Epoxy Resin Floral Trinket Tray Tutorial
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Ever dream of creating the most beautiful floral trinket tray to hold your jewelry or knick knacks? It might sound daunting at first, but this is the perfect beginner resin craft! Raechal from Raechal's Woodworks and Makers Challenge Central is here to guide you every colorful step of the way in this step-by-step tutorial on creating a floral trinket tray. About five years ago, Raechal started finding free build plans on Pinterest and that sparked her journey into woodworking. Soon after discovering woodworking, she discovered her love for epoxy resin...and resin crafts.
Ready to dive in? Let's roll up our sleeves and start creating amazing trinket trays sure to spruce up your bathroom vanity, dresser, side tables, and more!
What You'll Need to Create a Floral Trinket Tray:
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Crafting tweezers
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Mixing Supplies
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Safety Gloves
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Safety Glasses
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Respirator (for vapors)
Preparing Your Workspace And Materials
1. Gather Materials for Creating Your Trinket Tray
You'll need high-quality Table Top Epoxy, mixing tools, an oval silicone mold, dried and pressed flowers for crafting, and your choice of alcohol inks and mica powders or glitters. Raechal added a holographic resin foil sticker to be extra artsy, but that's 100% an optional step. She also used her favorite Baja Blue alcohol ink and Holographic Blue glitter from Color Creator, but the colors are totally up to you! Getting all your materials organized and layed out in advance is the key to creating a successful trinket tray.
2. Safety First
Always wear protective gear and work in a well-ventilated area. This includes gloves and safety glasses to protect your skin and eyes. If you are not working in an extremely well-ventilated area please wear a respirator designed for vapors. Epoxy resin is a lot of fun to work with, but it's also a toxic chemical so take the necessary precautions at all times.
3. Prepping Your Flowers
If you don't want to purchase pre-dried flowers, you can also dry and press your own from your garden! This is a super fun way to add some sentiment to your floral trinket tray. But be aware - you must make sure there is absolutely NO moisture left. If there's any moisture, you will not get the right results.
Check out our YouTube tutorial on Preparing Dried Flowers and our Guide to Encasing Flowers in Resin for more info.
Pro Tip: Do a placement test and arrange your dried flowers in advance based on how you want them to look in your mold.
Pouring a Floral Trinket Tray
4. Mixing Your Epoxy
For this size trinket tray mold we recommend mixing 6 ounces of Table Top Epoxy in total - 3 ounces of Part A and 3 ounces of Part B since Promise Table Top Epoxy is a 1:1 mixing ratio by volume. In reality, you'll likely only use about 4-5 ounces, but it doesn't hurt to have a little extra instead of not enough epoxy for that first pour.
When mixing Table Top Epoxy you want to make sure you're in a workspace with a temperature between 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're in a cooler environment your resin will be thicker and harder to mix. This can lead to a poor cure down the road.
Start by pouring 3 ounces of Part B into a mixing container followed by 3 ounces of Part A. Use a tongue depressor or stir stick and slowly combine both parts until you have a clear homogeneous mixture. Take your time and mix slowly to introduce as little air into the mixture as possible. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of your container so you get equal parts A and B in your final mixture. You have about a 30-45 minute work time so take your time. It's normal for your mixture to have a lot of bubbles at first, but fret not! We'll be pouring a thin layer and using some heat to make sure all those bubbles pop, leaving you with a crystal clear pour.
Pro Tip: If you're in a cooler environment, place your bottles in a warm water bath before mixing. You can also place your mixing container in a warm water bath while mixing with your stir stick to help the process.
Want more info? Check out this video on how to Measure, Mix, and Pour Table Top Epoxy.
5. Pouring The First Layer
You'll pour multiple layers of epoxy in this floral trinket tray tutorial, but you just want to coat the bottom of your silicone mold with this first pour. Be sure to not fill it up completely. Instead, coat the bottom and fill the little edges around the outside, leaving just enough to place your dried flowers in. When pouring epoxy resin, always make sure your surface is level otherwise you'll end up with an even trinket tray and believe us, that's not the look you want!
