Product review - ECO Resin Gift Pack from CHEMSET

You all know how much I love resin. Since my introductory course with Resin8 whilst I was still Editor of the much missed Beads & Beyond magazine, I have become more than a little bit obsessed with this versatile medium.
When CHEMSET got in touch about their new ECO Resin products, I was keen to try them and to include one of their comprehensive gift packs in our Facebook 1000 fan giveaway.

Some of you may already be familiar with CHEMSET resin products. They manufacture a wide range of cold enamelling supplies including several types of clear resin and hardener as well as colour pastes and coloured resins (check out their metallic, sparkle and glow in the dark versions!). 

Their latest product offering is this ECO resin which the manufacturers describe as being a "lightly fragranced, solvent-free, non-toxic, easy to use, versatile epoxy resin". It's called 'ECO' because of it's reduced carbon footprint and reduced environmental impact (compared to other products). I have to say that, whilst you should always use resin products in a well ventilated room, this product certainly does take the whiff out of working with these type of chemicals. I use a perfume-free barrier cream on my hands and I don't get a lot of resin on my hands these days (compared to when I first started) so I was quite surprised to discover that my fingers actually had a pleasant scent after using the products. No nasty solventy smell at all. How refreshing!

The ECO Resin Gift Pack comes all neatly packaged in a box containing Resin (50g), Hardener (25g with pipette), three mixing pots, three stirrers and a small acrylic block. There is a handy reference for mixing stuck on the inside of the lid which explains that the mixing ratio is 2:1 (resin to hardener) by weight.

To put the new resin through it's paces, I decided to try it with two different mini-projects. I have had a silicone mould from WOW! Embossing Powders for a while and I knew it would be perfect for resin. The heart shapes have a flat back that would be ideal for a papercraft project.

I mixed up 4.5g of finished resin following the manufacturer instructions. That required 3g of resin and 1.5g of hardener. I stirred to combine the chemicals but not so vigorously that I mixed in air bubbles!




I had a rummage in my box of flower beads and discovered some aluminium rose beads that I bought from Beads Unlimited a long long time ago. I think I've used these more on cards than I have in jewellery! They still sell some similar ones but I think these are a little bit bigger.

I added a little layer of resin into the bottom of the largest heart shape. Remembering that I needed to put the flowers in upside down (!) I added in the roses and arranged them a little with a cocktail stick. I added the remainder of the resin, filling the mould to the top. I left this to cure in a dust-free place. 

The instructions state that items will cure in around 16 hours but I left mine for 24 hours as my bead room isn't the warmest room in the house. After this time, the heart popped straight out of the mould.

I added the heart to a gift tag shaped card, tied with ribbon and stuck onto a plain white card blank. A quick 'with love' stamp, embossed with WOW's red embossing powder and my Mum's birthday card was finished.

My second project was one that appealed to my geeky side. I bought a random bag of resistors once when my husband was taking an age in Screwfix because I liked all the different colours. I had no idea what I'd do with them but I knew I could make something ir-resistor-able (sorry!).

I chose one of these 2x1 inch pendant blanks from BronzeMetal on Etsy and arranged the resistors in a pleasing pattern. I seemed to have more blue ones than anything else so it's a good job that's my favourite colour currently!

I designed a fake circuit board pattern in Powerpoint which I printed out and trimmed down to fit the pendant tray.  I glued it in place with Mod Podge and brushed over with more sealant. I left to try and then brushed on another layer of Mod Podge to ensure the paper was well and truly sealed.

Once dry, I trimmed down the wires on my resistors and glued them in place.Once the glue had dried completely, I put the pendant tray onto the acrylic block to ensure it was completely flat and so that I could transport the filled item easily. I mixed up 6g of resin (4g of resin to 2g of hardener) and added it carefully to the pendant tray to create a nice domed finish. There were a few little bubbles that rose to the surface which I got rid of by passing over the surface carefully with a naked flame.

I left to cure for 24 hours and then added a silver plated chain and clasp. I work once a month in a electronics design company so I can't wait to show them what I've made!

Overall, I've been impressed with ECO Resin. It's nice to work with resin that doesn't smell bad and the results on the two projects I have tried so far have been the same high quality that I have come to expect from CHEMSET resins.


CHEMSET ECO Resin products can be purchased from their listed stockists.

Book review - Button Lover's Jewelry from Leisure Arts

I have bought and reviewed many of the Leisure Arts booklets over the years and when I found this one, I was keen to get my hands on it!

This publisher specialises in craft techniques and you can choose from a variety of titles covering everything from crochet to quilting. Many contain projects written by a single designer whilst others (like this one) are a collection of tutorials from several designers.

This is classed as a booklet rather than a book as at 32 pages, it is quite thin! However, packed into the pages are 16 different projects to make from rings to earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

The first page is a visual reference to the tutorials (as is usual in these booklets) and is a quick indication of the variety of designs and styles you can choose from.

One of the first projects to catch my eye was a denim cuff that uses buttons to both fasten and embellish. I love to find designs that allow me to combine different crafting mediums and also opportunities to recycle and re-use materials. I am not accomplished at sewing but I do like to incorporate fabric into jewellery as it is a wonderful source of texture and is so comfortable to wear.  

There are several projects in this booklet that require a small amount of sewing or that add ribbon to the mix.

