Resin Jewelry Making Forum

This question came by email from Leslie:

I?m looking for a mold to make clear resin beads. The idea would be to have the inside of the bead have a printed that can be read. Do you know where I can find such a thing?

I tried creating beads with resin before. I did have to create my own mold for this though. I am in love with that blue liquid silicone from MicroMark. It will take the exact form of my favorite bead size, then I just fill it with resin. I did have trouble peeling the silicone out of the hole.  And it was a bit time consuming, which is why I dont create much beads anymore. But that is the only way I could think of getting a bead mold. Youtube has good tutorials.

Leslie, I would agree with Razz, you probably need to make your own molds.  Use clay to make a template of something you like (mold the clay into the shape of the bead) or find something that already works for you (marble, etc).  I have never had luck trying to make the mold with the hole in place, so I either don't include one or make sure I fill it first.  (Like if you're using a bead you already have, fill the hole with wax to keep the silicone out.)

Make sure the widest/biggest part of the bead will be on the bottom when you pour silicone.  Once everything has cured, you may need to cut down the sides of your silicone to get your piece out.  You can hold it together again with rubber bands when you pour next time.

Actually, this topic sounds like a future Resin Obsession video post.  Thanks for the inspiration!

You can use 2 part silicone mold putty to make bead molds, hole included. It is quick and easy.