Create Jewelry with Candy Wrappers, Open Hoops and Resin

Here is a tutorial of my daughter, Emillia, creating jewelry for her PT Wearable Art Costume using candy wrappers. This tutorial has a lot of steps, I won’t deny that, but the results are super fun!

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Supplies Needed:
Nunn Design Open Frame Hoops
Castin’ Crafts Opaque Pigments, Red, Blue and White
Nunn Design 2-Part Resin Kit

Others:
Candy Wrappers (waxed wrappers are the best)
Packing Tape
Wet-wipes
Toothpick or headpin
Timer
Stir Sticks
Mixing Cups
Business Cards or glossy card stock
Goo-Be-Gone
Rubbing Alcohol
Plastic Bags
Q-Tips
Wooden Block

Tools:
Scissors
Tweezers
Flush Cutters
1.8mm Hole Punch
Drill

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Learn How:

Step 1:
Place the Nunn Design Open Frame Hoops onto the candy wrapper and trace around the inside edge.

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Step 2:
Cut along the inside traced line on the candy wrapper with a pair of scissors.

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Step 3:
Cut a piece of packing tape and place it onto the work surface. Place an Open Frame Hoop onto the tape. Using your fingertips, press the hoop down onto the packing tape and rub back and forth on your work surface to make sure it is burnished down.

Tip:
Check to see that your packing tape is clear and there is no residue or mottling in the adhesive. If there is, it will show up in your finished resin piece when you remove the tape once the resin is cured. Try to use an area of the tape that does not have blotches or marks.

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Step 4:
Trim away any excess packing tape from around your Open Frame Hoop to avoid the curing resin piece from being potentially disturbed.

Tip:
I like to place each bezel on its own individual piece of packing tape. It makes the pouring easier to manage and eliminates the chance of disturbing the bezel next to it.

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Step 5:
Place some business cards or some heavy card stock onto the work surface, making it easy to move the pendants without getting any resin on your fingers.

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Step 6:
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

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Step 7:
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. Getting your eyes level with the resin so you can see the lines on the measuring cup will help you see exactly how much resin to add. 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. It is important to pour Part A first and then Part B. It is some chemical thing about the part B being heavier or something.

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Step 8:

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.

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Step 9:
Let the resin sit for 5 minutes. This will give the resin some time to off gas and release any air bubbles.

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Step 10:
Drizzle the clear resin into the base of the Open Frame Hoop until the base of the tape is covered.

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Step 11:
Use a toothpick to gently go around the inside edge of the Open Frame Hoop. This will help agitate any air that might be trapped.

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Step 12:
Place your trimmed candy wrapper into the Open Frame Hoop over the resin. Use a toothpick to gently press the candy wrapper down into the resin. There will be air trapped under the wrapper, so continue to press the candy wrapper down until you no longer can see any bulges in the wrapper. I start on one side and move my way across, sort of like a squeegee.

Tip:
The wrappers that are printed on cellophane like paper didn’t work at all. The edges curled up and would not lay flat once exposed to the moisture of the resin.

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Step 13:
Set the bezel aside for 12 hours until the resin is slightly cured. If you see bubbles rising to the surface, using your hot breath, breathe on them. It isn’t a “blow” sort of breath – more of a “huff” sort of a breath. The hot air will make the bubbles expand, rise to the surface and pop. As the resin starts to set-up and become thicker, it will be more difficult for the air to rise to the surface. Make sure to check in on the curing resin and double check for air bubbles. If you do have some bubbles, use a toothpick to gentle drag them over to the sides. This agitation process will help them to pop. When the resin is thick and taffy like in texture it is time to let it be. If you attempt to pop bubbles at this time, you may end up with a gooey mess.

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Step 14:
If you do have some overflow, let your resin filled bezel set for 12 hours. After 12 hours, the resin will be set, but still very flexible. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to pry away the resin from the pendant. The resin will easily peel away and is fairly easy to pick-off with your fingernails.

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Step 15:
Remove the packing tape from the backside once fully cured. If you do it after 12 hours the resin will still be very flexible and can easily “bow” within the bezel. Just go slow and don’t press or pull too hard.

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Step 16:
If you have any excess residue from the packing tape on the backside, use the tape to remove it like you would when you are removing lint or animal fur from your clothes. Keep touching the packing tape onto the sticky surface until it is no longer sticky. Still sticky, try Goo Be Gone! Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for best results. I applied a couple drops on the backside and let it sit for over a minute. I then used a stir stick to scrape the tapes residue. It was fast and easy. Once clean, just use rubbing alcohol or a wet-wipe to wipe clean.

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Step 17:
To create a more finished look on the backside, instead of messing with Step 15, Emillia mixed up another batch of clear resin (steps 5-8) and added Castin’ Crafts Opaque Colorants to colorize the resin and pour over the backside. To create 2017 Summer Pantone Colors, take a look at this earlier post or download the pdf. For this tutorial, she colorized the resin with Castin’ Crafts Opaque Pigments; red, blue and white.

The formula for Pink Yarrow, Pantone 17-2034 TCX :
• 1 tsp Nunn Design Resin
• 2 toothpick tips Red
• 2 tiny toothpick tips Blue
• 3 toothpick tips White

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Step 18:
Here is a visual of what a “tiny toothpick tip” and a “toothpick tip” look like.

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Step 19:
On a piece of plastic, such as a Ziplock bag, squeeze a little of the Castin’ Crafts Opaque Pigments. This will prevent you from contaminating your colorants with mixed Nunn Design Resin as you add the toothpicks of color to the resin.

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Step 20:
Place another empty resin mixing cup onto your work area. Pour the clear resin from Step 7 into the cup, filling it to the 1 tsp. mark. Add in the colorants from the formula in Step 16 to create the Pink Yarrow color. Stir gently until the colorant is fully mixed together. Let resin sit for 5 minutes to allow the bubbles rise to the surface and pop.

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.

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Step 21:
Drizzle resin onto the backside of the Open Frame Hoop. If you want a flat resin surface, fill the resin just to the edge of the bezel. If you would like a high dome, continue to drizzle resin until you have your desired height.

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Step 22:
Drag the resin to the edge of the bezel with a toothpick. The resin is self-doming and wants to know where the edge is. By dragging the resin to the edge of the bezel, you will be able to create a more finished look.

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Step 23:
If you have any resin where you don’t want it, use a wet-wipe to clean up the surface. Set aside to cure (up to 72 hours).

Optional:
If you have excess colorized resin from this project, don’t let it go to waste. Pour the resin onto a plastic bag and let it cure. Once the resin is cured for 12 hours, you can cut the resin with scissors and create interesting patterns. See our tutorial on our blog to learn more.

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Step 24:
Once the resin was cured, Emillia used a 1.8mm hole punch to create a small dimple in the resin. This allowed there to be a dent to place the drill bit.

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Step 25:
Hold the hoop onto a wooden block with one hand and place your drill bit in the small dimple of resin. Drill through the resin piece.

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Step 26:
Emillia drilled back and forth to create a nice smooth hole within the resin. (Note the cat in the background!).

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Step 27:
Assemble the hoops into pieces of your own wearable art!

Download PDF Tutorial: How To Create Jewelry With Candy Wrappers, Open Hoops And Resin

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