Looking through the designs included in this collection, I started to think about how easy the projects are (and how inexpensive to make!). I think this book would make a lovely gift for a novice jewellery maker (I know my thirteen year old niece would love it!), especially if you included a bag of beautiful buttons to get them started.

Just look how easy this sparkly button bracelet is!

By the time I reached the last pages of the booklet, I was already planning my own button bracelet. I knew I had some of the pewter coloured buttons used in this design that also uses leather thong for a rustic look. 

When I looked in my stash, I found a range of metallic buttons that I remember buying from Totally Beads at the Hobbycrafts show a few years ago. However, I also found some rather lovely vintage beads that I'd forgotten all about. I bought them in a charity shop (always check the button basket in your local thrift stores!) a long time ago just because they were so pretty. Teamed with some brown toned simple buttons, I love how my design turned out!

Button Lover's Jewelry is published by LeisureArts and is priced at just £5.99 (that's less than 40p a project!). It's available to buy from GMC Publications.

Kit review - Jessie necklace from Spellbound Bead Co

We tried out this kit to make a flowery bead-stitched necklace perfect for an Indian summer.

The Jessie necklace kit has a difficulty rating of 6 out of 10 so it's a great project for a beginner to intermediate beader. The pack contains all the beads required including some bright and colourful small dagger beads and some interesting 'Candy' beads from Preciosa which are domed on one side and flatter on the other.

Also included are clearly stepped instructions and diagrams to keep your beading on track as well as a needle and beading thread. Just add a bead mat, some clear nail polish/glue and a pair of sharp scissors and you are good to go.

The flowers in the necklace are constructed separately to the beaded strands so it's a nice easy progression into the more complicated parts of the project. I love the colours in this kit but I am already thinking that I'd like to try this design again using traditional daisy colours. Spellbound stock the white dagger beads I'd need as well as the yellow candy beads. I probably still have enough of the green seed beads left from this project!

Once the flowers are complete, you link them up in a double chain of green seed beads. I have to admit that I got myself into quite a tangle to start with (the petals are quite spiky and seem to catch the thread very easily). I found the best approach was to keep the bracelet flat on the mat and to keep checking the path of my thread to ensure it didn't get caught. This becomes even more important when you do the second row of linking chain!

Here's the finished necklace with an easy bead tag clasp. It's really delicate and pretty. I just hope we get some late season sun so I can get to wear it and show it off!

The Jessie necklace kit is £11.50 and available from the Spellbound website.

Book Review - How to make Hammered Wire Jewellery by Linda Jones

We test drive expert wireworker, Linda Jones' latest book.

I own many of Linda's books on wirework and I knew that if these were anything to go by, her new book was going to be full of achievable and wearable designs. I wasn't disappointed. 

Whether you are an experienced wireworker or just starting out in this addictive medium, you will be certain to find some new techniques and ideas amongst the stunning pieces of jewellery in this book. 

And, as is usual for this type of publication, there is a section at the back covering all the basic skills you will need to complete the projects. With nothing more than basic jewellery pliers, a hammer and steel block you too can be creating striking and original pieces with or without beads. 

Divided into four main sections, the projects range from necklaces, links and pendants made using a 'feathering' technique — flattening and spreading wire by stroking with your hammer rather than bashing it, an entire section of shaping wire into freeform 'doodles', another on 'scrunching' wire into frames and focals and finally, a chapter of projects that will inspire you to combine multiple techniques into single pieces.

Classic design using modern techniques

One of my favourite tutorials from the 'Feathers' section is this flower brooch that can also be adapted into a pendant or into a focal on a necklace. One of the great things about this book is that Linda always provides further inspiration for adapting and extending each project. Each idea is beautifully and clearly photographed so you are able to see exactly how to recreate the designs at home.

Learn to wiggle wire into freeform shapes

For a more modern look, why not have a go at a 'Wiggles' necklace from the 'Shapes' chapter which can incorporate your favourite glass or gemstone beads and give you practice in binding wire as well as shaping and hammering.





If you are a regular reader of reviews at The Beading Library, you'll know that we always like to try out a project or two from our books. This time around, I really was spoilt for choice. In the end, I looked at what gauges of wire I had in my  rather chaotic wire drawer and chose a couple of projects to try using 1mm bare copper wire.

'Hoopla Spiral Earrings'

These hoopla spiral earrings are from the 'Get Creative' chapter and were really quick to make. The texturing on the hoops was achieved using a ball pein hammer (the ball end!).

Don't be afraid to combine techniques from more than one project!

I had some gorgeous 8mm Fluorite rounds left over from a previous project so I made a bracelet that combined techniques from a couple of projects in Linda's book — 'Hinged Links' and 'Ring Chain Bracelet'.
I also followed the instructions at the back of the book to make a wire clasp.

I will definitely be trying some of the other designs in this great title and might even see about getting myself one of Linda's Whammer hammers too as it is the perfect tool for flattening wire without marking it. Watch this space!

You can buy 'How to make Hammered Wire Jewellery' from Amazon, priced at £12.08ISBN - 978-1-78221-298-0

We have a copy of this book to give away to one lucky reader! Simply comment on this post and tell us about your adventures in wire! We will pick a winner at random, after midday on Friday 13th May (lucky for some!).

Good luck!