How to Make Resin Bookmarks (3 Easy Techniques)

1. 1

   Step 1: Mix Resin and Pour a Base Layer

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   Mix your two-part epoxy by volume, following the ratio on your bottles. Stir slow for a couple of minutes until it runs clear with no cloudy streaks. Rushing the stir whips in bubbles, so keep it gentle.

   Pour a thin clear layer into the bottom of your silicone bookmark mold and nudge it into the corners with a stir stick. This base holds your flowers flat so they don't float around once you build up the next layer.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Work in a warm room. Cold resin is thick, traps more bubbles, and takes much longer to cure.

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   Used in this steptwo-part epoxy resin kitsilicone bookmark moldsresin mixing cups and stir sticksnitrile gloves

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2. 2

   Step 2: Arrange Pressed Flowers in the Mold

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   Lay your pressed flowers and leaves out on the table first so you can plan the layout before anything gets wet. Once you like it, use tweezers to lift each piece and set it into the resin base.

   Place the flowers face-down, since the bottom of the mold becomes the front of the finished bookmark. Space them along the strip and leave a little clear resin around each one so the design has room to breathe.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Press your own flowers a couple of weeks ahead in a heavy book. Fully dry flowers keep their color in resin, while fresh ones can brown.

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   Used in this stepdried pressed flowers assortmentcraft tweezers

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3. 3

   Step 3: Add Gold Foil for Sparkle

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   Gold foil gives the floral bookmark a bit of shine around the flowers. Stir a pinch of foil flakes into a small cup of resin first, rather than dropping them dry onto the mold. Wetting them this way keeps air bubbles from clinging to each flake.

   Spoon the foil-flecked resin wherever the design needs sparkle. A little goes a long way, so scatter it and step back before adding more.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Gold leaf and mica powder both work here. Mica gives a softer shimmer, foil gives sharp glints. Try mixing the two.

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   Used in this stepgold foil flakes for resinmica powder set

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4. 4

   Step 4: Swirl Alcohol Ink for a Marbled Look

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   For the ink bookmarks, pour a clear resin layer into the mold, then add a couple of drops of alcohol ink. Drag a stir stick through it once or twice and stop. Blue and white read like clouds, so let the color bleed on its own instead of over-mixing.

   Running two shades in one strip gives you that marbled, watery effect. Every pour comes out a little different, which is half the fun.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Alcohol ink is strong. Start with one drop, swirl, then add more only if you want it darker. You can't take color back out.

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   Used in this stepalcohol ink set

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5. 5

   Step 5: Pour a Glitter Gradient

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   For the glitter bookmark, stir fine glitter or mica into a cup of clear resin, then pour it along one end of the mold. Tip the strip slightly so the glitter drifts and thins out toward the middle. That gives you a gradient instead of a solid block of sparkle.

   You can layer glitter over a set ink base to combine both looks in one bookmark. A packed glitter end fading into clear resin reads best.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Fine cosmetic-grade glitter suspends better than chunky craft glitter, which tends to sink to one edge before the resin sets.

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   Used in this stepfine craft glitter setmica powder set

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6. 6

   Step 6: Top Coat and Clear the Bubbles

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   Once your inclusions sit the way you want, pour one last clear coat to fill the mold right to the top. Check that every flower, foil flake, and edge is fully covered so nothing pokes up above the surface after it cures.

   Run a heat gun or torch a few inches above the surface for a second or two. The heat draws surface bubbles up and pops them, which is what gives resin that glassy finish. Then leave it alone to cure.

   Tip:

   Watch this step Keep the heat moving. Holding it on one spot can scorch the resin or push your flowers out of place.

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   Used in this stepresin heat guntwo-part epoxy resin kit

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7. 7

   Step 7: Demold and Add a Tassel

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   Give the resin a full cure, usually 24 hours, before you touch it. When it's hard, flex the silicone mold and the bookmarks pop out clean with a glossy face and smooth edges.

   If your mold has a molded hole, thread a tassel straight through it. If not, punch a small hole near one end, slip on a jump ring, and loop the tassel onto that. A tassel finishes the piece and makes it easy to find in a book.

   Tip:

   Watch this step If an edge feels sharp after demolding, a quick pass with fine sandpaper smooths it. Wipe off the dust before you handle it.

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   Used in this stepbookmark tassels with jump ringsjump ring assortmenthole punch

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Keep going

How to Open a Jump Ring the Right Way

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