I decided to make resin coasters for a housewarming present for friends who just bought a house. I laid out all my supplies (resin, silicone moulds, sand, transparent and opaque dyes, glitter, paint, stir sticks, cups, my Martha Stewart heat gun, gloves, a table cloth, kitchen scale, and smock. I mixed up the equal parts resin and hardener, and mixed in some gold glitter and real sand) and got to work. I’m not nearly patient enough with this craft, and need to learn how to slow down and let things sit a bit first, but that’s a lesson for another day!

I mixed up some resin with sand and a bunch of glitter, and poured it into the mould. I should have let that sit for several hours, but of course I didn’t. Then I mixed up two batches of resin with opaque blue dye and paint, and one with white paint. I layered it into the mould and used a heat gun to mix it up and create the lace effect I was after. I was pleased enough with how it looked on the back, but realized the mould wasn’t full, and I wanted to add more resin.

I let it harden over two days, and then couldn’t leave well enough alone. I mixed up some resin with transparent blue and green dyes, and a batch of resin with white paint. I should have used transparent white dye instead of opaque white paint, because it obliterated any lace work I had achieved. Whoops.

I used the rest of the resin to make two little trinket boxes with the same ocean theme. I still need to trim the raw edges, but then they will be done.

I was happy enough with the end result, and will probably make another set of three coasters for a full set of six. This time, I will try letting it dry between layers. I found the sand mixed with the surf, which is fine, but the sand is not opaque like I wanted. We’ll see what happens this weekend. They move at the end of May, so I’ve got time.