Why Resin and Pressed Flowers Work So Well Together

There is something quietly satisfying about trapping a handful of summer in a clear disc of resin. Pressed flowers keep their shape and much of their colour, and a thin epoxy pour suspends them without drowning them. Done well, the result looks like a little window into a hedgerow — and because the finished coaster is hard, waterproof and easy to wipe clean, it earns its place on the coffee table rather than hiding in a drawer.

The trick is not to pour everything at once. Layering in two or three thin pours gives you control: the petals stay where you put them, bubbles have less chance to gather, and the resin cures more evenly. It also means you can build up depth, so a seed head sits slightly above a fern frond inside the same coaster. Expect to make a set of four in an afternoon, plus a couple of days of waiting around in between.

Choosing and Preparing Your Flowers

Almost anything flat and papery presses well. Pansies, cosmos, cornflowers, violas, forget-me-nots, tiny rose petals and fern sprigs are all reliable. Avoid thick, fleshy blooms such as full roses or dahlias — they hold moisture and will turn brown inside the resin. Pick on a dry morning after the dew has lifted, and choose flowers at their peak rather than ones already going over.

Press them between sheets of blotting paper or cartridge paper inside a heavy book, and leave for two to three weeks. Change the paper after the first few days to draw out moisture. Speed things up with a proper flower press if you have one. What matters is that they are completely dry; any residual moisture will cloud the resin, and a damp petal will darken to a muddy brown within weeks.

Once pressed, handle petals with tweezers. Oils from your fingers can leave marks that show up as greasy patches once the resin sets.

What You Will Need

• A silicone coaster mould — round or hexagonal, roughly 10cm across and 8mm deep, works best
• A casting epoxy resin kit with a stated mix ratio (by weight is more accurate than by volume)
• Digital scales accurate to 1g, two mixing cups, and wooden stirrers
• Nitrile gloves, a dust sheet, and a well-ventilated room at around 20–22°C
• Fine tweezers, cocktail sticks, and a heat gun or hairdryer on a cool setting
• Wet-and-dry sandpaper in 400, 800, 1200 and 2000 grit, plus polishing compound
• Your pressed flowers, sorted into small piles by coaster

Work in a warm room. Cold resin thickens, traps bubbles and may cure with a tacky surface that never quite sets.

Pouring in Thin Layers

Mix your resin exactly to the manufacturer's ratio. Stir slowly for a full three minutes, scraping the sides and base of the cup — frantic stirring whips in air that you will spend the next hour chasing. Let the mixed resin stand for five minutes so bubbles rise.

Pour a base layer about 2–3mm deep into each mould. Warm the surface briefly with the heat gun; bubbles will pop and the resin will level itself. Now leave it until it reaches a soft gel stage — usually four to eight hours depending on the product and room temperature. It should feel like stiff honey and hold a fingerprint gently.

This is the moment to place your flowers. Lay them face down if you want the petal detail closest to the viewer, and use tweezers and a cocktail stick to nudge them into position. Press each one down lightly so it makes contact with the gelled layer — this stops it floating later. Work quickly but calmly; once the gel has fully firmed, flowers will not sit flat.

Once the arrangement is in place, mix a fresh batch and pour a sealing layer, again 2–3mm, bringing the resin just level with the mould rim. A cocktail stick dragged around each petal helps the resin flow underneath and prevents trapped air. Check for bubbles, warm the surface, then cover the moulds with a clean box or upturned tub to keep out dust.

Curing, Sanding and Finishing

Leave the coasters undisturbed for 24 hours before demoulding. They will still be slightly flexible; the resin needs a further 72 hours to reach full hardness. Set them on a flat surface, not a wire rack, while they finish curing.

The edges are where homemade coasters betray themselves, so give them a little attention. Wet-sand through the grits, moving up only when the previous scratches have disappeared. Finish with polishing compound and a soft cloth until the rim is glassy.

If something has gone wrong, most faults are fixable. A soft, sticky surface almost always means an inaccurate mix ratio. Cloudy patches point to damp flowers. A flower that drifted can be sanded back or simply accepted as part of the design.

Living With Your Coasters

Epoxy is water-resistant but not indestructible. Wipe with a damp cloth and mild soap, and keep them out of the dishwasher, the microwave and prolonged direct sunlight, which will eventually fade the petals. Very hot mugs straight from the kettle are best rested on a mat, as sudden heat can soften the surface.

Felt pads on the underside protect your furniture and stop the coasters sliding. Make them in sets that record a season — spring violets, midsummer cornflowers, autumn seed heads — and you have gifts that carry a particular walk or garden in them. Start with one batch of four, learn how your resin behaves, and the next set will be better still.