How To Make 3D Resin Flower Coasters

What are 3D resin flower coasters?

3D flower coasters use alcohol ink and resin pigment paste to create a design that "blooms" into a flower as the resin cures.  Popular with crafters and hobby artists, resin flower coasters are a fun and easy project with impressive results! 3D floral resin coasters are a great way for beginners to get started with epoxy resin and a chance for more advanced artists to expand their resin skills.

Artist Elena Gribanova from Allure Decoration has mastered the technique of 3D resin flowers and is here to explain how it's done. Follow Elena's step-by-step techniques and tutorial to learn the basics and then change up the color palette and petal shape to create your very own custom look!


Let's get started!

What supplies do I need to make 3D flower coasters?

Here's a list of tools and materials you'll need to make 3D resin flower coasters:

• ArtResin epoxy resin
• Alcohol Ink: Elena used blue and purple
• White pigment paste specifically for resin (available online and in art supply stores)
• A few pairs of disposable nitrile gloves
• Graduated plastic mixing cup and plastic or silicone stir stick
• Small plastic or silicone cups (one for each color)
• 4 x Craft or popsicle sticks
• Toothpicks
• A plastic piping bag, plastic cup and scissors
• Small glass chips and large glitter (Elena used gold glass chips and blue glitter)
• Extra fine glitter for sparkle (optional)
• 2 round, silicone coaster molds (1 large and 1 small)
• A heat gun
• A dust cover like a clean cardboard box, plastic tote or large deli tray lid

3D resin flower coasters instructions

Step 1: Warm the resin and hardener in a warm water bath

Warm the resin and hardener bottles (with the lids on) in a warm water bath prior to measuring and mixing. The water should be as warm as it would be for a baby's bath, i.e., not hot or boiling. Warming the resin will thin it out and help to reduce the amount of bubbles when you pour into the molds.

Allow the resin to sit in the warm water bath for approximately 10-15 minutes.  When the resin is warmer than room temperature, you'll know it's ready.

💡TIPS: Ensure that no water comes in contact with the resin: keep the lids on, do not submerge the bottles and dry them off thoroughly before opening them.

Step 2: Measure and mix the ArtResin

Wearing gloves, measure the ArtResin according to the label instructions. For our large and small silicone molds, we used 400 ml total, made up of 200 ml of resin and 200 ml hardener. 

Mix the resin and hardener together slowly, scraping the sides and bottom as you mix. Take your time and stir slowly. Whipping the resin will create excess bubbles.





Once the resin has been mixed, allow it to sit for approximately 15 minutes. This will allow the bubbles time to rise to the surface and will also encourage the resin to thicken up a little bit to prevent the ink from spreading. 

Use a heatgun to remove any surface bubbles.

Step 3: Tint the resin

Portion out the resin into individual cups, one per color. Separate approximately 30-40 ml of resin for light blue in one cup, and 10-15 ml for white in another.

Add 1-2 drops of blue alcohol ink into the first cup and test the color.  Remember, it's always best to add less to start with.  You can add more if necessary, but you can't take it away. 





Add a squeeze of white into the second cup.  You want the white to be a little thicker than the blue.

Step 4: Pour the resin into mold

Pour the clear resin into the mold, starting in the center and allowing the resin to spread out over the entire surface. Pour until the mold is just a little over halfway full.

Use a heatgun to eliminate surface bubbles.

💡 TIP: Don't hold the heat gun too close or in one spot for too long or you risk damaging the mold and overheating the resin. 




Add more resin to the mold until it's almost full.  Use the heatgun once again to get rid of surface bubbles. 

Now we're ready to decorate the flowers!

Step 5: Create the center of the flower design

Using a craft stick, add some gold glass chips and large blue glitter to the center of the mold. Feel free to use crystals, glass shards or stones instead. Blend them until they are well mixed.

Run the heat gun over the mold once again to eliminate any bubbles.

Step 6: Build the petals

Pour a single thin stream of blue resin to create petal shapes around the glitter center. Create 2-3 rows of petals.  Don't worry if the petal shapes aren't perfect: the lines will soften and you won't see them once the resin has set.

Use the heatgun to eliminate any bubbles.




Drop purple alcohol ink dots all the way around the glitter center.

Add a row of blue alcohol ink drops in between the purple dots.

Add a few more drops (approximately 4 drops) of purple in the center.  Once you've added the purple drops, allow the ink to sit for a little while while you prepare the white resin.

Pour the white resin into a piping bag or a ziploc bag set in a plastic cup.





Push the resin down to the bottom of the bag, ensuring there are no air pockets in the resin, then secure the bag with a knot and/or a plastic clip.





Snip a tiny opening in the bottom of the bag with a sharp pair of scissors.





Use the heatgun over the molds once more to get rid of any bubbles that may have risen to the surface.





💡TIP: If you find you have a lot of fine microbubbles, you can sprinkle a little fine glitter over the surface of the resin.  This will mimic the bubbles and create a sparkly effect.





Starting in the center of the flower, create 5-6 rows of petal shapes using the piping bag. The shape of the petal and design of the flower is completely up to you. 
💡TIP: If you need some inspiration, use a photo of your favorite flower or a real life flower as reference!







💡TIP: You'll notice the white resin will start to sink. Touch up as needed, if you missed a spot or notice the white has sunk too much. 




Use the heat gun once more and then allow the resin to sit for a few minutes.

Step 7: Shape the flower

Dip a toothpick into the resin at the center of the mold to get a little purple resin on the tip. Insert the toothpick at the edge of the mold and drag it towards the center.  Repeat this step at even intervals until you have 12 evenly spaced lines all the way around the center. 







If you see empty spaces, touch up the petals with a little more white resin from the piping bag.





Use the heat gun one more time to eliminate surface bubbles.

Step 8:  Cover and wait 24 hours

Cover with a dustcover and leave it until the next day. 

Step 9: Unmold the coasters

When you first remove the coasters from the mold, you'll notice that the resin is bendy.  This is because it hasn't finished curing yet.  It needs to sit somewhere perfectly flat, for up to a week, to cure completely. 

💡TIP:  If you want to transform the coaster into a trinket dish, find a shallow plastic bowl to lay the bendy resin into. Allow it to cure and after a few days, it will take on the shape of the bowl. 

Once your coasters have cured, they are ready to use, to gift or to sell as part of your own resin business!  Each one is a unique work of art: you can leave them as they are or you can use a gold leaf paint marker to finish off the edges for a little extra sparkle.


Read if you can use artresin to make coasters and hot plates!


We hope you've enjoyed learning how to create stunning 3D Flower Coasters.  Please leave any questions in the comments below and our customer service team will be happy to get back to you!

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Do you want to learn more resin art projects? See below our how-to tutorials. 

• Introduction to Resin Art
• How to Make an Epoxy Resin Tumbler
• How to Resin a Coaster
• How to Make a Pen Blank
• How to Create Resin Petri Dish Art
• How to Make a Charcuterie Board
• How to Make a Custom Resin Tray
• How to Make a Tiered Resin Tray
• How to Resin a Puzzle
• How to Resin a Board Game Table
• How To Make Resin Flower Coasters