6 Resin Art Ideas for the Creative Soul
Where do I even start on the topic of resin art. I think it was the gateway into all my crafting during the pandemic. It was the one craft I stuck with — and made decent money doing it. I began the resin journey by making it more complicated than it needed to be. I wanted to make resin D&D dice, so I learned how to make my own silicone molds, then cast resin. The dice always came out terrible…then I learned I could just buy molds from anywhere else to make it easier. I did make a few other things out of silicone myself for resin, but I’ll get to that later.
Most of the molds I used were for generic functional items like planter pots and ashtrays, but I also tried to branch out into other unique things. If you’d like to see all of my resin creations, check out my art Instagram.
Here’s a list of 6 resin art ideas for you to try:
Resin Ashtrays
As a cigar smoker myself, I figured plenty of other people might be into resin ashtrays (for, well, other types of smoking). I’ve put lots of things in my ashtrays, such as flowers, glitters, bottle caps, cigar bands, and even metal hardware. Peep the whole ass wrench I fit in the mold! If you’re interested in resin ashtray making, these were the most profitable for me in the long-run. I had lots of takers on Facebook and Instagram for custom orders.
2. Resin Coasters
I tried to really push myself to make cool resin coasters once I had a request to make a simple set for a friend. My favorite pair I made for myself were these clear resin coasters with dried acrylic paint chips inside.
3. Resin Succulent Planter Pots
The planter pots are still my favorite things to make out of resin. I can make sets of 3 and sell them cheap (~$5 each) — people go nuts for them. They also make great gifts for anyone!
4. Resin Chess Sets
I won’t lie, I sold a ton of resin chess sets when I was really into resin art. And I sold them for a lot of money. For $75 I would make 2 different colored sets and handmade a chess board out of a 10”x10” wooden canvas and permanent vinyl cut on my Cricut machine. I found it insanely stressful to make these, even for fun. First, the resin had to be bubble-free, which is always hit or miss. Then, if everything came out perfect I’d have to superglue each half together…perfectly. It was a disaster. I wouldn’t recommend making these unless you’re a patient, ambitious person. Still gonna leave these on my ideas list in case anyone wants to see what finished products look like!
5. Resin Backgammon Sets
Similar to the chess sets, these were difficult to make. I also sold these for $75 including the board. The pieces were very simple to make — I used a silicone mold meant to make small chocolates to make the backgammon pieces. The hard part was the board, which I made using a 10”x10” wooden canvas and permanent vinyl cut on my Cricut machine. I just found it really difficult to attach the vinyl without it sticking to itself, so I got super frustrated making these. The ones that did work out came out cool, though.
6. Resin Art Creations Using DIY Silicone Molds
You made it this far! Last but not least, like I said earlier, I began my resin art journey by pouring resin into silicone molds I made myself. I only made a handful of molds until I realized how much easier it was to just buy premade molds. In any event, I made casts of dice, fossils ammonites, and polymer clay figurines I crafted. My favorite cast was of a little dude I made out of polymer clayed. I named him “Tater” and hid him around the house during the pandemic. When a family member would find him, they would take turns hiding him again. It was a ton of fun!