DIY Flower Paperweight

Hi friends! My office is where I spend a lot of my time and I have been working on getting it more organized and keeping it in order. That’s hard to do when you’re a pathological crafter! Recently, I realized I needed something to stacks of papers from moving or falling of my desk, or worse, getting hit by a fan and flying everywhere, so I decided to create a beautiful resin paperweight that I’d love to have on my desk. In this tutorial I am going to show you how to create this DIY flower paperweight by layering resin. This process takes a few days due to long resin curing time, but overall is a quick project and simple to do!

DIY Flower Paperweight by layering resin

This post first appeared on Resin Crafts Blog. There are affiliate links in this post which means that if you click and buy something through them then I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. See more information on my Disclosures page. Thank you for your support! 

SUPPLIES:

• EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy
• Mixing Cups and Stir Sticks
• Dome mold
• Mold Release and Conditioning Spray
• Paper Flowers
• Envirotex Spray Clear Sealer
• Ultra-Seal Multipurpose Glue Sealer
• Glitter
• Paper Towel
• Micro butane torch (optional, but helpful!)

LAYER 1:

The first step of the project is to spray your mold with Mold Release and Conditioner Spray. This will make it easier to remove the paperweight once it has cured and is an important step. Let the spray dry completely.

This mold is a dome shape, so the first layer will actually be the top of the paperweight. I wanted the top of mine to be clear. To create the first layer, mix the EasyCast resin according to the instructions in the box. Then mix equal amounts of Part A and Part B in a small cup. Stir thoroughly. (It’s a good idea to use vinyl gloves for this, especially if you’re new to working with resin.)

Pour the mixed resin into a new, clean cup and continue to mix thoroughly; this two-cup process ensures that the resin is completely mixed and that no unmixed parts pour into your mold from the sides of the cup leaving soft spots in your casting. 

Pour the mixed resin into your dome mold. There will be some bubbles, which you can pop either with a micro butane torch or by exhaling slowly just above your resin project.

Once your resin is poured, let it cure completely. Mine took about 24 hours. The warmer the room, the faster it will cure.

LAYER 2:

Now we are going to add some paper flowers. The first thing to do is spray these flowers with the Envirotex Spray Resin Sealer and let them dry.

Next, use the Ultra-Seal sealer or ModPodge to glue the flowers in place. This glue dries clear so it will not be an issue to use it against the clear resin of the first layer.

Once the flowers are glued in place and the glue has dried, mix another small cup of resin as you did before.

Pour the second layer of resin into the mold and over the flowers. I made just enough to almost cover the flowers, but not quite. They stick out just a little because I wanted them to go slightly into the third layer that we will pour next.

Let this second layer cure for another day.

LAYER 3:

Mix another batch of resin. I used larger cups this time because I needed more resin in order to fill the rest of the mold.

Once the resin is mixed, pour as much glitter as you want into it to get the coverage you prefer.

I didn’t want the paperweight to have a solid glitter bottom, so I didn’t add as much as some people might in order to get a more solid glitter layer. I was happy with how this looked.

Pour the glitter resin into the mold for the third and final layer.

Again pop the bubbles in whatever method works for you, and let it cure for another day.

In order to prevent any dust from getting into my project I covered it with this bell jar glass container.

When the resin is cured, go ahead and remove it from the mold.

I simply flipped the mold over and pushed with my thumbs to get it out. It took a little maneuvering, pushing around on all parts of the mold, but eventually, it just popped right out of there.

FINISHED!

Now you have a finished sparkly, floral paperweight that looks great! With the clear layers of resin, you can see the flowers quite well! And as you see from all of the reflections, it’s beautiful and shiny.

This is what the back looks like. A lot more glitter.

This shot shows the separation in the layers, though most angles do not. It actually worked!

From the top the layers aren’t completely apparent like they were when viewing it from the bottom.

And there you have it, a beautiful DIY Flower Paperweight! Now my papers will stay where I want them!

What do you think? Do you like this project? Would you try layering resin? Please share this image via Pinterest!

Keep on makin’ stuff!

This post first appeared, written by me, on Resin Crafts Blog. 

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Poured Resin Wall Art

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