DIY Ocean Inspired Jewelry From UV Resin

I love the sound of ocean waves. The crash, the hiss of sea foam, the endless rhythm of water meeting shore. And I love the breeze; that salty, gentle wind that somehow clears your head and fills your heart at the same time.

But I can't live at the beach. So I started finding ways to bring the ocean with me.

That's why I make these pendants. I wanted to capture the feeling of a perfect wave (the deep blue, the frothy white foam, the chaotic, beautiful texture of moving water) and turn it into accessories I can wear every day.

This tutorial will show you exactly how I do it. From mixing the right shade of blue to building a raised wave with nothing but tape, from painting sea foam with a needle to turning the finished pieces into necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

No fancy tools. No art degree. Just me, some UV resin, and a love for the ocean.

So if you also wish, you could carry a little piece of the sea with you. Let's make some waves together.

Resin & Color

1. UV resin
2. Blue transparent pigment (alcohol ink or resin dye)
3. Green transparent pigment
4. White gel (or UV resin + white acrylic paint mixed)

Tools & Application

1. Mixing cup & stir stick
2. Fine thin brush (or a needle — you used a needle)
3. Matches or lighter (for bubble removal)

Tape & Masking

1. Masking tape
2. Vinyl transfer tape (your preference)

Pendant Frames

1. Round frame
2. Hexagon frame

Jewelry Findings

1. Necklace chain
2. Earring hooks
3. Shell pendants
4. Claw clasps (for necklace and bracelet)

Curing

1. UV lamp

1. Dispense the desired amount of UV resin into your mixing cup.
2. Add blue transparent pigment drop by drop, stirring until evenly colored.
3. Add a tiny amount of green pigment — just enough to shift the blue slightly toward teal or deep sea-green. Stir well.
4. After mixing, you’ll likely see small bubbles trapped in the resin.
5. Let the mixture sit for 2–5 minutes. Most bubbles will rise to the surface and pop on their own.

1. Glue the pendant to masking tape (I use vinyl transfer tape).
2. Fill the pendant frame about halfway with blue resin.
3. After pouring, you may still see bubbles in the resin.
4. Light a match, blow it out just enough to keep a small flame, then briefly hover the flame 1–2 cm above the resin surface. Do not touch the resin with the flame; just pass it near the surface once or twice.
5. Once bubbles are gone, cure the resin according to your lamp instructions.

1. Carefully remove the tape from behind the pendant. The first resin layer should now be fully cured and solid.
2. Place a piece of tape (vinyl transfer tape works well) directly onto the cured resin surface on the front of the pendant.
3. Gently bend and shape the tape so it lifts off the resin in a curved, wave-like form. The tape should not lie flat; you want an arch or ripple effect.
4. Using your blue resin, apply several thin layers over the taped area. Each layer should be cured before adding the next.
5. After applying each layer of resin, cure it under your UV lamp before moving to the next.
6. Once all layers are cured and you're happy with the wave effect, you can carefully remove the tape. Peel it away gently so the resin wave structure remains intact.

1. Use a fine, thin brush. Or, as I did, a needle works perfectly.
2. Using chaotic, random strokes, create a water texture on:
3. Both sides of the pendant
4. The surface of the raised wave
5. Don't overthink it. short, jagged, crisscrossing lines mimic ripples and splashes. Vary the pressure and direction for a natural, turbulent water effect.

Choose your white medium

1. You can use either:
2. White gel (such as gel nail polish or gel paint), or
3. A mixture of UV resin + a small amount of white acrylic paint
4. If using acrylic paint with UV resin: mix thoroughly. Note that too much paint can affect curing, so keep the ratio heavily toward resin.

Apply to foam areas

1. Using your needle or fine brush, paint sea foam onto:
2. The crests of your chaotic water strokes
3. The edges of the wave
4. Anywhere water would break or bubble in nature
5. Dab, stipple, or make tiny irregular dots and short dashes, not solid lines. Foam should look frothy and random.
6. Once you're happy with the foam placement, cure the resin.

1. For the small pendant variation, simply fill the entire pendant frame with blue UV resin.
2. Cure the resin completely under your UV lamp
3. Once cured, paint the sea foam directly onto the flat, solid blue surface using:
4. White gel, or
5. A mixture of UV resin + white acrylic paint
6. Use your needle or fine brush to dab and stipple foam along edges or in random frothy patches — just like you did with the larger pendant.
7. Cure the foam layer, and you're done.

Now that the ocean pendants are ready, we can make some jewelry out of them.

Necklace (Round Wave Pendant)

1. Take the round wave pendant.
2. Add it to a simple necklace chain.
3. Don't forget to add claw clasps.

Earrings (Round Wave Pendant)

1. Take another round wave pendant.
2. Simply add an earring hook to the top.
3. Done — ready to wear.

Earrings (Hexagon Wave Pendant)

1. Take the hexagon wave pendant.
2. Add a shell pendant below the wave pendant.
3. Attach an earring hook to the top.

Bracelet

1. Use the simple hexagon pendants.
2. Attach them to a chain.
3. Add some shell pendants along the chain for an accent.
4. Don't forget to add claw clasps.

These little resin pendants aren't perfect, and that's exactly why I love them. The tiny bubbles that refused to pop, the chaotic strokes of my needle, the uneven edges of the sea foam… they all make each piece feel alive. Like a real wave caught mid-crash and frozen in time.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. More than that, I hope you've found a new way to bring something you love — the ocean, a memory, a feeling — into your everyday accessories.

As always, I will be posting some video footage on my Instagram @quinzyvarira

See you on the next ible!