Resin can make such beautiful art and I wanted to try it! For some reason I got it in my head that I wanted to do a quilling project in a tray and then cover it with resin. So that is what I did. Here's how you can do it too.
Supplies
Wax paper
Template or pattern
Plastic cups
Chopsticks or stirring stick
Step 1:
Find an inspiration. My Mom is very into quilting, so for her Christmas present I wanted to do a quilting pattern out of quilled paper. I first created a template and printed it out. I did this in Adobe Illustrator to make sure all my shapes were equal size and lined up right, but you could easily do this in powerpoint, google slides or with a ruler. The pattern was exactly the same size as my tray.
I roughly colored the pattern and then covered it with wax paper. The wax paper helps the quilled creation from sticking to the pattern. The wax paper I used is the same kind I use for baking, so it was something I already had. I placed the template and overlaid wax paper over a cork board. This cork board came in the Amazon quilling kit I bought.
Step 2:
Create your quilled object. I very carefully pinned everything down. I started with the color components. I first outlined some shapes with strips of paper, pinning them in place. Then I added in the flowers and curls to the center of them. For the border in-between my colored creations, I decided I would not have everything touching and use white delicate shapes. Finally, I rolled a ton of little white loose circle quills to act like stitching throughout the piece.
Step 3:
Glue everything down to the tray. So after I was done creating the quilled quilt, I glued it down onto my tray. The glue I have been using came with my Amazon quilled kit but I'm pretty sure Elmers glue would be just fine. I let the glue dry for several hours, just to be safe.
You could certainly skip creating a quilled project on the cork board and directly glue things down to your tray. I wanted my design to be fairly precise and didn't want pencil lines on the tray, so I opted to use the cork board.
Step 4:
Cover it in resin. Follow the directions that come with your resin product. Make sure you calculate how much resin you will need. I roughly estimated how much I needed by measuring the inside area of the box (length x width) and multiplying it by 3 mm. The 3 mm was the height of my quilling paper. I added a couple extra ounces to make sure I covered everything.
The brand I used was Art 'n Glow. Using the resin was as simple as measuring out equal amounts of the two chemicals, mixing them together in a new cup and the pouring the resin over my project. I used plastic cups I had on hand as well as a pair of chopsticks that come with chinese food to stir the two chemicals together. Sometimes it pays to hoard those extra food products.
Step 5:
Remove bubbles. I read online that there may be bubbles in the resin once it was poured and one way to remove them was with a heat gun. I did end up buying a cheap one that worked perfectly. Actually, I was surprised at how quickly the bubbles just disappeared. But I do think that a simple lighter would be just fine. Either way I do suggest this step. It makes the end result look even more finished and professional. Wait a few minutes once you have poured the resin to see if the bubbles will pop on their own, then use the heat gun.
Step 6:
Let it dry. After the heat gun, I just let it sit. I did cover the tray with plastic so no dust would stick to the top. I found that my tray was still a little tacky by the next day. However, more time has helped and I think the longer you let it sit the less tacky it will be.
Tip: For the trays used in the link above, I found using 3 mm paper was ideal. This allowed for the resin to completely cover the paper but not overflow through the handle holes.
Anyways, that is how I made this beautiful tray. I plan to do this sort of project again as I really liked how it turned out.
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