Welcome to our Suggestion Box article for beginner resin art!
For people who are new to epoxy—with little or no experience—it can feel intimidating to get started or try something different. Though the application of epoxy is fairly straightforward, there are still a number of things that can go wrong during the process, sometimes due to user error, but sometimes due to using substandard epoxy.
The more complex an epoxy project is, the more likely you are to make a disappointing mistake, such as inducing air bubbles. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid these issues, so that even those who've never used epoxy before can achieve success with a little care and effort.
In this article, we'll be listing five different epoxy projects that can each serve as a splendid choice for your first attempts at resin art.
Five beginner-friendly resin art projects
Being a beginner to epoxy doesn't mean you can't have success in your earliest endeavors. Epoxy as an artistic medium is accessible to creators of all skill levels and ages, including children (with appropriate supervision)!
Take a look at this list of five resin art project that are beginner-friendly and easy to get started with:
- Epoxy coasters - A fundamental resin art project that involves pouring a small amount of epoxy into a coaster mold.
- Epoxy resin trays - Similar to epoxy coasters, but bigger. For this, you'll fill a suitable mold with epoxy resin and let it cure.
- Epoxy decorations - With silicone molds, there are few limits on what kind of interesting decorations you can make using epoxy resin.
- Epoxy end table - Though a little bigger than the others in this list, end tables can be a great way to learn how to coat furniture.
- Resin jewelry - Perhaps the most complicated project, resin jewelry is nonetheless still manageable. Jewelry ranges from incredibly intricate to simple, appealing geometric shapes.
Each of these projects has high potential for customization, enabling you to design them around your aesthetic preferences.
For instance, epoxy can be tinted with different colors using epoxy pigments or resin dyes. You can also embed decorative elements into the epoxy finish before or immediately after pouring, before it has had a chance to harden.
Let's consider each one in more detail.
Resin art project #1: Epoxy coasters
An epoxy coaster is our favorite recommendation for resin art beginners. It's simple, customizable, and offers utility. Typically you'll use a silicone coaster mold, into which you can pour a small mixed batch of epoxy.
Resin coasters also make a great first epoxy project for children. Though they shouldn't be without appropriate supervision, the simplicity of the process for crafting coasters makes them a comprehensible way for kids to showcase their self-expression.
Learn more about making epoxy resin coasters in our step-by-step-guide.
Resin art project #2: Epoxy resin trays
An epoxy resin tray is only a little less straightforward than a resin coaster, primarily due to its increased size.
Resin trays can be made with a variety materials, such as by incorporating pieces of wood or different kinds of embedments (e.g., coins, mementos, sea shells), but for a beginner, we suggest starting with a standard resin tray that uses only epoxy resin and any colorants of your choosing.
A good thing about epoxy trays is that they also bring utility. These trays can be used to serve snacks, drinks, and move things around easily, making them great for home use or as gifts to friends.
Resin art project #3: Epoxy decorations
Not all epoxy projects have to provide utility, though. There's plenty of reason to experiment with projects that are solely aesthetic.
With epoxy resin, colorants, and potentially embedments, you can create all manner of distinct decorative items. Tree ornaments, keychains, charms, and much more are all pleasant, quicker projects that you can easily do multiple iterations of in order to discover different techniques.
With decorations, there's also no particular type of silicone mold you need, so you can go with whatever you find appealing. Just be sure it's silicone, as the inherently super-smooth surface enables resin to cure and be removed without issue.
Resin art project #4: An epoxy end table
End tables are one of the most common piece of furniture in homes. They're small, taking up little space, with a convenient table top surface for placing reading materials, phone chargers, drinks, and more.
You can apply epoxy resin to an end table fairly easily, and because they're little, they don't require much to achieve a full coating.
While giving an end table a proper epoxy finish, you'll have a lot of opportunity to affect its appearance. Imbuing your epoxy with vibrant color, or embedding small objects (such as pennies) into the surface can renew it with a fresh look that's unique to your creative senses.
Resin art project #5: Resin jewelry
Epoxy resin jewelry is one of the most diverse categories of resin arts and crafts. Pendants, earrings, rings, bracelets, and much more are all possible with epoxy resin and the right materials.
When crafting these adornments, you can choose to keep the resin crystal-clear, infuse it with beautiful pigments or dyes, and/or inlay visually attractive elements such as dried flowers, gold flakes, glitter, or even tiny carvings and painted objects.
Once finished, your creations can later be polished to give them a dazzling shine.
Learn how to make resin jewelry of your own in our step-by-step guide!
Additional Resources
We hope these ideas have given you a good starting point for your epoxy journey. Below, we've listed a few additional resources you may find helpful:
- Cleaning and storing resin molds: A beginner friendly guide - Our guide to cleaning molds after you've finished your projects.
- How to wash away resin and epoxy on your hands and skin - Accidents happen sometimes. Learn how to easily wash resin off your skin here!
- Epoxy: Proper storage, shelf life, and preventing "yellowing" - Sometimes you don't use all of your epoxy right away. Here's how to properly store it.
Have questions? Want advice? Contact us!
At UltraClear Epoxy, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service and support, time and time again.
If you have any questions about learning epoxy as a beginner, or if you'd like advice on planning any kind of epoxy project, please reach out to us—our epoxy experts are ready to assist!
You can contact us via phone or email here. During business hours, you can also text chat online with one of our resin specialists by clicking the Help button at the bottom right of your screen.
And if you're ready to give it a shot, take a look at our Table Top Epoxy page, where you can order our award-winning premium epoxy resin, designed for all types of DIY epoxy projects.
