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How to make Resin Gummy Bear Pendants

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Create Realistic Looking Jewelry in a Few Simple Steps

Resin is an up and coming form of jewelry making. The most basic form that is popular right now is the scrabble tile pendant craze. Resin can be used for more than just a clear coat! You can color it, suspend things in it, cast it, and just have fun making unique jewelry!

Directions

How to make your pendant

Here's a list of materials that you will need:

Mix-a-mold
gummy bears
2-part resin kit
mixing cups
Popsicle sticks
dye
water
wax paper
glue-on bail
jewelry glue
sandpaper
napkins
rubbing alcohol

Mix-a-mold is one type of mold making medium out there. Ideally, I would use a latex or silicone mold for reuse since the mix-a-mold can only be used once or twice.

Materials

This is the resin I am using right now. One bottle is the hardener and the other bottle is resin. I've also used Easy cast, which is pretty much the same product.
I like to use restaurant condiment cups for mixing everything because they are the cheapest. They also make mixing small quantities easy.

Popsicle sticks are most useful for mixing but small dowels, tongue depressors, or toothpicks work as well.

Making the mold

Mix equal parts of the mold compound with water. The warmer the water, the faster the mold will set. I like to use lukewarm water so the wait time is lessened.
Mix until you get a smooth, bubble-free mixture. Let it sit to partially set.
When the mold has a partially liquidy but partially firm texture, it is ready to use. (You don't want the gummy bear to sink so far into the mold that you can't pull it out.) Place the gummy bear face down into the mixture and let it sink naturally. If needed, give it a little push.

After about 20 minutes, pull the gummy bear out using a fingernail or a small flat object. A letter opener may work well. Try to avoid waiting too long or the gummy bear will start to dissolve and your mold will be useless.

Preparing the Resin

While the mold is setting up, you can begin preparing the resin.

I tend not to measure precisely because being off by a few milliliters is going to happen whether or not you officially measure. I pour hardener into the little cup to about half way. I eyeball an equal amount of resin into another little cup.

Now, the "correct" way to mix is to pour the contents of those cups into another cup, scrape the sides with the popsicle stick, and mix for a minute or two. I hate going through many cups, so I choose the cup that appears to have more in it and pour that into the cup that has less. This helps even out the 1:1 ratio since resin will be stuck in the bottom of the cup. (If this doesn't make sense just pour the measured resin and hardener into a new cup and mix.)
A chemical reaction is occurring between the resin and hardener so don't be alarmed by the formation of bubbles. This will always happen. Usually they go away after a few minutes of rest.
Now it's time to add "flavor!" The resin company always suggests purchasing their colorants but you are not limited to those. I have several pictured that I use.

The first is Dye-na-flow, which is actually a fabric dye that I use for silk painting. It has a watery consistency and comes in a range of colors.

The second is transparent resin dye manufactured by Castin' Craft. The color range is limited.

The third is typical food coloring.

You can mix and match dyes to get the desired color. Be warned though, not all dyes play nice with each other! I have found that mixing blue and yellow resin dyes create a lovely brown color instead of a pretty green. That's where I like to use cyan fabric dye with yellow since that makes a better green. If you use a lot of transparent yellow, you can get a pretty transparent orange color (so only use a little yellow if you actually want yellow).

With this small volume of resin, you only need a few drops of dye. Mix well to avoid dark-colored patches.

Casting the Gummy Bear

Now that you have colored resin (that should be mostly bubble free by now), you can pour the resin into the mold. Fill the mold to the top and just a tiny bit more. Resin has amazing surface tension properties so you can "over-fill" to get a popped-up back. Otherwise, your gummy bear may be too flat and concave.

Note- if you still have bubbles that are bugging you, pop them with the sharp end of a toothpick or a needle.
Once you've poured the resin, you're done for about 24 hours. I don't have a problem with dust, but if you're worried about it, cover the resin/mold with a cup to avoid "fuzzy" bears.

