I am sooooooo excited to share a little tutorial with you today… something fun, interesting and a bit creative: resin salad plates! I already have a serving tray and a 3-tiered tray so I needed salad plates in order to round out my tablescape.
I am decorating everything with resin these days!
Of course, you can make 1 plate or 12 with this little technique so you don’t necessarily need a tablescape… but it sure is pretty.
Ready to jump in and make a little plate out of resin?
Supplies:
- Amazing Clear Cast Resin (about 300-350ml per plate)
- Respirator/Mask (resin graded filters)
- Gloves
- Wagner HT400 Heat Gun
- Silicone Mold
- Freezer Paper
- Baking Pan
- Silicone Mat
- Small Mixing Cups
- Silicone Measuring Cup/Larger Mixing Cups
- Reusable Silicone Stir Sticks
- Pink Pearl Craft Paint
- White Alcohol Ink & Pearl Alcohol Ink
- Holographic Glitter
- Rose Gold Glitter
- Copper Oil Based Paint
IMPORTANT: When it comes to resin and food not all resins are created equal. Amazing clear cast resin is the only resin that is considered food safe after curing. It must sit for 7 full days to cure and only then is it considered food safe… and it still cannot go in the dishwasher or microwave.
Another thing to note is that by using paint/alcohol ink or other colors in your resin they may no longer be food safe. So by making these plates rose gold and blush we may be making them less safe… there is no way to know without testing. You can use them as decorative pieces or coat them with a food safe clear spray sealer in order to eat off them… your choice!
How to Make a Custom Resin Salad Plate
Prep your Space!
Resin cures fast y’all… so before we get started we have to get everything ready. No point in running around looking for the perfect rose gold glitter while our resin cures!
So set everything up in a well ventilated area and put down freezer paper on your work surface. If you have a door you can close that’s great but if you’re working on your front porch (like me!) cover a baking pan with a silicone mat so that you can move your project inside to dry when your done.
Then grab your respirator and gloves and we’ll get started!
Just getting started with resin? Feeling overwhelmed? I’ve shared every singe item you’ll need to make this specific tray in the supply list below but if you’re just getting started with resin you might be a bit overwhelmed. Don’t worry! Let’s take it back to the beginning. I’ve written an entire post on what to buy to get started with resin post just for you! Then you can jump into Resin 101: Working with resin for Beginners where I’ll answer all of your resin project questions!
Step 1: Mix your Resin
Ready to rock? Let’s get mixing!
Start by setting out your silicone cups and placing your colors inside. That way you don’t have to waste resin curing time dripping color into cups. I used a blush pink, a copper, a rose gold glitter, a pearl white and a clear with holographic glitter for these little plates… a little goes a long way so only add a few drops of each.
Once your colors are ready to go it’s time to mix! Go ahead and mix about 350 ml of clear resin in your large mixing cup. If you’ve never mixed resin before go ahead and follow my how to mix resin tutorial… it will walk you through all the steps!
Once you’re all mixed up go ahead and pour resin into your color cups. You’ll need about 100ml of blush and clear (with holographic glitter), 50ml of rose gold glitter and white (I used a white alcohol ink and a pearl for a white pearl), followed by 30ml of copper.
Once you’ve mixed all the colors together (make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the cup as you stir!) make sure to pop any micro bubbles that arise in the cups with your heat gun.
Bonus: Did you notice the large mold in the background and wonder what kind of plate we’re making? Good catch! That’s not our plate mold at all but the largest mold from our little 3-tiered tray. When possible I mix resin for different projects at the same time! In this case I mixed resin for this little plate and my 3-tiered tray at once!
Step 2: Pour your Resin
Now let’s start pouring our resin into the mold (now that’s a plate mold! I made this one myself… and I’ll share the tutorial on how you can make one soon so stay tuned!). When you’re starting to pour into this mold keep in mind that the first resin will fall down into the edges of the mold and eventually be the edges of our plate.
So pick colors that will look good with our little detail work on the outside of this plate! That tends to be the solid colors (it really shows off the definition) so I like to pour blush and white first and then use my stirring stick to push it down into the edges.
Then keep pouring resin… pour it all in. You can make your little guy however you like but I’ve found that until the edges are completely full of resin it’s best to pour your resin in lines across the opening… this way the color will fall down into the edges in chunks of color that blend well.
I like to do big chunky lines of my solid colors and tiny ribbons of the glitter and copper colors.
Take a look!
Okay y’all once you get closer and closer to the top of the mold you’ll need to decide what you want the center of your plate to look like. You can keep going with the lines but I like to make mine a little interesting so I start a design.
With this one that meant a little circular shape that would show off the colors in the middle. I have learned by trial and error two things: the plates look better with a solid color directly in the middle (the clears blend more showing off all the different layers which makes the middle just a tad messy) and 2: placing glitter in the exact middle will make most of the glitter fall to the front of your plate and you won’t be able to see the blended colors.
So a solid color (either the white or blush) works great on the middle of our little plates! Do with that what you will!
Once the resin is full all the way up to the top go ahead and use your little heat gun to pop any micro bubbles that have risen to the surface. Then place your tray in a clean, dry room (with something to cover it from dust and dog hair) and let it cure for 24 hours.
Step 3: Demold your Plate!
This is the absolute best step… and the most nerve wracking!
Probably because the mold for this little plate comes up and over the back of the plate… so getting the plate out is a bit harder than a traditional backless mold.
Don’t worry it’s not too hard.
Start by peeling the silicone away from the plate allllllll the way around the back. You’ll want to release as much of the silicone now as you can. Next grab a side and pull it over the top of the plate.
This is the trickiest part so be careful and go slow. Two things you want to watch for are 1) the mold ripping because you stretch it past it’s stretching point. And 2) pushing sooooo much that the still not fulling cured resin bends and your plate is now wonky.
Even though you can demold at 24 hours your little plate still needs to cure for a full 7 days so keep it as straight as possible (although you can bend it back into place if need be. If it gets really bendy place it face down on a flat surface and put something flat and heavy (book!) on top of it to force it back into shape… leave it there until it cures. Don’t ask how I know)/.
Once you get the mold over the top of the plate the rest is easy peezy… take out your plate and stare at it in wonder.
Ohhhh! Ahhhh!
Beautiful darling!
At this point you can be finished! Set your plate aside to cure for the full 7 days needed to be food safe and you’re good to go!
Or you can spray it with a clear spray that will make it even more food safe.
OR if there are little pieces that are funky you can do a bit of sanding work with your dremel and give it a topcoat of resin… then set it aside for 7 days to fully cure.
The options are really up to you! And your plate!
Ready to see the pretty finished shots?
I absolutely LOVE how these turned out… I’m kind of obsessed actually.
Of course, the only thing better than the plates by themselves is the plates on the actual tablescape… here’s a little sneak peek!
Looking for more resin projects? I’ve got you covered!
Your collection turned out just beautiful! You also do a great job of putting together very good informative videos/tutorials. I can’t wait to get started with resin projects, just waiting on some of the supplies to arrive. Unfortunately now isn’t the time to find a respirator and so far I haven’t been able to find a reasonably priced one in stock. I’m sure that will change shortly.
I would love to see a tutorial with tips on creating your own plate mold since there doesn’t seem to be any decent ones out there.
Thanks for all your info.
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying them! Respirators are definitely in short (not existent) supply right now. I am putting together a tutorial for the plate mold (the video is shot!) I just need the time to edit it all together for a post and video. Soon!