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Handmade Jewelry Using Real Flowers: Botanical Beauty Under Resin

Introduction

Delicate flowers, ferns, and leaves grace jewelry with natural botanical beauty. Preserved in clear resin, blossoms transform into timeless keepsakes. This guide covers how to safely seal real pressed flowers in resin to create stunning pendants, paperweights, rings and more.

Learn key steps like drying flowers, planning compelling designs, mixing resin, and troubleshooting issues. Find inspiration in creative ways to highlight nature’s fleeting finery through floral resin jewelry.

Benefits of Using Real Flowers for Jewelry

Real pressed flowers offer many advantages for handmade jewelry:

• Preserve the ephemeral beauty of flowers at their peak freshness.
• Each piece incorporates unique natural variations.
• Convey sentimentality through meaningful blooms.
• Botanicals complement many styles from elegant to bohemian.
• Lightweight finished resin jewelry is comfortable for all day wear.
• Simple to master technique with gorgeous artistic results.
• Resin seals flowers securely for years of enjoyment.
• Makes memorable gifts using flowers with personal significance.

Best Flowers and Plants for Preserving in Resin

For clarity and durability, choose flowers with these qualities:

• Delicate and thin, transparent petals
• Pale pastel colors rather than dark pigments
• Minimal thick sap or moisture content
• Petals that dry smooth and flat
• Small to medium blossoms
• Uniform thickness of all parts

Examples of excellent flowers for resin include baby’s breath, carnations, ferns, pansies, petunias, and snapdragons. Avoid succulents, wax-based flowers, and heavily textured options.

Helpful Supplies for Working with Flowers

In addition to fresh flowers and floral resin, useful supplies include:

• Flower Press – Absorbent papers compress flowers flat as they dry.
• Silica Gel – Crystals rapidly pull moisture from delicate flowers.
• Flower Shears – Sharp garden shears cut flower stems cleanly.
• Flower Drying Crystals – Borax mixtures preserve flower color and flexibility.
• Tweezers – Manipulate tiny flowers carefully into resin.
• Botanical books – Identify flowers and plan pleasing combinations.
• Propane torch – Releases stubborn air bubbles from resin.
• Sealants – Protective finishes like polyurethane spray.

How to Dry and Prepare Flowers for Resin Jewelry

Follow these steps for optimal dried flower quality:

Step 1: Harvest Flowers

Cut blossoms just before or as soon as they reach full bloom to capture peak beauty. Select perfect specimens free of blemishes.

Step 2: Prepare Stems

Remove leaves, trim stems short, and slice stems diagonally to maximize exposed surface area.

Step 3: Press Between Pages

Arrange flowers between absorbent blotters or newsprint. Stack pressing papers and weight overnight to flatten.

Step 4: Dry With Desiccant

Place flowers in an airtight container with moisture-wicking silica gel for 1-5 days depending on thickness.

Step 5: Condition Flowers

Optional – soak 30 minutes in a solution like borax and glycerin to restore flexibility.

Step 6: Arrange Designs

Group pressed flowers aesthetically on a flat surface ready to embed into resin.

Step-by-Step Guide to Flower Resin Jewelry

Follow this process for stunning preserved flower jewelry:

Step 1: Choose Flowers

Select fresh, unblemished flowers that dry thin and somewhat translucent.

Step 2: Press Flowers

Sandwich blooms between blotting papers weighted overnight, or use a flower press setup.

Step 3: Dry Fully

Desiccate flowers in silica gel airtight containers 1-5 days until crisply dry.

Step 4: Plan Designs

Arrange dried flowers attractively into jewelry designs and secure with adhesive.

Step 5: Mix Resin

Stir measured resin and hardener per directions. Pour into jewlery bezel molds or pendant trays.

Step 6: Embed Flowers

Gently press arranged flowers into resin, ensuring they are fully submerged and coated.

Step 7: Release Bubbles

Use a craft stick to bring up trapped bubbles, or lightly torch to help them release.

Step 8: Allow Resin to Set

Leave flowers undisturbed in resin as it hardens fully, generally a full 24 hours.

Step 9: Unmold Jewelry

Once resin has completely cured, carefully pop pieces out of molds.

Step 10: Finish and Protect

Apply liquid resin over the backside to seal in flowers fully. Add jewelry findings.

