If you’re drawn to whimsical, organic designs inspired by nature—plants, animals, leaves, flowers, and a touch of fantasy—you’ll find a lot to love in resin crafting.
Resin might not be the first material you think of for these themes, but it’s surprisingly perfect for preserving and showcasing natural elements with a beautiful translucency.
Imagine capturing a delicate leaf or a tiny flower in crystal-clear resin, preserving that fleeting moment forever. The translucency of resin can create an effect reminiscent of a marble’s swirls, that same sense of wonder and curiosity you might remember from childhood.
In this project, I’ve also added a touch of sculpted polymer clay for an extra whimsical twist, and I can’t wait to show you how it all comes together.
Watch the video to explore how you can create nature-inspired jewelry with a hint of fantasy using resin and polymer clay!
The basics are:
- Something to hold the resin, such as a mold or bezel
- A backing, if desired
- Focal elements
- Accents
Possible inclusions and techniques:
- Scrapbooking or other decorative paper
- Old book or dictionary paper
- Mulberry paper
- Paper napkins
- Dark backing such as a layer of black resin, or paint the back black
- Mica powder
- Colorants such as pastels, resin dyes or inks (test to be sure will work with your resin)
- Open-back bezels (back w/packing tape) for see-through pendants
- Layer colored resin, then inclusions, top with clear resin
- Beads
- Leaves: dried, artificial, paper, sculpted in polymer clay
- Wire shapes
- Gel polish (UV cured) to paint on edges or details
- Gold or other metal flakes
- Sand resin, then add drops of clear resin to frosted areas to create “windows” or raindrop effect
- Evergreen sprigs
- Dried or artificial berries
- Microbeads
- White alcohol ink swirled into a layer of clear resin, for a backing or a thin layer
- Dried flowers and leaves
- Clear stickers
- Metal, glass or acrylic charms
Tools and supplies:
- Two-part epoxy resin
- Resin dye, if desired
- UV resin for final coat, if desired
- Measuring cups and stir sticks for resin
- Gloves for working with resin
- Ceramic tile
- Clear packing tape.
- Wire cutters
- Jewelry files
- Off-white polymer clay (mine is a mixture of white and ecru)
- Superglue
- Chalk pastels
- Ball tools
- Alcohol inks
- Alcohol blending solution
- Tweezers
- Lighter
While this video focuses on jewelry-making, these techniques work beautifully for other projects, like these seasonal bookmarks. You can find resin bookmark molds at most craft stores, including Hobby Lobby and Michaels.
Watch the Step-by-Step Resin Fall Jewelry Tutorial with Mixed Media Techniques video on YouTube.
Enjoy the video, and let me know what you think!
Happy creating. 🙂
