Faux Wood & Resin Ring

Wood and resin rings.

You’ve seen them advertised on social media and looked up the tutorials online, hoping to make your own version, only to discover that the process requires the use of a lot of power tools that you don’t own and have no desire to purchase for the sake of making one ring, even if it is really, really cool looking.

In this tutorial, I will walk you step-by-step through the process of making your own Faux Resin & Wood Ring using inexpensive and easy to use materials purchased from your local craft store.

No power tools required!

Step 1: Gathering Your Materials

Materials:

1. Two-part Resin
2. Polymer Clay (3-5 colors)
3. Amazing Mold Putty (or other bake-able mold making product)
4. Roller or pasta machine
5. Tooth picks
6. Strip of paper
7. X-acto knife
8. Sandpaper
9. Oil paints
10. Resin dye
11. Circle cutter

Step 2: Determining the Ring Band Size

Before constructing the finished ring, we need to make a replica that will be used to create the mold for the final ring. The first step in this process is fashioning a ring band that fits your finger. To make the ring band:

1. Cut a strip of paper to the width that you want the ring band. Half-an-inch appears to be the average width for one of these rings
2. Wrap the paper around your finger until you find your desired fit. Cut the excess.
3. Roll out some polymer clay. This will determine the thickness of the ring band. Too thin, and your ring will be more delicate. Too thick, and your ring may sit uncomfortably between your fingers. An eighth-of-an-inch is a good starter thickness.
4. Lay the strip of paper on top of your polymer clay, and cut around it with an X-acto knife. Remove excess clay.
5. Wrap the clay around a small cylindrical household object with a circumference the same as your finger and connect the ends of the clay together, smoothing the seam closed. Ideally, the object you use to shape your ring will be made of metal, glass, or wood so that it can go in the oven with your your clay, but if not, gently slide the clay off the object and onto a baking sheet so that it is laying on it’s side, preserving the ring shape.
6. Bake the clay according to package instructions.
7. Let cool.

Step 3: Shaping the Ring

The second step in creating the replica ring for the molding process is to take ring band from the previous step and build up the shape of your ring with more polymer clay.

1. Add clay to the ring to build up volume.
2. Flatten the shape and create smooth sides by (Gently-- you don’t want to crack the baked ring band!) pressing the ring between a table top and another flat surface, such as the ceramic plate.
3. Once the clay is flattened, use an Xacto knife to cut away excess and create a crystal shape. Do not remove too much clay. The smaller the ring, the less area you will have for the resin later.
4. Once you have your desired shape, bake the clay according to package instructions.
5. Let cool.
6. Use sandpaper to smooth ring if needed.

Step 4: Molding the Ring

In order to make your faux resin and wood ring, you will need to make two molds.

1. Follow the instructions on the mold making product of your choice.
2. Make a mold of the ring you created in Step Three. The mold should leave one side of the ring exposed, as shown in the bottom half of Picture 4.2.
3. Once the mold has cured, remove the replica ring from the mold.
4. Make a second identical mold by repeating steps 4.1-4.3
5. Remove the “stump” from your second mold where your finger would go in an actual ring.
6. Set molds aside for now.

Step 5: Creating the Wood Grain

Before beginning this step, decide on the general color for your wood grain, and select 3-5 complimenting shades of polymer clay that match your desired aesthetic. Ideally, you will need at least one light shade (white, beige, light gray etc.) and one dark shade (black, dark brown, etc.) with one to two medium shades as well.

Once you have selected your clay:

1. Using a roller or pasta machine, flatten each of the colors.
2. Cut the flattened clay into thin strips approximately 2 inches long.
3. Arrange the strips into groups, alternating the colors randomly.
4. Use a roller or pasta machine to flatten the groups so that the strips blend together.
5. Stack the groups.
6. Roll out the stack so that it is one long, flat strip.
7. Cut the strip into 2-inch segments again.
8. Repeat steps 5.5 through 5.7 until you have created your desired wood grain.

Step 6: Molding the "Wood" Ring

Moving on to the actual construction of the wood grain portion of the ring. Some of the following steps may seem unnecessary, but I've found that this is the best process for preserving the wood grain pattern while creating the ring band.

1. Take your finished wood grain strip and cut it into segments one last time. These segments should be slightly larger than the size of your finished ring.
2. Stack the segments.
3. Place your replica ring (created in Step Three) on top of the stack, and cut around it so that the stack is the approximate shape of the ring at the base and slightly shorter at the top where the resin will go.
4. Take an X-acto knife and cut into the clay, distressing it and creating a splintered look.
5. Place wood grain clay inside the mold without the stump.
6. Continue to distress the clay once it is inside the mold, cleaning out enough space for where we will pour the resin.
7. With the clay still inside the mold, place the replica ring on top of the clay and align it with the edges of the mold to use as a guide for the next step.
8. Using an X-acto knife or a circle clay cutter the size of your finger, cut out and remove the clay from the circle in order to create the ring band.
9. Bake the clay according to package instructions.
10. Let cool.

Step 7: Adding the Resin

1. Remove the faux wood ring from the first mold, and put it inside the second mold with the stump.
2. Prepare resin according to package instructions.
3. (Optional) Dab a small amount of resin on some wax paper and mix a toothpick tip’s worth of oil paint into the resin, creating an opaque color.
4. (Optional) Coat the tip of a toothpick with the resin tented in oil paint onto the “splintered” area of the ring. This will create a smoky/foggy effect.
5. (Optional) Add a small drop of resin dye to the remaining resin and mix. A drop of dye will go a long way, so be careful to not add too much.
6. Pour the resin into the top of the mold.
7. Use a lighter to get rid of any bubbles in the resin.
8. Let resin cure and harden.

Step 8: Finishing the Ring

Remove the ring from the mold, and if needed, use sandpaper, starting with the most course and ending with the finest grit, to polish the ring. Sanding may cause cloudiness on the resin’s surface, but add a coat of clear fingernail polish to return its luster.

Now your ring is ready to wear!