Innovative Techniques for Captivating Flower Jewelry

Beyond basic pressing, explore these methods for one-of-a-kind floral art jewelry:

• Preserved bouquets – Arrange sprays of tiny blossoms to encapsulate forever as floral baubles.
• Pressed plant collages – Compose layered herbariums sandwiching dried ferns, leaves, and flowers between thin resin layers.
• Fossilized flowers – Encase single delicate flowers suspended in thick blocks of clear resin like insects trapped in amber.
• Dimensional flowers – Affix pressed flowers onto jewelry using wire or beads to create lifelike blossoms with depth.
• Flower micromosiac jewelry – Dice pressed flowers into tiny bits. Inlay like tiled mosaics into pendant trays or bangles.
• Secret flower messages – Press blooms between glass like hidden love notes visible only from an angle or when backlit.
• Etched flower silhouette jewelry – Submerge blooms in thin resin, let cure, then etch around the impressions left behind for delicate outlines.
• Dried flower confetti jewelry – Blend fine flower petal confetti into resin and pour into domes or cubes for whimsical embedded sparkle.

Inspiring Jewelry Designs Featuring Real Pressed Flowers

Looking for ways to highlight pressed flowers in resin jewelry creations? Here are beautiful options:

• Delicate flower bouquet pendants
• Vibrant blushing rose rings
• Minimalist flower silhouette necklaces
• Vintage flower dome lockets and keepsakes
• Pressed ferns and flowers floating in clear freeform paperweights
• Whimsical dandelion globe pendants with seed filaments captured mid-burst
• Complex decoupage collages layered with varied blossoms
• Purple and blue tiny butterfly pea flowers comprising luminous strands
• Ornate flower cameo brooches with petals framing portraits
• Ethereal moonflower and evening primrose jewelry cast by the glow of the setting sun

Troubleshooting Common Flower Jewelry Issues

Pressed flowers in resin may present challenges. Here are solutions to common problems:

Cloudy Resin – Bacteria from moisture produces cloudiness. Ensure flowers dry fully before embedding.

Bubbles Trapped Around Flowers – Bubbles cling to flower edges. Gently touch them with a tool to encourage release before resin sets.

Flowers Turning Color or Brown – Some plant pigments persist, causing discoloration over time. Stick to flowers known to hold color well in resin.

Tiny Air Bubbles on Flowers – Flowers release microscopic air bubbles during resin pouring. Use propane torch briefly on surface to pop.

Flowers Floating Up in Resin – Heavier resin slowly pushes lighter flowers upwards before setting. Allow resin to partially set before pouring full depth.

Edges Lifting From Resin – If not fully coated, flower edges may slowly curl and lift over time. Ensure resin fully submerges flowers and coats all sides.

Resin Not Curing Fully – Inhibitors on flowers can impede hardening. Wash well and dry thoroughly. Use more hardener ratio to overcome inhibitors.

White Residue on Flowers – Boric acid used for drying leaves salt deposits. Neutralize by rinsing dried flowers in water before embedding.

Safety Tips for Working with Flowers and Resin

Flowers and resin require taking proper safety precautions:

• Work in well-ventilated spaces since resin gives off fumes. Consider wearing an organic vapor respirator.
• Wear skin protection like gloves and long sleeves when handling resin to prevent skin irritation.
• Wash hands after working with flowers and resin to remove traces that can transfer to eyes or mouth.
• Avoid prolonged direct contact between resin and skin. Thoroughly wash off any resin spills immediately.
• Supervise children around resin, providing close adult monitoring. Explain that resin requires caution.
• Take care to not spill uncured resin down drains which could cause dangerous clogs.
• Never microwave resin. Only apply gentle warmth indirectly to accelerate curing.
• Store uncured resin securely away from curious children and pets since ingesting risks internal burns.

Conclusion

With quality cast resin, you can preserve delicate flowers in vivid lifelike detail as lasting jewelry keepsakes and gifts. Choose blossoms holding personal significance or match flowers to the recipient’s favorite variety or birth month bloom.

The clarity of resin showcases nature’s fleeting beauty while stopping time’s effect on the flowers. Create layered flower collages, suspended dandelion seeds, and quotes framed in petals to delighted flower and jewelry lovers.

While mastering the nuances of dried flowers and resin takes some trial and error, the glowing results are well worth the effort. Let each handmade piece become a natural work of art immortalizing nature’s bounty.