Beach Themed Jewelry from Real Sand and Shells!

A few days ago I was watching a tutorial on youtube. It was how to make a Beachy Coaster at Craft Klatch and thought it was cute. Many other have been posting their own creations on Craft Klatch's facebook page and decided to try something with it myself. Here is what I came up with as a test.

Shortly after posting these I was asked to make a tutorial on how I made these but I did not take any step by step photos while making the these rings. But, I did decide to make a pendant with the same steps so this is what you are viewing now!

First off what you will need:

• Resin - I used a mix of Easy Cast resin that I got from my local craft store and Little Window resin. You can buy it here.
• Gloves, cups, sticks, and timer - for your resin
• Paint - I used some cheap acrylic paint in the colors of Turquoise, Green Clover, and Bright Blue
• Paint brush and Mixing area - for your paint
• Jewelry blank - make sure it has some kind of side to it. I got mine from Candy Tiles they all sorts of shapes and sizes!
• Sand - I harvested mine from the local beach :) but bought sand will work just as well.
• Shells - I also got these from the beach as well as bought some for color.

So first thing you want to do is cover and protect your work area. I have a silicone mat for me to work on. Resin will not stick to silicone so even if it cures there it will still peal right off! The easiest and cheapest way to protect your area is to use waxed paper. Tape it down and it works just as well as silicone. Next be sure you wear protection for your cloths or wear some thing old that you do not care about getting dirty. When crafting it will not all ways be a clean experience. From here you are ready to get crafting!

Step 1. Paint your area. I found a mix of these three colors work for the ocean that I like.

I use mostly Turquoise with just a drop each of the Green Clover and Bright Blue. Mix it up well and paint away! It should look something like this:

I only painted the area that would not be covered by the sand but you can paint the whole thing if you want. Also if you want to do a first layer of white before hand it might look better. I will try that out another time :)
Set this a side for it to dry while you mix your resin.

Step 2. Mixing your resin. This is where I used the easy cast resin. Mix one part A with one part B. Make sure they are equal! Follow the directions and you will be fine! You will not need much for this project so if you where all ready working on something and just want to use your left over for something this would be perfect! If you mixed a batch get another cup and pour about this much in it

See the red line? I did say you would not need much!

Step 3. Mix in your sand. You will use more sand then resin. Keep adding sand until it makes kind of like this paste.

I know it looks really gross but trust me it will be fine!

Step 4. Add the sand to your area.

 Make sure you clean around the rim. Once it cures it will be there forever!

Step 4. Add your shells! If you have a large amount of shells the look through be sure to pick them out before starting this project. It will save you from having unsure moments on what you want. After choosing your shells stick them into the sand.

The resin in the sand will be the glue for the shells as well. Push them in good to make sure they will stay there once it is cured!

Step 5. Cover your work from hair, dust, and stray bugs and walk away! It will take about 12 to 24 hours to cure so let it do its thing!

Step 6. Time for make an ocean! Mix some resin! This is where I used the Little Windows bran of resin but you can still use Easy cast for this as well. Pour some resin in another cup yet again (about the same as last time) but this time we will color it ever so slightly! I use the bright blue acrylic paint to color my resin. USE VERY LITTLE!

This will be all you need to just lightly tint your resin a nice blue color for your ocean!

Step 7. Add your lightly blue resin in the ocean area! Do not stress over this part the resin will flow like water into the areas. Only add a little at a time so you do not over fill tho.

 Then cover and let it cure again! When you get back the next day you will be all done and ready to use!

I have made a necklace, earrings, and three rings so far like this!
These are a fun look and easy to do! HAVE FUN!!!

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