How To Make Resin Wall Art With Dried Flowers

Can you put live flowers in resin?

Yes!  As long as the flowers are perfectly dried, you can preserve flowers in resin to make wall hangings, DIY resin keychains, coasters, bookmarks, jewelry and more. 

It's important to handle dried flowers delicately when creating resin art, to avoid ripping or damaging them. Use a pair of tweezers to place flowers into the mold and a toothpick to gently submerge them into the resin. 

How to dry flowers for resin

You can buy dried, pressed flowers for resin art online or you can dry flowers yourself.  The most cost-effective method is to press flowers in parchment paper between the pages of a heavy book for 2-3 weeks. However, if you're in a hurry and need to know how to dry flowers for resin quickly, you can use a product called silica gel from craft stores. Silica gel can dry flowers in about a week and allows you to preserve whole flowers without pressing them flat. 

How do you make a wall hanging with preserved flowers in resin?

Resin & dried flower wall hangings are an easy craft that can be made with minimal supplies. They are perfect for gifting or selling as part of your resin art business!

Artist Meg Dion, known for her resin keychains, geode phone grips, and floral wall hangings, dropped by ArtResin to share her techniques for creating a resin and preserved flower wall hanging. Her tutorial features useful tips on how to work with dried flowers and resin.  

 

Let's get creating!

What materials are needed to make a resin floral wall hanging? 

• ArtResin epoxy resin
• A container with tall sides to give the resin a warm water bath
• Disposable nitrile gloves
• A graduated plastic mixing cup
• A mixing stick (such as a wood or plastic craft stick)
• Heat gun
• A dust cover (such as a clean cardboard box, plastic tote or deli tray lid)
• An assortment of pressed, dried flowers & leaves
• Tweezers
• A silicone coaster mold
• Toothpicks
• A sanding block
• An electric drill and a small drill bit
• Jewelry eye pins, jump rings and a chain
• 2 pairs of jewelry pliers to open and close jump rings

DIY resin floral wall hanging instructions:

Step 1: Give the resin a warm water bath

Warm the resin and hardener bottles (with the lids on) in a warm water bath for about 10-15 minutes before measuring and mixing. The water temperature should be similar to that of a baby's bath - warm but not hot or boiling. A water bath helps to thin out the resin and reduces the formation of bubbles when pouring it into molds. Once the resin feels slightly warmer than room temperature, it's ready to use.

💡TIP: Take care to prevent any water from contacting the resin. Keep the lids on the bottles, don't submerge them in water, and ensure they're thoroughly dried before opening.

Step 2: Clean the Mold 

Start by cleaning mold with sticky tape to remove bits of dust or lint to prevent them curing into the resin and ensuring a smooth and professional finish.

Step 3: Measure and mix the ArtResin

Wearing gloves, measure the ArtResin according to the label instructions. To make 3 wall hangings, Meg. prepared 6 oz total (3 oz of resin + 3 oz of hardener). 

Mix the resin and hardener together slowly for 3 minutes. If desired, use a heat gun on the resin periodically throughout the mixing process to eliminate bubbles. For detailed instructions, please see our blog How To Measure and Mix Epoxy Resin and Hardener.

Step 4: Pour the ArtResin 

Pour the resin into the mold first, filling it about a quarter of the way to coat the bottom evenly. This creates a solid base before adding the flowers. If you place the flowers in the mold first and then pour resin on top, there's a higher chance of trapping air pockets (bubbles) underneath the flowers.

Use a heat gun quickly to remove bubbles from the resin.

Run a toothpick or flat edge of a popsicle stick along the perimeter of the mold to release small air bubbles that might have settled in the corners.

Next, it's time to add the flowers, and then to pour the remaining resin over them. Following this order will ensure that the flowers are evenly and securely embedded in the resin without any air pockets or gaps.

Step 5: Add the Dried Flowers 

Select the flowers you'd like to use for your resin wall hanging. For the best results, choose flowers that are flat and thoroughly dried. You can dry them yourself or purchase them already dried and pressed from craft stores or online.

💡TIP: To learn more about different methods for drying real flowers for resin, check out our blog How To Resin Flowers and Preserve Them.

Use tweezers to gently drop the flowers where you want them within the mold. Place them backwards into the mold since the bottom of the coaster will become the top. If needed, use scissors to cut larger flowers into smaller pieces to fit into the mold. 

Push the leaves down into the resin with a toothpick.  This step will make sure they are submerged in the resin and will help to eliminate air pockets.


 

Now's the time to get creative, keeping in mind how the wall hanging is going to look once it's turned over. 

• Use small pieces of flower petals to fill empty spots, using a toothpick to break them up and move them into place within the mold as you wish. 
• Add gold or silver leaf embellishments.  Drop a small piece of metal leaf into the resin, using a toothpick to break it up and move pieces into place.
• Use larger pieces of greenery last - these will become the background and give your wall hanging a much fuller effect.  Push the leaves down just as you did with the flowers.

Step 6: Top Up the Molds with Remaining Resin

Top up the mold with the remaining resin to cover the flowers, once you’re happy with how your design looks.

Pop air bubbles on the surface with a heat gun and use a toothpick to remove bubbles that may be trapped below. 

Step 7: Cover and Wait 24 hours

Cover the mold to prevent dust from settling into the wet resin and allow to cure for 24 hours.

Learn how to clean your tools in our blog How To Clean Up Epoxy Resin.

Step 8:  Unmold and Sand

Remove the wall hangings from the mold once they are dry to the touch, approximately 18-24 hours after pouring. Note: the resin may still be pliable at this point.  This is perfectly normal. It simply indicates that the resin has not fully cured yet.

Sand rough edges smooth using a sanding block or an emery board.

Step 9: Attach the Hardware and Chain

Decide where you want the top of the piece to be. Lay the wall hanging flat on your work surface and use a ruler to mark on each side where you want the chains to hang.  

Drill a small hole for the eye pin with an electric drill and a small drill bit.

Attach the eye pin, screwing it in by hand and then using pliers when it becomes difficult to turn.

Open the jump ring and loop it through the eye pin and the last link on the chain. Using two pairs of pliers, securely close the jump ring. Repeat this step on the other side.  Allow the resin to sit somewhere flat to finish curing for at least 48 hours more, until it is rock hard, before putting into use. 

And there you have it! You've made your own dried flower and resin wall art - a fantastic DIY project that you can proudly display in your own home or gift to someone special. 

To see more of Meg's work:

Watch her on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/MegDion
Follow her on Instagram: @megdionart

Interested in making more resin crafts with Meg? Check out her other step-by-step tutorials!

Do you want to learn more about resin art techniques. See below our how-to tutorials: 

• Introduction to Resin Art
• How to Make Ocean Resin Art
• How To Create A Black Resin Ocean With A Gold Crackle Shoreline
• Selective Embellishment
• How to Make Resin Flow Art
• Create Lacing and Cells in Resin
• How to Make Epoxy Resin Matte
• How to Make Mandala Resin Art
• How to Resin Mixed Media Paintings (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
• How to Resin Collage Art
• How to Resin Marker Pointillism
• How to Resin Spray Paint
• How To Make A Resin Crystal
• How to Resin A Glossy Photo
• Best 20 Resin Crafts

ArtResin:  Made For Artists, By Artists.