[Katherine Swift]

This question comes through email by Brent:

I am in desperate need of your help. I have been with my beautiful girlfriend for almost a year now. On my birthday she gave me a four leaf clover. Our one year is coming up. I want to do something that will mean a lot to her. She loves the clover so much. It has real sentimental value to her. I want to do something special. My idea is to put the clover in a resin and dip the back of it in 24ct gold with an engraving. Please I need to know the exact resin I should use and the catalyst. I have been experimenting on grass and things with resin and catalyst but it is not working.

Please can you give me step by step specific instructions to make this four leaf clover pendant. And the materials I should use. It would mean a lot to me.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Brent,

What a thoughtful idea!  Heres a few suggestions for you:

1.  It sounds like you’re new to resin jewelry making?  I suggest downloading a copy of my ebook.  It sounds like you have tried a few castings only to have them not turn our right.  I think my book could give you the basic information you need to get started.  Book link: 

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/books/products/resin-jewelry-making

2.  Were you hoping to dip your finished resin casting into molten gold?  If so, I don’t know of any resin that will take that kind of heat.  I would suggest finding a gold setting you like and creating a resin cabochon to go into that setting or directly casting the resin and clover into that bezel setting.

3.  Including flowers and such in resin can be tricky.  Have you sealed your items before including them in the resin?  They need to be sealed to make sure they don’t take on water marks or so that the moisture in the item (if it is fresh) doesn’t interfere with curing.

4.  As for which resin to use, I suppose that depends on how you go about making this pendant.  If I were going to do it, I would go the route of finding a gold bezel that I liked, then try to cast the resin and clover in that setting.  I would then use the Resin Obsession crystal doming resin as the resin for that project. You can find it in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/resin-obsession-crystal-doming-resin

You mentioned which resin and catalyst to use.  Whichever you use, the important part is that you need to use ones designed for each other (e.g. don’t use a resin by one manufacturer and a catalyst from another) and be sure to follow their directions EXACTLY.  Not all resins mix the same way!

I suggest working with a few more test pieces first before trying the clover. 

Good luck!

[Author]

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