How To Make A Unique Resin Bowl
In this blog post, I am going to show you how to make a unique resin bowl. This resin bowl is not like any other you have seen and I can’t wait to show you how to do it!
The Inspiration
Guys, I know you have been there. You need a special gift for someone, but they have everything they want and you can’t afford to spend a fortune. For me, this time, it was my good friend, M, who was celebrating a milestone birthday. I didn’t want to buy her yet another bracelet this year and I knew she would cherish something personal. With some brainstorming, I came up with an idea to make a resin bowl with uncut Peridot stones. Peridot is the August birthstone, which is when my friend M was born. Perfect!
The Resin Delusion
One problem…I had never worked with resin before. As in, never ever. But the more I thought about this imaginary resin bowl the more I fell in love with the idea. It would be crystal clear and shiny on the outside. The shape would be functional, yet decorative and there would be a SWIRL (huh??) of Peridot stones gleaming inside their aquarium-like home. Seriously, this is how my mind works, but I was motivated!
Making a Silicone Molds for the Bowl (No, You Can’t Buy Them, I Tried!)
One huge issue I ran into was finding a pre-made resin mold for my bowl that would match the image I had created in my imagination. There was no getting around it, I was going to have to make my own silicone mold. It turned out to be easy and really fun to do, so don’t let this step scare you off!
Solving a Problem with the Molds (maybe M would actually LOVE another bracelet?!)
You can tell from the photo the top of the smaller mold sits much lower than the top of the larger one. I wanted to make a resin bowl the size and height of the outer mold and that meant the inner mold had to sit up higher so both edges were even.
I came up with the idea to pour a shallow resin base in the large mold first. That would give me a solid platform on which to set the inner mold and would elevate the inner mold so the edges would be even. Clever, huh?! Spoiler alert: It worked like a charm!
So How Much Resin Should I Mix For the Base?
To figure out how much resin I should pour in the bottom of the mold, I poured some dry (uncooked) rice in the bottom of the larger mold and I set the smaller mold on top of the rice and checked the height. I repeated that step until the inner mold was at the height I wanted it.
When I felt the height was right, I removed the inner mold and poured the rice into a clear mixing cup. The amount of resin I would need to mix was approximately the same volume as the rice in the cup. I marked the level of the rice on the cup with a sharpie. Then I made another mark on the cup at exactly half of that amount. I would be mixing equal amounts of resin and hardener so I needed to mark halfway for resin and the other half for hardener.
I also wanted to know at least an approximate amount of resin to mix for the entire mold. I repeated the rice trick, but this time I poured rice between the walls of the inner and outer mold until it was full. Not an exact science, but it gave me a starting point for mixing.
Before You Mix The Resin – Avoid These Common Issues
- Resin has a short working time, meaning I needed to be organized and have all of my tools and equipment ready to go.
- The mixing directions needed to be followed exactly. This was not the time for shortcuts and it was important to follow the directions precisely to get the clear finish I wanted.
- Resin has a tendency to bubble when stirred and air bubbles are the enemy of a successful resin pour. It was important to stir and pour slowly and gently. Warming resin also helps to prevent bubbles.
Preparing to Mix the Resin
Time to prep for the resin bowl pour! I started by spreading a large sheet of freezer paper on my level work surface. I then laid out my supplies:
Shopping List
- Clear mixing cups with measure marks
- Silicone molds and larger bowl
- Art N’ Glow resin and hardener kit (casting resin, not doming)
- Peridot stones, bulk
- Disposable gloves
- Respirator mask
- Wooden stir sticks
- Tweezers (to retrieve the grains of rice that you will get in the resin)
- Freezer paper
- Disposable foam brushes
- Tape
- Rice
- LOTS of paper towel
- Long lighter
Resin Mixing Instructions
Warm resin works better, so I started by putting the sealed bottles of resin and hardener in a bowl of warm (not boiling) water. I left them in until the bottles were warm to touch. Next, I put my latex gloves and mask on, then I slowly poured the resin up to the first line I drew earlier (see rice trick above). I then slowly added the hardener up to the second line. Slowly pouring the resin down the side of a tilted cup helps to prevent bubbles from forming.
If you don’t want to heat the resin bottles you can also stir the resin over a bowl of hot water after you measure it into the cup. Just be careful not to let it get too hot, the idea is to warm it not heat it up. Warming the resin helps to eliminate tiny bubbles.
I set my timer for 2 minutes and slowly and gently mixed the resin and hardener together with my wooden mixing stick, taking care to scrape the sides, bottom and the recess around the bottom ridge of the cup. Occasionally I also scraped the front and back of the stir stick so the resin mixture would flow back into the cup and get incorporated.
When the timer went off the mixture was very clear so I knew the resin and hardener were fully incorporated. I then poured the mixture gently into the second, clean mixing cup, scraping all of the resin into the new cup with my wooden stick. I set the timer for 1 more minute, grabbed a clean stir stick and continued to stir the resin. This step is important!
