It isn’t a day at the beach if I’m not looking for sea glass. I love how it comes to shore with a soft and frosted finish. If you don’t have a beach nearby, don’t worry. You’re going to learn how to make your own sea glass with resin.
You’ll need these resin supplies:
- Resin Obsession Super Clear Resin
- Castin’ Craft mold release and conditioner
- Resin mold with round cavities of varying sizes, about one-half to 1-inch wide
- Reusable measuring cup
- Stirring Sticks
- Disposable Spoon (optional)
- Crystal microglitter
- Resin Obsession transparent green pigment
- Rolling pin
- Silicone mat
STEP 1: Prep the mold
Spray the mold with the Castin’ Craft mold release and conditioner, and leave it to dry for at least 30 minutes.
STEP 2: Measure and mix the resin
Measure 1 ounce of Part A resin and 1/2 ounce of Part B hardener of your Resin Obsession super clear resin for crafts into separate cups. Mix them together until clear and streak-free.
If you haven’t mixed epoxy resin before, don’t sweat it. You can learn how to mix resin and hardener in five easy steps.
STEP 3: Color the resin
Drop a small amount of transparent pigment into the mix until it’s the color you want. Then, add a pinch of microglitter and combine. This is the secret to the realistic sea glass look.
💡 Pro tip: Search images of sea glass and keep them nearby while you add the epoxy color. This will help you get realistic-looking glass.
STEP 4: Add to the mold
Pour the mixture into the mold until half-full. Then and leave to partially set. For the super clear resin, this takes about 1 to 2 hours.
STEP 5: Remove the resin from the mold
You’re ready to work the resin when the surface is no longer a liquid, but you can dent it.
Pull the resin out of the mold with a soft, but firm object. Don’t worry about getting all of it. You can pick off any extra bits left inside after the resin hardens completely.
STEP 6: Shape the resin
Here’s the core step of how to make sea glass with resin so it looks like real sea glass. Tear the resin into pieces to make sea glass for small jewelry or crafts. For a decent-sized pendant, leave the blob whole. Shape the resin roughly with your hands and put it on a non-stick mat.
Don’t worry about fingerprints. This will frost the surface, which is a good thing for realism. Most of the fingerprints will disappear once the resin fully cures.
Use a rolling pin to lightly squish the piece of resin to mimic the thickness of old glass.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: If you’re using a rolling pin from your kitchen, don’t use it for food again. Otherwise, you can use a piece of PVC pipe for this step.
STEP 7: Finish curing
Leave the resin to set for at least 4-5 hours. Then, you are free to drill the resin charms and do as you wish with your faux sea glass.
Ready to learn how to make your own sea glass, but want more guidance?
I get it. Who wants to spend an afternoon making something only to find it’s something you wouldn’t show anyone!
That’s why I wrote the PDF ebook Resin Fundamentals. I help beginners get started with the simple steps they need to make something that they can’t wait to show off. Buy now, and it’ll arrive in your inbox in minutes!
Unpublished Blog Posts of Resin Obsession, LLC © 2023 Resin Obsession, LLC
This is really cool. I’m been seeing a lot of designs made with sea glass lately, but I have yet to find any. Thank you for sharing your tutorial.
Thanks,
Linda @ MixedKreations.com/blog
Nicely done!
Great tutorial, I think I just may try this. Thanks for posting.
Pat
I love your work!I saw this ring and know that they use resin. Now i wonder how they did this. Can you explain that to me? The hardest thing is that the resin is on the outside of the ring.I hope to hear from you. By the way, sorry for my Englisch, a’m dutch 😉
@Ellen,
Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to know how this was done without seeing the original ring.
Katherine,
I’d love to try this but I’d be using a different brand of epoxy resin, which is what I have at this time. Should I assume the instructions would be the same? The one place I’m getting a bit stuck on understanding is when you say “The resin is ready to be manipulated when the surface is no longer wet, but the mixture is still very soft when pushing on the underside of the mold.” I’m still pretty new to all this – do you mean when the surface is not sticky to the touch? I appreciate all your information! Thanks!
Yes, you got it! This technique will work with a different brand of resin, although the time that it’s rubbery will be different than what is talked about here.
Thank you so much! I’ll try to catch the resin at
the very first moment when it’s not tacky to the touch:)
This looks really neat. Instructions say specific amounts but does not give amounts. Can you help me in that area?
Pennie
What were you wanting the specific amounts of?
I sent an email on your forum – but I’m using a complex mold ( mermaid with detail hair and face). I want a sea glass look. For a silicon mold do I need a releasing agent
I always recommend using a mold release. It will help prolong the life of your molds and may be the only thing that allows you to get a casting out should something go wrong. You can find several in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/mold-release The Petrolease mold release on that page is my favorite for both silicone and plastic molds.
@Ellen
I was reading up on making seagrass & saw your post from 2014! My response is off subject, but at the end, you apologize for you English, as you are Dutch. (Lucky You! I’ve always wanted to explore your area of our world since I was little!)so this comment made me laugh a bit….a lot, bc your msg was perfect English. If you read other comments on most sites, esp news, you’ll notice immediately that we Americans are the worst when it comes to our own native tongue! It’s embarrassing! English & grammar no longer taught in schools for past ~15yrs! No wonder the rest of the world laugh & think we are a bunch of uneducated, ignorant bunch of people. Sadly, that is a fact for way too many Americans. Students aren’t even expected to ‘read a book’ during schooling! A Book!! I could go on & on, I won’t but thought it would be fun to write to you!!
Happy Day to You!
Sally S. Hale•Louisville, Kentucky. ,
Sally, I am not sure where you live here in the states but most schools still teach grammar and English. All my kids from grades k-9th are made to read chapter books every quarter. I know this has nothing to do with making sea glass (which I will one day) but it blew my mind when you wrote this. My kids are even still taught cursive which was taken out of the school system. But most teachers know the importance of it and still do teach it. So sad to hear where you come from this isn’t an option.
If you are making it out of resin it is not ,by definition, sea glass.
You’re right Tammy, but I hope it’s something you want to try anyway.
It would be so helpful if there was a “print “ option for the project instructions. Forgive me if there is one that I don’t see.
Hi Norma, you should be able to print directly from your browser.
Don’t call it sea glass if there is no glass… “faux sea glass” if you must have the clickbait keywords sea glass.
Can’t you just pour some thin colored resin on a flat surface like a tray mold. Cut it up in unusual shapes when cured or less. Then lightly sand it letting the color come through
I will let you know how it turns out.