How to make flowers in epoxy resin?

Flowers are the decoration of our planet, each of them is unique. Epoxy resin helps to preserve cured beauty indefinitely. A flower in a transparent coating can become a piece of jewelry, a souvenir, an interior decor or just an original gift to a loved one. We will tell you how to make flowers in epoxy resin with your own hands in our article.

In order for the work process to go smoothly and in the end you get an excellent result, you should prepare for creativity in advance, collect all the necessary tools and materials.

For work you will need:

• protective polyethylene that protects the workplace from contamination;
• epoxy resin (it is better to use special jewelry) and catalyst (hardener);
• pre-collected and dried flowers - rose, dandelion, cornflowers, calendula, daisies;
• silicone mold (mold), into which epoxy resin is poured;
• containers for preparing the mixture and sticks for stirring them;
• syringe;
• means for polishing an already hardened product.

To avoid problems with cleaning, the workplace should be covered with polyethylene. Lay out, as conveniently as possible, all the necessary tools and materials. When everything is ready, you can start creating.

1. A resinous solution is prepared from an epoxy compound. For this, the liquid resin is mixed with a catalyst. For 10 parts of resin, from 1 to 6 parts of hardener may be required - each manufacturer indicates its proportions in the instructions, and they must be followed. Mixing takes place in a separately prepared container.The mixtures are drawn up and dispensed with a syringe, but a scale can be used for a more accurate result. The amount of composition will depend on the volume of the silicone mold. If it is necessary to tint the resin, the dye is added during the compounding of the formulations.
2. Mixing should take place slowly and for a long time, from 4 to 10 minutes. To do this, use a wooden stick. With its help, slowly, so as not to cause the movement of bubbles, thoroughly mix both compositions into a homogeneous mass.
3. It is better to pour the finished solution into another clean container - this will save the composition from poorly mixed clots remaining on the walls.
4. To finally get rid of the bubbles, the vessel with the finished mixture is placed in warm water (about 40 degrees) for 10 minutes.
5. Further, the silicone mold should be dipped in cold water and wipe dry, achieving complete cleanliness of the surface of the form.
6. A little resin is poured into the bottom of the mold... All actions are performed slowly and carefully so as not to provoke the movement of air bubbles.
7. It's time to pack dried flowers... They are placed on a thin layer of fill, straightening each petal with a sharpened wooden stick. Then they are poured with resin, but only halfway, allowing the plants to fix. If the mold is filled completely, light flowers will float to the surface.
8. Then the work will have to be postponed until the resinous mass has completely solidified (from 10 to 24 hours)... For each manufacturer, polymerization processes take place at different times.
9. After about a day, the mold is completely filled with freshly prepared composition. and again leave to dry at the same time.
10. The finished product is freed from the silicone mold and carefully examined... On the side of the filling, irregularities, streaks, grooves can be observed. Serious defects must be sanded down and recoated with another coat of epoxy. If the defects are small, the resin coating is no longer necessary; sanding and polishing is sufficient. The workpiece is sanded using different methods: a nail file or fine-grained sandpaper is used.
11. Then they start polishing the product to give it maximum transparency. Automotive polishing pastes are used. Take a piece of fabric with paste and polish the workpiece in a circular motion.
12. At the last stage, the product is coated with a technical varnish that protects it from ultraviolet radiation and prevents yellowing... Such a surface becomes perfectly shiny and smooth.

A beautiful transparent blank with a natural flower inside can become a souvenir, decor, pendant, brooch, magnet - it all depends on the desire of the master. To make the pendant, you will need a drill and drill with a diameter of 0.5 mm. Finishing accessories are purchased in specialized stores.

For the perfect decoration, flawless pouring is half the battle. The second half depends on quality material - dried flowers. They need to be properly collected and dried.

Each flower has its best blooming point, when it fully blooms, but still does not think to wither. At this point, it is cut and carefully transported to the drying place.

To collect small flowers with thin petals (field carnation, forest tricolor violet), prepare a thick old-style book with porous sheets.

Large "fleshy" flowers (roses, peonies) can be harvested during the budding period. Small buds are suitable for jewelry. For larger items (souvenirs, countertops), a fresh opened flower is chosen, in which the petals are still firmly held in the receptacle. This plant material has its own drying methods.

Plants to be dried should not be harvested in rain, dew or after rain.Harvesting should take place in dry, sunny weather, when there is a minimum amount of moisture in the petals. In plants collected on time, drying occurs quickly and does not go into the process of decay.

A refined herbaceous plant and a weighty bud are dried in different ways, but there is a uniform rule for drying and storing dried flowers - to avoid ultraviolet rays, as they "eat" the color of plants, make them faded. In any case, the natural color is slightly lost during drying. It should be remembered that the faster the flower dries, the more colors it retains.

These were general rules, but now let's look at how to dry each specific plant.

• Dandelion. The fluffy ball in epoxy resin is an incredible sight. To collect such material, you need to choose the most beautiful specimens in the clearing, carefully cut them off and spray each ball with hairspray from a distance of 20-30 cm.After a few seconds, when the varnish fixes the fluffs, the dandelions can be put into boxes. In this form, they are delivered home and dried within 2 weeks. This period is enough for the material to become strong enough to withstand the pouring.

• The Rose. The queen of flowers remains her in the epoxy ball. Due to the crowding of petals, the plant has to be dried for a long time - at least 15 days, but the process itself is not difficult. It is enough to hang roses in a dark, ventilated place. To do this, they are tied by the stems to a rope stretched out in a barn or attic.

• Hydrangea. The inflorescence retains its volume well if it is dried in semolina. Pour some semolina into the container, lower the hydrangea and carefully completely fill it with cereals. After a week, the dried flowers will be ready.

Products with flowers etched in epoxy are exclusive and never repeated. It is impossible to find two exactly the same flowers. But they are all delightfully beautiful - this can be seen by looking at photographs of unusual, amazing objects.

• Pendant with gelichrizum in epoxy resin.

• Homemade countertops from herbarium and dried flowers.

• An amazing box with a three-dimensional image of the inhabitants of the lake - water lilies, as if alive, algae and fish.

• Pendant in the shape of a chameleon filled with dried flowers.

• Pendants with natural flowers.

• Bracelet with a flower in epoxy.

• Flowers in epoxy resin gave new life to the old chair.

• A painting of natural plants cured in a transparent resin.

• Souvenir ball made of dried flowers.

• Flowers in crystals.

• Pendants with real dandelions.

• Rings-buds with adjustable size.

Magic unique jewelry with natural plants will suit ladies of any age, they will emphasize their individuality and delicate taste.

For information on how to make flowers in epoxy, see the next video.