Pro Tip for Eliminating Air Bubbles
When the minute was up I tilted the cup and passed a flame from a long lighter over the surface of the resin. Direct heat helps to dissolve air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick, or other sharp object to pop larger bubbles, but the flame works well. I tilted the cup at several different angles, passing the flame over each time. I also let the resin sit for another minute or two, which helped bring more bubbles to the surface, then used the flame once more. Now I needed to move on to pouring.
Time to Pour The Resin Bowl!
Earlier I placed the large mold back into the bowl I used to make it and taped the edges down to keep it stable. My resin was mixed and I was ready to pour the base. I opted to pour a clear base, but I could have chosen to add some of the Peridot, or if I was tinting the resin now would be the time to do that. But this base was going to be clear, so I slowly and carefully poured the resin into the bottom of the larger mold. I passed the flame over the surface one more time, being careful not to get too close to the silicone sides.
Adding Resin to an Earlier Pour
My base needed to be relatively hard before I poured the rest of the resin bowl. There are two ways to accomplish that:
- Wait 3-6 hours until the resin is firm, but still sticky and not fully hardened. The actual time for this to happen varies depending on conditions, so rely on the state of the resin more than the time.
- Wait 12-24 hours until the resin is completely hardened with no trace of stickiness and then gently sand the surface. You will have to be sure to wipe away all trace of dust before pouring more resin.
After my base was firm but sticky, I mixed up a larger batch of resin for the rest of the resin bowl using the methods described earlier. I then filled the small mold with rice and carefully placed it on top of the resin base taking pains to make it as centered as possible inside the larger mold. The space in between the large and small mold would be the walls of the finished resin bowl, so I wanted to be sure they would come out as even as possible. The rice in the hollow of the inner mold is to keep it from floating around and to keep its shape.
Additions, Embellishments, SWIRLS
If you were going to make additions to the resin, such as tinting, beads, etc, the time to add those items is into the mixing cup right after you finish your final stirring in the second cup. If I was not delusional and didn’t envision a SWIRL this would have been the time to add the plain, old Peridot.
So about that SWIRL of Peridot I imagined…Just why? Why do I have to turn already new and unchartered projects into something requiring mental calisthenics and flooding me with a tsunami of frustration? I don’t know the answer, but I did know if I added the stones now they would just sink to the bottom of the resin bowl and harden there. I had to devise an original method, which is what I did. Read about how I created a Peridot SWIRL effect in the resin bowl.
A Short Recap and Another Pour
To recap, I had placed the inner mold (filled with rice) inside the large mold that contained the resin pedestal I made. I had also just mixed up a big batch of resin. Next, I slowly and carefully poured the resin in between the walls of the inner and outer molds. The first time I came up a little short, so I immediately mixed more resin, in the same way, I did previously and added it until the resin reached the level I wanted it.
Can’t Touch That
It would take 24 hours for the resin bowl to harden to the touch and 72 hours for it to cure completely. I had to resist the urge to touch the resin before the 24 hours was up…I knew it would leave fingerprints. Oh, and how I do LOVE to mess with things before I should! If you happen to make a smudge when you are making your own bowl, it isn’t the end of the world. You can sand off any imperfections later.
The Penultimate Reveal
It was very satisfying peeling the silicone from the hardened bowl! The bowl turned out great, but there were some rough spots and the rim was not completely even. I knew I wanted to trim quite a bit of width off of parts of the bowl, so I used my Black & Decker mouse sander with a 240 grit sandpaper to get it exactly right. You will want to sand outside and wear your respirator mask.
Don’t be alarmed when the sanding makes your resin cloudy and dull. The final step is going to make it gleam like a star!
The Last and Final Step
Once I was happy with the texture, shape, and thickness of the resin bowl, I mixed up a small amount of resin (about 1 Tbsp total of the resin/hardener mixture). I used a foam paintbrush to apply a very thin coat of resin over the surface. I was careful to paint a very thin layer because I did not want excess product to create drip marks. After 24 hours I unveiled the finished product!
SUCCESS!
I was pretty pleased with the results, especially since this was my first time working with resin. Now that I had some basic experience, the possibilities I envisioned for other versions of this unique resin bowl were endless!
What Occasion or Memories Would You Like to Capture in Your Unique Resin Bowl?
Some ideas for you:
- Birthstones or favorite stones/faux gems
- Seashells from a trip to the beach
- Small photographs of children, grandchildren, pets, etc
- Wedding day mementos
- Small cellophane confetti shapes for a holiday (hearts, pumpkins, trees, stars)
The ideas are endless, and hopefully, your imagination is starting to grind. Whatever you choose, just make sure all items are clean, dry and any porous items are sealed with something like ultra seal, resin gloss spray, clear drying glue, mod podge or spray mod podge.
“She Believed She Could, So She Did”
Lastly, know that mistakes, imperfect results, and complete disasters are all part of the learning process! Chalk it up to a valuable experience and try again! Trust me, IF I CAN DO THIS SO CAN YOU, so give it a try, you will love the results! P.S. My friend, M, ADORED her bowl. OH, and that SWIRL?…divine….
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