Thanks to social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram, resin jewelry is becoming an incredibly popular way to make your own jewelry. Resin, according to Mixer Direct craft blog, is "a naturally-occurring organic compound that is sourced from plants. It usually consists of noncrystalline, liquid substance that is fusible, making it an effective alternative to plastic and other forms of design." As an alternative to plastic, resin presents artists with a more sustainable way of creating their own jewelry. To learn how to make my own jewelry, I interviewed and filmed the founders of Sun Room Designs, a local jewelry company in Isla Vista. The founders and artists are Amelia Busenhart and Shea Schwennicke, who beachcomb the cliffs of Devereux beach (between Campus Point and Coil Oil Point), collecting beautiful flowers and other plants that they then dip in resin and make into unique, sustainable, and upcycled inspired jewelry.
How to Find the Right Plants:
Our Isla Vista and UCSB campus coastline is home to a wide variety of plants, including flowers, edible fruits, ferns, and more. All you have to do is get out there and start beachcombing! When you come across beautiful flowers or the perfect ferns to make into resin earrings, you can identify them with the help of the IV Ethnobotany website, which features a map of many of the plant species found in our local environment, or mobile apps such as PlantNet, which identifies plants from pictures you take on your phone. While mobile apps may be somewhat more convenient, the IV Ethnobotany website is far more reliable for accurately identifying plants and allows you to gain your own knolwedge about plant identification. The site was created by Professor Jeoffrey Hoelle and his team of anthropology students.
Image from IV Ethnobotany site of sourgrass plant. The yellow flowers seen in the video below are from a sour grass plant.
Materials You Will Need:
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plants you gathered while beachcombing
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drying agent (can purchase from your local craft store)
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resin (can purchase from your local craft store)
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gloves (not necessary, but will help keep your fingers from getting sticky)
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cups (for pouring the resin into, preferably glass or reusable)
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tooth picks or nails (for adjusting the plants in the resin)
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molds (can also reuse bottle caps)
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earring (the part that connects to the resin and goes through your ear lobe, can purchase at local craft store)
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Note: Make sure to do this outside or in a well ventilated area to avoid having your house smell like resin.
Image by Natalie Plumb
Step by Step:
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Gather flowers while beachcombing. Separate out similar flowers to create a matching pair of earrings.
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Stir resin in a cup (reusable preferably) for two minutes. Pour resin into molds.
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Use a toothpick to place the flower in the desired part of the mold. Press down on any parts of the flower/plant that are sticking out of the resin.
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Let molds dry for 24 hours or until completely hardened.
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Remove earrings from molds, then connect to earring piece. Enjoy!
The Story Behind Sunroom Designs: Amelia
Sources:
https://www.mixerdirect.com/blogs/mixer-direct-blog/what-is-resin
https://ivplants.anth.ucsb.edu/database/interesting
Subjects: Amelia Busenhart and Shea Schwennicke