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:

1. Something to hold the resin, such as a mold or bezel
2. A backing, if desired
3. Focal elements
4. 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. 🙂