Polymer clay artists have come up with wonderful ways to imitate some gemstones. There are two advantages - a lower cost and reduced weight.

Well, you can also make faux gemstone resin jewelry too. Just watch Fran Valera of Little Windows use the dirty pour technique in this tutorial to create that marbled or tonal look to resin jewelry. Her pieces resemble jade, jasper, turquoise and rose quartz. 

 Along the way, Fran shares a number of tips. Her inspirations definitely spark my own creativity when it comes to working with resin. 

Some key tips include making thinner bangles from any of their molds - just in case you haven't sussed it out yet!  You can also reshape any of the non- round bangle molds into different sized round molds by simply reshaping on a suitable mandrel after only 12 hours of curing. 

What I liked best was how she just poured leftover resin onto a non-stick surface. Let that partially cure before cutting into any shape you want! You can safely handle partial cures after 6-12 hours without the worry of leaving fingerprints. 

Non-stick surfaces include the back side of the silicone doming tray or a silicone mat which is typically used for bakers. I often used waxed paper but have recently bought a large silicone mat for my studio. It protects my work surface and photography area as well as cuts down on my use of wax paper.  

Get 15% off supplies  from Little Windows by using this check out code : BG1516. 



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Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM