Rainbow Resin Glitter Earrings

Although I've been experimenting with resin, these free form backless bezel earrings are new territory for me. The glitter appears to float inside the wire frame in an almost holographic way. They are vibrant and have nice depth. I entered this project with no real plan, but some ideas to try. In fact, my original idea was to use rainbow colored resin in layers. That went nowhere. Here's what I've come up with...

Clear 2-part epoxy resin

Glitter - rainbow colors

White glue like Elmer's

Scotch tape

Popsicle sticks for mixing and a container to mix in

Wax paper

Copper wire - 22g or heavier

Earring findings

Cut 2 pieces of wire about 6" each. Use found objects to shape the wire into earring dangle bezels. Twist the wires where they cross tightly a few times. Try to keep the wire as flat as possible.

After shaping the wire bases, I stuck them to scotch tape for backings. Press the tape on as firmly as possible. I'm trying scotch tape instead of packing tape for this project because it was hard to unstick the shapes from the packing tape. Stick your wire shape to the tape to make a backing. Press, press, press.

Then look for gaps. Gaps are not your friends. They cause leaks. Anywhere you see a space run some white glue around the outside edges. Let the glue dry.

(This was suggested by Amethyst Star in my last resin comments)

Note: I also used the glue to make some shapes that I thought would be useful as bezels. I was wrong. They shrank and wouldn't hold any resin - don't do this.

One great thing about the tape is that you get a sticky surface to help secure things into the bezel. In this project, you'll use it to place the glitter.

Sprinkle glitter in rows in rainbow order:

ROY G BIV

You can go as light or as heavy as you want with the glitter. Some mixing at the edges is good.

Or the closest approximation you have.

Gently apply pressure to stick glitter to the tape. You can leave the excess or shake it off.

Set up your bezels on a sheet of wax paper.

Mix the resin according to package instructions and set it aside for 10 - 20 minutes the bubbles to rise and pop.

Scoop out any remaining bubbles.

Using a stick, scoop out resin and slowly fill the bezels. Ideally, you will wait for the resin to spread out and fill each one. But if your impatient like me, it make leak out over the top.

If it leaks over, do the best you can to scrape away the extra. The thinner the excess, the better for trimming it away later.

Put a little resin on the wax paper. This will be your resin test patch to make sure it's cured.

Allow to set overnight.

Yes! The scotch tape was much easier to remove than the packing tape. It did still leave a residue, but that comes off with solvent. Or you can put more resin over it.

I had quite a bit of excess to trim (with a scissor), but they looked fine afterwards.

Make a 3mm loop at the top and wind the rest of the wire around the stem. (Look at my zipper earring tutorial for more on wrapped loops.)

Note: Yes, these photos are from another project with the same loops.

Add ear wires or posts. These are light enough for small findings.

Super fun and sparkly. Enjoy your rainbows!