Making Resin Rings

Making resin rings with direct pour and stone setting techniques. You can make stunning memorial, keepsake and breastmilk rings in a variety of different ways with our settings and some of our Etsy favourites and budget options.

This technique is ideal for our exclusive hybrid rings here which are great for direct pouring because the walls are curved over, meaning the resin can’t pop out again. You also have the option to use the mould included in the kit to make a couple of cabochons then choose your favourite to glue into the setting and top coat.

Umbilical Cord and Breastmilk Ring Tutorial Video

To learn how to preserve the milk here’s the full blog with instructions and the video:

You can read more about working with ashes in our How To Make Cremation Ashes Jewellery blog here (click).

This video is dedicated to Liz Williams, whose granddaughter Courtney has kindly let me use Liz’s ashes in this video, Courtney and is a loyal client of mine over at Tree of Opals. If you would like me to make you something please get in touch on the Tree of Opals website and although I do own both businesses, I try to keep the messages for each business separate.

You can read more about working with hair in our How To Make Lock Of Hair Jewellery blog here (click). Remember: every customer’s hair or fur will come a different colour or texture. Let them know before accepting an order that the results will vary and some hair isn’t going to be visible. White and light blonde hair/fur is notorious for going clear, “white” hair is often translucent rather than truly white and is a huge reason for complaints. Include this in your terms and conditions (even if they don’t bother to read them, you’re covered) and make sure to send proof photos.

We include these PDF downloadable instructions with the breastmilk kits for preserving the milk. After your first order you’ll receive a reasonable 15% off future purchases*. If you’d like to work towards your own preservation methods please read our breastmilk jewellery making blogs!

Firstly, when making breastmilk jewellery send your client a breastmilk sending kit, see our Worldwide Sourcing Guides here – including the UK, USA, Australia and Canada (more countries coming soon) for details on the tubes we recommend, which are also suitable for heating directly although that’s not needed for this method.

Tutorials for Resin Rings

You’ll need the following supplies

one of our DIY ring kits
the breastmilk version of the kits contain:

• a single silicone mould, although we’re not using it in this video
• a single sachet of our own Breastmilk Preservation Powder
• a ring setting
• vinyl gloves
• pearly breastmilk sparkle mix
• a dust mask
• label backing paper
• some sandpaper
• 3 cocktail sticks
• 10g UV resin

You’ll also need your client’s preserved, dried and ground breastmilk and a small piece of your client’s umbilical cord/placenta powder or cremation ashes.  We ask them to only send half a cord stump, not including the clip! That way, if it’s lost in the post they can send a little more.

•  LED UV lamp**
• UV top coat (which today I used in place of resin)
• side cutting pliers
• at least one white pestle and mortar
• a tiny measuring spoon
• and a ring clamp

FILLING THE RING
Put your ring in the side of the ring clamp
You can also prop it up in an egg cup wrapped with cling film with a slit, or propped up in WhiteTack on a ring dish.
Anything which can be easily transferred into the UV lamp and keeps it up level
On the label backing paper put some pearly breastmilk sparkle mix, a tiny drop of resin and add breastmilk powder.
I’m using our UV top coat today instead of resin because it’s easier to work with and never leaves a sticky residue.
I don’t use it for every piece because it’s a little pricier than our regular UV resin which comes in the making breastmilk jewellery kit.
I wouldn’t use it for a bead or a heart necklace for instance.
It’s no problem using the resin in the kit but I definitly recommend buying the top coat just for a finishing layer of larger pieces

Mix the powder and resin well with the cocktail stick and put a little drop in the ring, so it’s just about half full
Cure in a UV lamp**

SWIRLING ON A GALAXY EFFECT
Clients absolutely love a galaxy effect, so I’m adding some of the pearly breastmilk sparkle mix which comes in the kits.
Add a little bit of resin then take the tiniest bit of the pearly sparkles on a toothpick
This is pearly purple and I’m adding a couple of the opalescent flakes
Swirl in gently, you’ll notice it’s only visible at certain angles so it’s a beautiful surprise when it catches the light just so
We sell six different colours of the pearly breastmilk sparkle mixes, also known as “ghost pigments” because they don’t really contain any pigment.
The photos on our website definitely don’t do them justice!
Cure again

DOMING WITH TOP COAT
I find it easiest to pick up a little top coat directly from the bottle and drop onto the piece
If you add too much, just use the side of the toothpick and roll it around in the resin to pick some up
I like it just slightly domed, if it’s too high it’s more prone to being knocked

FULLY CURE TWICE
Allow the ring to cool completely after curing then cure again
The resin can’t pop out of this ring because it’s curved inwards at the top making it perfect for direct pours or cabochon stone setting

**Which UV Lamp To Use

I’m using a 48w Sun3 lamp with a low heat setting but any UV lamp or torch will do when making breastmilk jewellery. We sell a USB powered mini lamp here (UK only, sorry – here’s the USA version). We don’t recommend you use daylight unless it’s very bright and sunny and you work in extremely thin layers. We had a client contact us this week and we’re replacing their DIY breastmilk ring after the resin exploded out of the centre after being cured on the windowsill. The sunlight had only cured the very top layer, underneath was still liquid.

If you add too much pigment to a piece too it won’t cure, I’ve had beads that you can crush in your fingertips made by new artists that added too much resin sparkle mix.

Adding Hair

If you want to add hair when making breastmilk jewellery then you can cut a little and add it along with, or instead of, the umbilical cord. I find it a lot easier to shape it into a mould though.
There’s a video linked down below teaching you how to do that and set it in a rubover setting
This is one of our exclusive hybrid settings meaning you can pour directly into it like I’m doing here or you can glue in a cabochon then dome it with a top coat to add extra security

Now relax and do some crafting!

Please note, this Umbilical Cord and Breastmilk Ring Tutorial contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a small income based on your purchases from Amazon and Etsy etc. This affiliate income is really helpful to me to support my family and if you’d like to know how I set it all up please get in touch (blogs coming soon!).
Nikki
pronouns – they/them

*terms apply – some products aren’t included such as settings and findings, sorry.