round ball. I like it to be smooth because it prevents from having creases once the impression is made. Press the ball into the bezel and create an even coverage by patting down the clay with your fingers. If you put too much in, the clay will squish out onto the sides and you will have a little clean up to do. If you don’t put in enough, you might not get a good impression. Regardless, both are easy things to fix, so it might take a little experimenting to get it just right.


Step 9: Roll Mold Over Clay

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Now, let’s make an impression in our epoxy clay. Place your filled bezel over the silicone mold, using the round rim and loop for registration. I like to pick-up the mold and use my fingers to push from the top as well as the bottom to create the impressions.


Step 10: Clean With Wet-wipe

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Using a wet-wipe, clean up any epoxy clay that might have gotten on the bezel. The epoxy clay hardens like cement, so cleaning it up now and being tidy as you go makes the process easier and the results so much nicer.

Step 11: Let Dry

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Allow the epoxy clay to dry for at least 12 hours, well that is what I (Becky Nunn) did, but the staff here at Nunn Design went straight on to pouring the colorized resin on the uncured epoxy clay. Both turned out just fine so use your best judgment!


PART 3: PREPARING THE COLORIZED RESIN:

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Step 1: Prepare Your Work Surface

Read the resin instructions for safety concerns regarding the Nunn Design Resin.
When I work with resin, I always:

  • Place a large plastic bag over my work surface and tape it down.
  • I make sure I have ventilation in my workroom.
  • I wear gloves.
  • I wear glasses (readers because I can’t see anymore. Plus it protects my eyes!).
  • I have a pile of wet wipes handy.
  • This is a great blog post that covers 20 Habits for Successfully Using Nunn Design 2-Part Epoxy Resin. Even if you are a seasoned resin mixer, this might be worth a read.
  • You can also watch this great video on How to Mix Nunn Design Resin

Step 2: Pour Part A, Then Pour Part B into Cup

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Mixing your resin: Place one cup (included in the Nunn Design Resin Kit) onto your table. For curing purposes, it is very important that the resin be an exact 1 to 1 ratio of Part A and Part B. I suggest getting your eyes level with the resin so you can see the lines on the measuring cup. Pour Part A of your resin kit up to the ½ fluid ounce mark on your measuring cup. Pour Part B of your resin kit into the same cup until it is filled to the 1 fluid ounce mark.


Step 3: Set Timer, Stir 2 Minutes, Set under Lamp 5 Minutes

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Set your timer for 2 minutes. Using the stir stick from your kit (a popsicle stick or coffee stir stick will work great too), slowly and carefully stir your resin scraping the sides as you stir. Stir for a minimum of 2 minutes. If your resin is still cloudy continue to mix until clear. After mixing is complete and your resin is clear, scrape both sides of your stir stick on the edge of your resin filled cup. Set the mixture under a warm lamp for 5 minutes. This aids the air bubbles in the resin to rise to the surface and pop.


Step 4: Lay Down Moveable Surface (Business Cards)

I tend to work in small area (typically my kitchen table), so I like to work on a surface that I can easily move around and not disturb. Place some business cards or some heavy card stock onto a cookie sheet, making it easy to transfer around the tags without getting any resin on your fingers. Lay your tags onto the business cards, keeping in mind that you will be covering them later with cups to prevent dust for getting on the surface of the uncured colorized resin.


Step 5: Mix Some Resin With Opaque Pigment

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After your resin has been under the lamp for 5 minutes, pour a small amount of the mixed resin into a measuring cup. Add in a couple drops of the Craftin’ Craft Opaque Pigment to give the resin color. If the resin isn’t as opaque as you would like, add in
another drop of the Opaque Pigment. You can mix the full 1 fluid ounce measuring cup of resin if you want, but I transfer the resin into smaller cups because it is easier to stir and less messy to move around when less full.

Tip: Be sure that the colorant does not equal more than 10% of your resin as having more than 10% could cause issues with curing!


PART 4: APPLYING RESIN ONTO CURED SCULPTED RELIEF

Step 1: Use Toothpick, Poke Resin into Crevices

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I like to pour a small amount onto a small ziplock and use a toothpick to apply the resin. The toothpick allows me to poke it down into the crevices.


Step 2: Lightly Wipe Surface of Sculpted Relief

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Using a wet-wipe, lightly brush off the surface of the sculpted relief. This will allow the color of the epoxy to show. Also use the wet-wipe to clean off any resin that might be on the sides of the bezel.


Step 3: Let Dry

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Let the resin dry for 12-14 hours. It will be dry to the touch, but resin continues to cure over the next 72 hours.


Step 4: Assemble Something!

Assemble into something wonderful! Earrings? A necklace? Or maybe create a charm bracelet? Enjoy!


For even more information, watch our 4 part video series on how to create this great look!

Crystal Clay: Molding, Casting, Setting, & Finishing – Part 1

Part 1 of a 4 part video series. In this video learn how to create silicone molds using Easy Mold Silicone Putty, by Craftin’Craft. This video covers mixing the silicone putty and using your bezel to create a registration for your mold impressions so that it is consistent and uniformed with each impression (fancy words for ‘not all caddy-womped!’).


Crystal Clay: Molding, Casting, Setting, & Finishing – Part 2

Part 2 of a 4 part video series: Once you have learned how to make a silicone mold using Nunn Design Brass Embellishments, you will be ready to create your impressions into the Nunn Design Patera Bezels.


Crystal Clay: Molding, Casting, Setting, & Finishing – Part 3

Part 3 of a 4 part video series: Learn how to create a pigment color sampler with Nunn Design 2 Part Resin, ETI’s Castin’Craft Opaque Pigments and Crystal Clay. In this video I show what a tiny drip of Opaque Pigments can do to the resin and how to create variations by adding more resin or by adding more Opaque Pigment. These pigment samples are helpful to see how the resin will look on various colors of Crystal Clay.


Crystal Clay: Molding, Casting, Setting, & Finishing – Part 4

Part 4 of a 4 part video series: Complete this great video series and apply the colorized resin onto your pendants. And that’s a wrap! I hope that you will enjoy the fun of creating these great little pendants!


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15 thoughts on “Make These Sculpted Relief Epoxy Clay and Resin Pendants

  1. Carole Quimby / C. Periwinkle & Co says:

    Becky, I love your work! I buy your components and make jewelry for my shop. The epoxy clay pendants look like a fun project…
    Thank you for the step by step directions. Carole

  2. Aims says:

    Hi Becky!

    I have to tell you that I laughed out loud when I read through these instructions! They sounded so much like you I couldn’t help it!

    I love this technique though! So perfect and so easy!! Easy to do and wonderful to use.

    Again – you are bringing joy and ‘abundance’ to the jewelry world Becky Nunn!

    Aims

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