The resin will cure in 24 hours, but may still be a little flexible. If you push your fingernail into the back and it makes a dent, it's not ready to come out yet.

As you can see in the photo, the mold may shrink a little bit. Don't be worried. The bear will be fine!

A Bear is Born!

After the resin is all good and firm, the bear is ready to come out. You can use your fingernail to pry out an edge, or a letter opener. Also, if you have no intention of reusing the mold, you can just pull the mold out of the cup and rip it open and pull out the bear.

Depending on how well the mold-making went, the bear may be a little messy from left-over gummy bear sugar or mold-pieces. You can clean it up with a little water.

The back will be rough too. You can lightly sand with a medium grit sandpaper to remove the edges.
To make the bear into a pendant, I like to use small jewelry bails and jewelry glue. Pictured are E6000 and GOOP which are strong glues suitable for bonding non-porous surfaces. Be warned though that the fumes are worse than resin.

The glue will set fairly quickly, but it is best to let it sit for a couple of hours before handling.

The introductory image at the top of the page shows a finished red gummy bear pendant amongst its "real" counterparts.

Not Just for the Bears!

This method can be used for casting all sorts of things! I've tried other candies, like bunny gummies and Swedish fish.

Resin can also be poured into pre-made mold forms that can be used again and again.

The example shows what I've made using a reusable mold with sprinkles and tinted resin. There are a few more examples a few sections lower showing what's in my Etsy shop.

Tips and Tricks

You'll want to do this over wax paper since resin doesn't stick to wax paper. Do not do this on unprotected wood surfaces because the resin can remove the finish. Also, when gluing on the bail, let the glue set on waxed paper so that excess glue doesn't get stuck to your surface.

Napkins are handy to have to catch little spills.

If you get resin on your hands, it will not come off with soap and water. Use a bit of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and rub off the resin (which is pretty sticky). You may want to moisturize afterwards since the alcohol will dry out your skin.

Paint brushes work well to get the dye from the dye bottle to the resin. Drizzle dye along the rim of the cup and let it flow down to the resin. DON'T put the paint brush in the resin unless you want to ruin it.

Other Mold Option

I recently discovered Amazing Mold putty. It's like a mix between silly putty and clay. When two different putties are mixed in a 1:1 ratio, they set up into a flexible mold in about 5 minutes.

I tried it with gummy bears and it works great! An added bonus is that the mold is reusable so you don't have to keep making a new mold.

Beadwork by Amanda

Resin Pendants in my Etsy Shop

Here are some resin goodies you can find in my shops on Etsy!

You need to select some items to show.

Sources of Inspiration

I purchased the book, "The Art of Resin Jewelry" about three or four years ago and it was what got me into resin in the first place!
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Resin

Here are some resin options!
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Dyes you can use

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Resin Dyes

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Mix-a-mold

This can also be purchased at your local art store

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Glue-on Bails

Etsy.com is a great place to look too!

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  • Reply
    Claudia Mar 11, 2009 @ 6:48 pm | delete
    thanks so much for this tutorial!
    I have a cute teeny tiny turtle hubby bought for me in Mexico when we met ... the head broke off and I miss it so much! I think I can get him to make me the replica with it's remains- he is an encaustic artist and will love this post !

    I love your things and will post about them on my facebook!!

    www.olivosartstudio.blogspot.com
  • Reply
    sarah Mar 3, 2009 @ 6:31 pm | delete
    wow, i never thought real gummy bears could be used for making jewelry. this is so neat!
  • Reply
    janil Mar 3, 2009 @ 2:14 am | delete
    Wow! I couldn't never imagine it needs so material!!!!!! Irt seems so easy when you don't know anything but is very dificult!!!!!

    The Bear Gummy pendant is fantastic.I love it!
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beadworkbyamanda

Hello! I'm a full time student by day and crafter by night. I'm only 20 but I've been addicted for more than half my life! I attend RIT and will have... more »

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