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I once got a really old meat grinder at a garage sale for $20. Found it online for around $25-35 in several places and figured I got quite the score but nothing that was terribly unfair to the lady who was trying to get rid of it. But then I found the same one at an antique store for almost a hundred bucks. Um, what?
Now I get that this is a job/business but I decided to not go into antique stores anymore but I found myself in one recently anyway. There I found the exact same holographic Halloween “framed picture” that I purchased at Dollar General for a buck 2 years or so back. Guess what they wanted for it? I think it was like $30 and that is just abso-freaking-lutely ridiculous… okay, rant over!
And when I saw some pretty mint bangles flecked with gold I loved them, until I saw they wanted $50 for the set. So I made my own. They’re not vintage and they’re hardly priceless but I’m cool with my DIY jewelry anyway!
For this project you will need:
- Resin
- Bangle molds
- Pastel acrylic paint (not the cheapest but not the most expensive either)
- Gold leaf flakes
- Wet sandpaper for finishing
Mix your resin according to the package directions. I prefer Castin’ Craft (link to the same I use in the project items list above). Add a small dollop of your pastel paint and mix well.
Add your gold leaf flakes to the pastel tinted resin. Now, as I learned, these big chunks do NOT work. Either rub them in between your fingers to make them tiny flecks or fish around for the small stuff to begin with.
Pour into your mold and wait to cure. Pop out and wet sand to finish. For more help on how to sand your finished resin pieces check this out… How to Sand Resin to be Smooth.
So purdy!
I love my pastel bangles. I love how the fleck is barely there. Almost seems to give the bracelets texture. But I also wanted to make a mostly clear bracelet to go with them.
The process is the same except I did not tint the resin and I jam packed that baby full of gold leaf flecks.
I mostly wear these two alone and I love them. They feel so retro glam to me! And they were no where near $50! Win!
Hi Allison,
I’ve been enjoying your bangle tutorial and have spent the last few (too many) hours scouring the web for straight sided bangle molds like yours. Can you please tell me where you ordered yours from? I much prefer the look to curved ones. Many thanks.
Mary
I actually got my resin molds for bangles at Hobby Lobby. It’s a U.S. company and I’m not sure if they ship overseas? I did, however, see a lot of good looking options on Amazon. I know that each Amazon location differs in what they offer, but I do believe you can order from Amazon based out of another country. In fact, I bought a bunch of British DVDs from the British Amazon and they shipped them over here!
Love your project. Will try it I think. One question, how long was the process per braclet?
Mixing the resin and pouring I is SUPER fast. The longest part is curing it. Then sanding it under water to make it nice and smooth seems to take FOREVER but it’s really not that bad. All time actually for each bangle I’d say is 15-20 minutes of actual hands on time.
These bangles are Amazing, Allison! I loved your thorough tutorial. I love DIY and dabble here and there, but just haven’t tried resin yet. This looks like a great beginner resin project. Thanks for sharing all of your tips and tricks for success.
You’re quite welcome and I’m so glad to bring you over to the resin crafting side! It’s something that I tend to dabble in off and on but I just love how many things you can create with it. Pretty nifty! I hope you enjoy resin!
Your DIY jewelry is cool Allison and I’m sure MUCH better than what you found at that antique store that would have charged you an arm and a leg if you had bought it.
And like you said, I get that they’re a business and all and trying to make money, but come on! How can they justify paying most likely the same price you paid for something, and then hiking the price up like 5 or 10 times that amount?! Freakin’ nuts! Do they think that we’re made of money or something?
Anyway, what makes your bands priceless and special is not the amount you paid for, but the fact that you made them. :)