Resin.
My best friend.
My worst enemy.
If I could (and it wasn’t such a pain in the…ahem) I would cover everything in resin. Everything!
Resin and I have a special relationship. I’ve completely mastered the art; it IS art. There are many different processes that use resin, none of which are a cakewalk! For this bracelet I’ve used a hand-pouring technique which keeps the images forever encased in its shiny-glassy-goodness. It makes the bracelet completely waterproof which is why it’s way more expensive than the cheapo glass dome jewelry. It also takes days to complete one project, which is another reason for the price.
A bracelet like this takes days to complete. After the images are ready, they need to be waterproofed before starting the resin process. I work with a two-part resin, so measuring has to be exact or the whole project will be ruined. This is when I get to play chemist! Then the fun really starts by pouring in a teeeeny-tiny bit at a time to cover the photos. Overflow is a huge issue with resin, and it’s not something you want to clean up…believe me! Then it happens.
Bubbles.
My hell.
You’d never understand what I mean without seeing them (I will have to remember to shoot a photo!) They are the most terrible things. Ever. These aren’t cute, pop-able bubbles. They’re almost microscopic! This is the only reason I haven’t covered everything I own in resin!
I’ve seen many people go-with-the-flow and leave bubbles in their designs, which works with some things but definitely not photo jewelry. Rest assured, I’ve mastered them too. They may just be the most time consuming part of working with resin (besides the curing time) but it’s absolutely worth it to me.
Look at these babies. They’re perfect!
I spend so much time working on each piece that I feel like Gollum (Lord of the Rings) saying “my precious…” *insert creepy voice here* But (hopefully) not quite as creepy.
kmurphydesigns 
