When my darling fiance and I started this whole wedding planning process, we knew we wanted bridal party gifts that were practical and fun! Coming up with gifts for the ladies was easy but the guys proved to be tricky until I saw a fellow RI Knottie who made cufflinks for her guys. I’m pretty crafty so I decided to take on the challenge.
They were certainly time consuming but totally worth it. In a few simple steps, the cufflinks were created!
Supplies needed…
bezel cups (we used 15 mm size and we bought them on ebay)
cufflink posts (again, used 15 mm size and we bought them on ebay)
resin (bought at Michael’s craft store)
catalyst (also bought at Michael’s craft store)
jewelry glue (the Krazy Glue brand works perfectly)
Elmer’s glue
foam block
15 mm size images
plastic mixing bowl (I used a small Cool Whip container)
wooden craft sticks
How to make them…
1) Re-work your images to 15 mm circles (we did this in photoshop). Cut each image out and affix inside the bezel cup with a couple of dots of Elmer’s glue and let dry for 24 hours.
2) Mix the resin and catalyst per the package instructions. Make sure you do this in a VERY well ventilated area, as this chemical is incredibly smelly. Also, wear rubber gloves to ensure that you don’t get it on your hands. I mixed the resin/ catalyst in a small Cool Chip container with a wooden craft stick. When you mix them, you will see bubbles form – you can get rid of them after you have poured the mix into the bezel cups. Mix well and make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of container to incorporate all chemicals.
3) Make a small funnel by folding an edge of your Cool Whip container and slowly pour resin mix into your bezel cups. You need to do this on a flat surface with a piece of cardboard underneath the bezel cups. Onces you have filled he cps to your desired level, you can use your wooden craft stick to “scoop” out any bubbles you may see. Make sure you wipe off the stick on the cardboard before re-scooping. Leave the filled cups to dry for at least 48 hours – I left mine for 72 hours.
4) After the resin has completley hardened, you can affix the cufflink posts. Take your foam block and stick all of the posts down into it. Then apply your glue right to the post and take a filled bezel cup and allign it on top and press slightly to guarantee that it affix’s. Let them dry for 24 hours and then they are complete!
Tags: DIY, groomsmen gifts