Texturized Epoxy Clay with Nunn Design 2-Part Resin Tutorial

Last week, I did a post to inspire you to create jewelry for Valentine’s Day. I also committed to creating some lapel pins as gifts for my sisters. Here is the tutorial showing the process for creating Texturized Epoxy Clay with PearlEx Powder and Nunn Design 2-Part Resin. I think these lapel pins are sweet!

Learn How!

Supplies Needed:

Epoxy Clay White
Clay Squishers
PearlEx Powders-Gold
Nunn Design Lapel Pins-Copper
Nunn Design Resin Kit

Other Supplies:

Wet wipes
Q-Tips
Rubbing Alcohol
Toothpicks
Business Cards
Clear Packing Tape

Cleaning the Bezels

1. The Nunn Design Findings are oxidized to provide the aged look to the precious metal plating. The oxidization, when it comes into contact with the Epoxy Clay could change the color of the clay. To avoid this, clean the findings thoroughly prior to applying the clay. Get the tip of a Q-Tip wet with rubbing alcohol and clean away any of the blackened oxidization on both sizes of the bezels.

Mixing the Epoxy Clay

2: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the handling and mixing of the Epoxy Clay. While wearing gloves, pinch off two equal sized balls the size of large blueberries of Part A and Part B and blend together fully until the clay is no longer marbled and uniform in color. You have approximately 90-120 minutes of working time before the clay starts to harden, so take your time. Once the clay is thoroughly mixed, remove your gloves to make it easier to work with the clay.

3. Roll the thoroughly mixed Epoxy Clay between your palms until it forms a smooth round ball. I like it to be smooth because it prevents from having creases once the impression is made.

The lapel pins are very small, so for this photo, I’m using a Patera Bracelet Bezel to communicate this step.

4. Press the ball into your bezel and create an even smooth surface by patting down the clay with your fingers. If you put too much clay in, the clay will squish out the sides and you will have 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.

5. If you have any fibers or “junk” stuck in your clay, use a toothpick to remove it. Pat down the surface of the clay with your fingertips until it is smooth again.

6. Using a wet-wipe, clean up any excess Epoxy Clay that might have been left on the jewelry finding. 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.

Making the Impression:

Clay Squisher Retro, Clay Squisher Japan, Clay Squisher Flourish

7. Select a Clay Squisher to create your impression with. The texture used in the lapel pins featured in this post is from the Clay Squisher Flourish.

Clay Squisher Flourish

8. Use a Q-Tip to apply some PearlEx Powder to the surface of the Clay Squisher.

PearlEx Powder will create visual interest and highlights to the clay. The powder will also help the clay from sticking to the surface of the Clay Squisher while making your impression.

9. Place your Epoxy Clay filled bezel over the texturizing pad and squish down with equal force. I like to pick up the mold and use my fingers to push from the top as well as the bottom to create a good impression.

10. Using a wet-wipe, clean up any excess Epoxy Clay-Epoxy Clay that might have been left on the jewelry finding. The Epoxy Clay-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.

11. Allow the Epoxy Clay-Epoxy Clay to dry for at least 12 hours.

Mixing and Applying the Nunn Design Resin:

12. I tend to work in a small area (typically my kitchen table), so I like to work on a surface that projects can be easily moved around and not disturbed. Place some business cards or some heavy card stock onto your work surface, making it easy to move the bezels without getting any resin on your fingers. You might also want to cover your business card with packing tape. If the resin does overflow and seep under the bezel, the resin will get stuck to the card stock on the backside of the bezel. The resin and paper is easy enough to remove, but an extra step that can be avoided if you have a super glossy surface that won’t stick to the resin.

13. 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.

14. 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 1 TBS mark on your measuring cup. Pour Part B of your resin kit into the same cup until it is filled to the 2 TBS mark. It is important to pour Part A first and then Part B. It is some chemical thing about the part A being heavier or something.

TIP: It is important to pour Part A first and then Part B. It is some chemical thing about the part A being heavier or something.

15. 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.

16. Drizzle the mixed Nunn Design Resin over the Epoxy Clay.

Clean Up & Cure:

17. If you have resin that has over-poured or seeped under the bezel and onto the card, wait about 6 hours until the resin is at its “soft cure” phase. Remove the bezel from the card. The resin will still be soft. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend back the resin from the bezel. The resin will easily separate and peel off of the bezel.

Be Inspired!

Design Option:

In this video are some samples showing yet another design option.

In these pieces, I texturized the Epoxy Clay and then poured colorized resin over the top. This is an ideal technique for damaged flat tags. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the best metal stamping skills and it is helpful to know that I have a way to use my unsellable tags!

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How to Purchase Wholesale?

If you are interested in becoming one of the many designers who trust their jewelry to Nunn Design Findings, please join us by registering to become one of our wholesale customers!

Nunn Design primarily sells wholesale, but we do offer Retail Kits and Retail Buy & Try Programs for certain projects. For all other findings, please visit our Where to Buy Page for a listing of online stores that sell Nunn Design Findings retail.

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please subscribe to our blog.
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Shop Nunn Design Wholesale

Nunn Design has been supplying jewelry artists with findings for over 20 years. Shop wholesale jewelry findings for creative jewelry makers.

Shop Nunn Design!

How to Purchase Wholesale?

If you are interested in becoming one of the many designers who trust their jewelry to Nunn Design Findings, please join us by registering to become one of our wholesale customers!

Please visit our Where to Buy Page for a listing of online stores that sell Nunn Design Findings retail.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe to our blog. Here are 10 Reasons Why to Subscribe and a place to do so!

Tutorials