I have a confession to make: I am weirdly obsessed with resin TikTok.
Am I super into crafts? No! But you look at this de-molding video and tell me it's not hella satisfying:
So in a fit of boredom, I decided to give resin crafts a go — and here's how it went!
Let me level with you: I wasn't about to spend the big bucks on a hobby that I had no idea if I'd enjoy. So to test the water, I bought a lil' kit that lets you make jewelry and keychains.
Based on TikTok — and some additional research I did — the instructions seemed fairly Resin 101: Protect your workstation, work in a well-ventilated area, and wear gloves. It came with two small bottles, labeled resin and hardener, which I mixed 1:1 for about five minutes.
After using tweezers to put dried flowers in some of the molds, I got to pouring! The only weird thing was that the instructions suggested adding glitter after doing an initial shallow pour — rather than adding it directly into the resin, as I'd seen on TikTok. The results were...a little clumpy, but overall still fine.
I waited until the next night to de-mold everything and attach jump rings. All in all, they turned out pretty well! More importantly, it was a hoot — so I decided to go for...
I was ready to commit! I ordered a tooooooon of stuff off Amazon for phase two – trinket boxes and coasters.
My bedroom color scheme is pink and gold, so I wanted to make myself a trinket box and coaster to match. I went ahead and mixed the resin until it was clear. Then I added some gold and pink glitter that I picked up at a local discount store.
After placing the dried flowers where I wanted them in the mold, I poured in the resin. I then used a gas lighter near the surface to heat the resin and encourage any bubbles up to the surface — where I popped 'em with a toothpick. I kept an eye on the bubbles for the next few hours.
The next morning, it was de-molding time! Regarding the heart-shaped trinket box, to put it mildly...I was obsessed.
As for the coaster, I think I used a smidgen too much glitter, since you can't see the dried flowers properly. At the same time, I'm a firm believer in no such thing as too much glitter — so I'd call it a success!
I wanted to play around with some stickers for a more ~personalized~ feel, so I ordered a pack of random waterproof vinyl ones.
I loved this cosmic whale sticker, so I decided to try making a phone case. I used a bit of glue to secure some dry flowers and the sticker to a clear phone case before I added a super-thin layer of resin on top.
In hindsight, adding the flowers under the whale was a bit of a mistake — it created a lumpy shape that even the resin couldn't salvage. It's still cute, but next time I think I'd only put things onto the phone case that are entirely flat.
I also made some coasters using the same process as before, only adding a colored pigment. After it was all dry, I added some stickers and poured another thin layer of resin on top — to protect everything and give it a glossy finish.
And I'm super happy with how they turned out! You can't really tell in the pics, but the whole surface is super shiny and lovely (in my humble opinion).
Let me start with the cons. The resin I used took some time to cure, which meant that a decent amount of my small kitchen was out of action for hours at a time. Plus, resin isn't exactly cheap.
However, for me, the pros totally outweighed the cons! I had so much fun planning and making everything, giving me a much-needed new hobby in an otherwise grim time.
The biggest tip I have for anyone thinking about taking up resin crafts is to follow the instructions for whatever you buy — and make sure you're doing everything safely.
