make resin beads

How to Make Resin Beads

Bead Tutorials

What to do with your leftover resin

I hate wasting resin.  Even if it’s only a little bit, I still like to find a use for it.  My latest resin experiment involved making my own resin beads.

 

adding dye to resinI had approximately 10 cc left of mixed Castin’ Craft Easy Cast Epoxy resin. Add colorant as desired to the resin.  For these beads, I used Castin’ Craft liquid transparent dye in red and green.

 

mixing transparent color for resinMix the color into resin.

 

pouring colored resinPour the colored resin onto a piece of wax paper.  Spread it out to a rectangle shape using a stir stix or toothpick.  Cover and allow to partially cure.

 

peeling resin off wax paperWhen the resin is partially cured (about 8 to 10 hours for Easy Cast), peel it off the wax paper.  The resin surface will be sticky, but formed.  **Since the resin is still not completely cured at this point, you will need to wear safety gloves.

 

trim resin with scissorsUse a pair or utility scissors (not meant for food use) to cut the semi cured resin into rectangle shapes.

 

resin rectangleYour resin strip should be a nice, even shape after trimming.

 

rolling epoxy resinStart at a narrow end and roll the resin strip onto itself to make a tube.  A hole will automatically form in the center.

 

how to make a resin tube beadOnce the resin is in the bead form, you will need to apply a piece of masking tape over the end to keep it rolled up while it is curing.  At this point, the resin is flexible and a tad tacky, but has cured enough that it won’t stick to itself.  Leave the tape on while the resin continues to cure.

 

glitter in resinIn case you were wondering, you can make the beads glittery as well.  A little bit of glitter goes a long way since the layers will lie over each other when rolled up.

 

resin tube bead braceletI strung the newly made resin tube beads along with glass confetti beads from my collection onto stretchy bead cord.  Beading wire or leather could work well too.

Originally published on resinobsession.com

 

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