If you have ever asked yourself how to shape resin, let me assure you that you can! I made this bowl after having some leftover resin from my mother’s day gift idea where I finished a photo collage board with resin. Making a resin bowl is a great leftover resin project, so have your supplies ready the next time you find yourself with extra resin.
Step 1
You will need a plastic, disposable drop cloth for this project. You can find them in the painting section of a home improvement store. The thicker the plastic, the better. Peeling the resin off thick plastic is easier than thin plastic.
Step 2
Cut off a square of plastic about three times larger than you think you will need. For this resin project, I wanted a bowl a little larger than my hand.
To help create the bowl form, choose something to serve as the bowl template. I used a small jelly jar.
Next, pull up the plastic along the sides of the jar and use a sharpie to make several marks on the plastic where the edge of the jar meets the plastic.
You will need several marks to establish the boundary of where you will pour your resin.
Step 3
I wanted a multicolor resin bowl that used clear and colored resin, along with some embellishments. For this bowl, I kept half of the resin clear and colored the other half with Resin Obsession transparent yellow.
Step 4
The next step in how to shape resin is to pour the resin! I filled the center of the plastic with colored resin. Let your marks on the plastic help guide you to the boundaries of where you should not pour resin.
After you have colored resin in the center, add a ring of clear resin around it. Don’t get worried about the uneven nature of the pour. That’s what will give your resin bowl an abstract feel.
Step 5
Go over the surface of your resin with a heat gun to remove bubbles.
Step 6
Add complimentary colored beads in a variety of shapes to the clear resin section.
Once you have the resin to way you like it, set it aside to soft cure.
NOTE: Before moving on to the next step, the resin needs to be rubbery and bendable, but not fully cured. This time varies amongst resins. Check it every couple of hours until it gets to this stage.
Step 7
Once the resin is soft, peel it away from the dropcloth. Squeeze it to form it in an abstract shape.
Once you get a shape you like, set it aside to cure. To keep it in the shape I made, I let the resin finish curing in a box to hold up the sides while the jar I used as my template weighted down the center.
Enjoy your freeform resin shape!
I really like how the bowl turned out. It looks like something abstract made from glass. I’ve set it on a shelf in my kitchen, but I could easily see using this bowl on my desk to hold pencils or rubber bands.
What else would you like to know about how to shape resin?
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This is pretty cool! I like the free form look and the choice of inclusions … as a jewelry designer, I have TONS of beads! Question, tho … could you have inverted the jelly jar and draped the soft cure resin over it rather than trying to keep the edges of the bowl up?
Hi Kim, probably, but tricky part would be doing it once the resin had cured enough that it was still flexible but wouldn’t stick to the jar. You would have to pull it off sooner than I did (about 4 hours after mixing and pouring).
Simply cut another piece of plastic to cover the upended jar and then drape away. This also would allow you to adjust the folds of the draping more to your liking and if you poured more than the depth of the jar you could fold out the resin like petals.
You’re right Gabriele. This would work great!
Oooo, thank you! What a great idea!
If you want to invert the free-form bowl on the glass jar, just use another another piece of plastic and put it over the jar prior to the resin. That way it will not stick. What I do is put the pliable resin over my glass jar plastic side down and use my gloved hands to shape it over the jar. That’s the easiest and quickest way I’ve found that works without sticking. Hope this helps 😊
What an amazing suggestion Tammy. Thanks for sharing!
oh most excellent—
thank you for your insight!
I cover column candles with amazon bubble mailers (cut into strips and tape together) and raise them with a jar or bowl so the sides drape and fold. This makes a great candle holder.
Do you have any pics or a link to describe what youre talking about? Sounds very interesting!
I have tried to make freeform bowls on the past without much success. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Thanks Larry, I hope to hear this works for you!
The bowl is really pretty. A unique gift idea for friends that have everything.
Thanks Lorraine, I love it too.
Love this, what a great idea! Thank you!
Beautiul. I am a newbie to resin and have just started using it with some jewelry. What I do is small and I use resin that is cured in a UV lamp. What kind of resin is this?
Hi Jo, it sounds like you used UV resin.
Yes, I know. I was asking what kind of resin is the bowl made from.
This is most likely epoxy resin that cures on its own over time rather than with a UV light. Both have similar effects just a matter of how quickly you want your pieces and art to be ready! 🙂
This is a two part resin. You need to mix in the catalyst to allow the chemical reaction that causes hardening. The commonly used mix is 1:1. These resins usually cure in about 24 hours, going thru different stages of hardness as they cure.
The resin she used is a 2-part epoxy resin.
Hi Jo, yes, others are correct in that I used leftover two-part epoxy resin for artwork. You can find it in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/resin-obsession-artwork-resin
Beautiful. Can’t wait to try it!!!
I want to protect acrylic paintings on old glass in old frames – how can I pour resin on the glass and not have it become larger because it fits in the frame now and has to fit the frame. We will be using these for making a Green house.
Hi Irene, I’m afraid the resin is going to add volume. There’s no way to use it without it making the area larger.
are resin bowls safe for food
No, they are not.
Is there a resin that is good safe?
Hi Pat, do you mean food safe? If so, we have some in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/foodsafe
After tips from you about plastic and challenges I had trying this before, I tried again and had a wonderful outcome making an ocean themed bowl with tiny seashells, sand dollars and starfish along the outer edges. The only issue I had was waiting too long to drape it and had some cracking along fold lines. I learned the timing of the resin I used and the 2nd time it turned out perfectly! Thanks for the inspiration, guidance and encouragement! You take the fear of wasting material away and inspire ways to use leftover resin at the same time. LOVE your site!
Thanks Kimberly, I’m so glad to hear it worked out for you!
How do I share a picture to you. How I use my unused resin. A natural Acorn cap from the oak tree, a few baby leaves from the oak tree they have been pressed and anything else natural that I find on the sidewalk or woods. I glued these small items into an acorn cap and there they set until I have a few drops of resin left over. Most of them go to friends or Family so I also add a Freshwater Pearl to each .
Hi Sherry, I saw your email. What a cute idea for leftover resin!
would this method work if done larger and thicker? say, small bathroom sink size?
Hmm. I don’t see why not.
Do you touch resin to shape with barehands? If so what about fingerprints
Hi Marion, you should wear gloves anytime you are working with resin that isn’t fully cured.
Hi. This is great. Thanks for sending! I didn’t know you can use leftover resin. How?
Do you combine it with others leftover?
Can you take projects that didn’t work and somehow melt it down?
Last is I see candle molds. How can you use a candle in it without melting? Do you just use the plastic ones?
Hi Wendy, unfortunately, once resin is cured, you can’t melt it down to use again. Resin vases are only safe for flameless candles. They can melt with the heat of a hot flame.