Pro Tip: Don't want to waste any epoxy? Grab a small cutie mold from Amazon like a keychain or magnet and pour any leftover Table Top Epoxy into this mold for a fun side craft.
6. Apply Some Heat
We don't want to trap any bubbles in our epoxy resin, so you'll want to apply some heat. When using a heat gun to pop bubbles, you're not looking to move the resin around, but to dissipate any bubbles before laying the dried flowers. Take your heat gun and slowly move it across your epoxy resin with a smooth and consistent motion. You don't want to keep your heat gun in one spot for too long. This is especially true around the edges of your mold. If you apply too much heat to the edge of your silicone mold it will fuse the resin and the silicone together, rendering your mold unusable.
7. Placing Your Dried Flowers
When placing your dried flowers, it's important to remember that your mold is actually upside down at the moment. Be sure to lay your flowers face down in your epoxy so when you demold your trinket tray your flowers are facing right side up. This is why we recommend doing a placement test for your dried flowers before pouring. Use your tweezers and place your dried flowers into the clear layer of epoxy to fit your desired design.
Stop! Let your mixture cure for a few hours or until it's tacky.
8. Prepping The Second Layer of Your Trinket Tray
For this next step, you're going to add some color and glitz to your epoxy to give your trinket tray some vibrancy! Mix another 6 ounces of Table Top Epoxy resin, ensuring it's a homogenous mixture before adding your colorants. Please reference Step 4 for mixing instructions.
When using alcohol ink we recommend starting with less and adding more drops as you go. Remember, you can always add more color, but you can't take it away once it's in there. Start by adding 1-2 drops of the alcohol ink to your epoxy mixture. If you want to be super exact, go ahead and test your epoxy to alcohol ink ratio in a medicine cup first so you can see what it looks like when fully cured.
Same goes for when adding mica powder or glitter to your mixture. Start with one scoop of glitter and fully mix it into your epoxy resin before adding more.
Pro Tip: If you add too much glitter it will sink to the bottom instead of mixing with your epoxy. If you add too much mica powder you don't always get the best cure either. When in doubt test it in a medicine cup first.
9. Pouring Your Second Layer
Slowly pour your colored epoxy on top of your first layer making sure to fully cover your surface. This pour can be a little thicker than the first layer but don't exceed 1/2". Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of your container. You don't necessarily have to fill your mold all the way up, but if you want a thicker more sturdy trinket tray we recommend doing so.
Once fully poured, apply some heat using your heat gun to pop any pesky bubbles that may have developed.
Want more tips on how to pop bubbles? Check out these 10 tips.
Let it cure for 24 hours before demolding!
Finalizing Your Trinket Tray
10. Demolding
After letting your trinket tray cure overnight, it should be hard to the touch. This means it's safe to demold. Start by peeling away the edges of your silicone mold and slowly removing the rest of the mold from your epoxy piece. This is by far the most satisfying part of the process!
11. Adding A Sticker (Additional Step)
If you want to add even more pizazz to your trinket tray, you can add some fun stickers. Raechal used a holographic resin foil sticker and it turned out so gorgeous! Place your sticker on the center of your tray using a popsicle stick to smooth it out. Try to touch it as little as possible. You can leave it as is, but if you don't add another small layer of resin on top you'll be able to see fingerprints and it won't have that silky smooth finish we all know and love.
For the ultimate finish, mix another 25mL of Table Top Epoxy and pour this small amount on top of your sticker, fully sealing it. For measuring and mixing instructions please reference Step 4.
Let it cure for another 24 hours and voila! Your floral trinket tray is ready to go.
Watch The Video Tutorial 👇
By following these detailed steps, you can master the art of working with dried flowers, creating gorgeous floral trinket trays that will wow just about anyone. This is a really great beginner project, but it has such intricate details in the finish you wouldn't know it's for beginners. And really, anyone can learn from making these. Remember, each project is an opportunity to push the limits of your craft, learn from the process, and emerge with a deeper understanding of epoxy resin. But most importantly... it's about having fun!
Want to Learn More About Raechal?
Go checkout her website and social media pages. She's super nice!