[Chelsea Cameron]

Hi,

I think I have figured out how to make breastmilk jewelry with resin. After much trial and error, I have several pieces that are a year old and have not yellowed or discolored. I’m sharing this info for people who want to make for themselves not for a business.

First I take the liquid breastmilk and flash pasteurize it in a double boiler. Then I drip it onto wax paper and put it in the dehydrator for about 10 hours. My dehydrator does not have settings it’s just a plug in I think it’s around 150 degrees. I then scrape the flakes into a pestel and grind it up, if it is greasy from a high fat content sprinkle on arrowroot powder until it becomes more powdery, I was never able to get it to a complete powder, it was still a little greasy and had small clumps that I would just continue to work with a wooden stir stick into smaller pieces. I would then mix a very small amount into the resin, like 1/64 of a tsp. I would then add 1/32 tsp of mother of pearl powder to give it a shimmer. I think all breastmilk jewelry even the very expensive professional ones contain only very small amounts of breastmilk but if all that matters to you is that your piece contain some of your breastmilk then this method should work for you. If your resin is scotch tape sticky after 72 hours of curing use a clear high gloss acrylic to seal the top. I don’t know how to post a picture directly so I will post a link to my Facebook account with pictures. https://m.facebook.com/chelsea.bailey.180?ref=bookmarks Not sure if this link will take you to my profile. I have a couple posts with pictures.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Marc,

I’m afraid your resin isn’t going to cure in an environment like this. It needs to be in the low 70’s F for curing.

[Katherine Swift]

HI Eva,

I’m sorry to hear your resin isn’t curing. This article will help: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/how-to-fix-sticky-resin/

[Katherine Swift]

If it is a polyester resin, then yes, curing with a tacky surface is normal. I talk more about that here: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/polyester-casting-resin/

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Lior,

You are on the right track. You have already mentioned the two ways you can get this done:

1. The mold. If the mold you use is made from a template with sharp edges, then those sharp edges will transfer into your casting.
2. Sanding. You can sand your pieces post-curing to give them the sharp edges you want.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Douglas,

What a great question! While I appreciate that you want to prolong the life of your resin as much as possible, I’m afraid that freezing isn’t a good idea. When the kit comes back to room temperature, condensation will form inside the bottles that can keep your resin from curing.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Samantha,

It sounds like the resin layers are curing before she applies the next layer. Try applying the next layer of resin when the previous layer is like ‘jelly’, which is probably about 30 minutes or so after you mix the resin.

This article explains more: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/what-is-the-gel-time-of-resin/

[Katherine Swift]

Hi David,

I’m sorry to say, but the surface exposed to air will remain tacky after curing. I talk more about it here:
https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/polyester-casting-resin/

[Whitney]

Here are some tips that have worked for me:

For a tacky piece, I leave it out in the sun for a few minutes after curing with the lamp. If that doesn’t work, I leave it in a bright window the next day.

For the swirls, I believe it’s caused by uneven lighting. The resin shrinks slightly and pulls away from the sides of the mold. The side that hasn’t cured enough usually gets the marks. Make sure your piece is centered under your lamp and that all sides are getting light at the same time. I have a small mirror under my light for this reason too.

I hope that helps!

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Tia,

When you say quick-curing, how quick were you hoping for?

[Carie]

I just started using uv resin for small projects like keychains and earrings. I am using a 36w uv light and curing for 2-3 minutes like bottle says. When I take the pieces out of the mold they are hard but tacky to the touch that it leaves finger prints. It also sometimes leaves rough swirling edges on the long crystal type molds. Any suggestions on how to avoid this?

[Ronni Suarez]

Hello!
I am trying to add my uncles cremains to a resin pendant for my grandmother as a keepsake. Did anyone figure this out and have pictures to show how I could go about this? I have worked with beach sand inside shells, as the example showed above. In my experience, I just kept adding sand to the shell through the curing process for the sand to show. If you want, email me and I will send you pictures of how that turned out. But for my Uncles Ashes, they seem to be a bit thinner and finer than the beach sand. So I don’t want to add to muh along with my 3d printed filament lettering that I am throwing into the first layer. Any adivce and help, I wold greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!
Ronni Suarez

[Nada]

After one month curing i have faced same problem with my resined coasters using cup of cold water…
No problem with mugs cold and hot neither with hot cup of coffee…

[Katherine Swift]

A vacuum chamber is doing exactly what I would expect it to. It tends to bring the bubbles to the top (like beer) where they don’t always pop. Pressure casting is a better choice. Leave it under pressure the entire curing time.

[Katherine Swift]

Hmm. I wouldn’t expect them to cause the resin to cure soft. How long has the bangle been curing?