Make Your Own Gorgeous Resin Geode Coasters

Follow along with us and learn how to make your own gorgeous resin geode coasters!  Here, we have included a video and written tutorial to show you the exact steps to follow to create a beautiful coaster set of your very own.  We have also included a list of the products you will need to create the look we achieved in our coasters.  Hope you enjoy and we would love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.  

In this video, I use multiple mediums, including pigment powders, alcohol inks, acrylic paints, and pigment pastes, to color the epoxy resin. Using multiple mediums creates different effects. The differing weights of the mediums forces some of the colors to sink, while other rise to the surface, and others disperse into other areas of the mold. Here is a list of all of the mediums I used, with links to buy the exact brands I used if you are attempting to recreate the effects in these coasters.

What you will need for Resin Geode Coasters

The following materials will be needed to make these beautiful pink, gold, and cream resin geode coasters.  The mold I used is really need because the pieces all fit together to form a big geode, which is a beautiful piece to have laying on any sort of table.  I get a lot of compliments of these resin geodes and I encourage you to experiment with different colors when using this technique.  If you use to same types of color mediums, no matter the color theme, you are bound to create something special.  If you want to create a different type of coaster set, here is a link to my top picks for coaster molds for resin! 

Here are the resin geode coaster materials used in this video:

Resin Geode Coaster Materials

Resin Geode Coaster Method

Step One: Prepare Workspace and Wipe Down Silicone Mold

First, you want to prepare your workspace.  Doing this properly will lead to far less headaches both during the resin pouring process as well as during the cleanup process.  My best advice for this step is to get silicone happy!  I am so obsessed with resin crafting that, when I see a kitchen tool in silicone, I am buying it.  Even if I don’t have a particular use for it quite yet, I know that I will eventually find a way to use it with my resin artwork.  The reason silicone is so important for resin artists is that silicone and resin do not stick to each other.  Silicone is the easiest surface to clean up after resin has cured because the cured resin just peels away from the silicone.  Hence why we use silicone molds.  I recommend you buy yourself a kits like the one below, which includes silicone measuring cups, silicone stir sticks, and even gloves.  These are cheap and great to have around for resin art because you can use them again and again!

I can not stress how important it is to make sure the surface you are working on is level! Use a level tool to check that your canvas sits flat on your workspace.  This will prevent you from losing any designs you made in your resin and ensure your coasters do not turn out lopsided.

Many people skip this next portion of the process, but it can make all the difference in how your final resin geode coasters turn out.  If there is any resin leftover from previous projects or dust in the mold from storage, you want to wipe your mold down with some isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel.  Paper towels work well because they do not leave any residue after wiping.  The isopropyl alcohol will ensure the cleanest surface for pouring your resin.

As far as work surfaces go, make sure yours is covered with a silicone crafting mat.  Check out Best Silicone Craft Mats for our top recommendations.

Step Two: Choose your Pigments

Pick out the pigment (colors) you want to use for your project.  I have listed the colors I used in the material list above if you want to attempt to get the same type of colored effect I got in my resin geode coasters. On your silicone craft mat, within reaching distance of your molds, lay out a row of silicone or plastic cups. Paper will work, but it is hard to reuse them.  Silicone and plastic materials will always be the most cost efficient and environmentally friendly(because we can recycle them over and over) materials to use for resin crafting. 

Put a dime-size amount of each pigments into each cup. 

Note: Remember to put your pigments into your cups before mixing your epoxy! This gives you more time after mixing your epoxy, which is valuable as a beginner.  Before you get used to only having a limited amount of time to work before your epoxy starts to harden, little tips like these make all the difference and will prevent major frustration, as well as waste. Committing to your color choices before hand also protects against indecisiveness, leading you to commit to your colors before you even think about mixing up that epoxy and starting the clock!

Step Three: Mix Epoxy Resin

Measure and Mix According to Directions on the Bottle

Check out How to Mix Bubble-Free Epoxy Resin for great tips. 

 No matter the brand of epoxy resin you choose, you must follow the directions on the bottle. Most epoxy resins require a 1:1 ratio of epoxy resin and hardener. However, there are a few brands where this differs. Be aware of whether the directions call for a 1:1 ratio measured by weight or a 1:1 ratio measured by volume. Usually, mixing instructions call for measuring epoxy resin by volume. If this is the case, all you need is a plastic or silicone measuring cup.

Use Silicone or Plastic Products with Epoxy Resin

I suggest you buy a cheap silicone measuring cup, like this one listed on Amazon: 

 

(It even comes with silicone stir sticks, which you will use, and little finger condoms, which you probably will not, but who does not love a freebie?)

Mix Thoroughly/ Avoid a Sticky Mess

When mixing, be sure to mix thoroughly. You will know the product is mixed when you stop seeing strings of resin in the cup. Also, be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the cup to ensure thorough mixing. If you do not do this, you may end up with sticky parts on your project. 

Mix Slowly/ Avoid Bubbles

resin geode coastersAnother great tip is to mix slowly.

Mixing slow helps prevent air bubbles in your epoxy resin. 

Wooden Stir Sticks=More Bubbles

If you have issues with air bubbles, you may also want to switch up your stir stick. A wooden stir stick, being porous, may also introduce extra air bubbles into the epoxy resin while mixing. Using a silicone stir stick will prevent this problem.

Step Four: Mix Pigments and Epoxy Resin

Mix epoxy resin into your cups with the pigment powder. Thoroughly mix your pigment powders with epoxy resin. Once you color your epoxy with pigment, move on to the next step. 

NOTE: Always leave some clear resin in your original cup. Having extra clear epoxy resin is handy to have for the later stages of a resin pour.

Step Five: Pour Your Resin Geode Coasters

First, Let's Learn some Resin Art Chemistry

My number one tip for getting effects in resin coasters is to use multiple types of mediums. Working with resin, an artist learns to take advantage of reactions (resulting in interesting details) created when mixing different pigments. Some examples of pigments are paints, inks, powders, glitter, etc. 

Even the world’s leading pigment mixing chemist could surprise herself when she sees the final piece.  

 It seems logical that the reactions between pigments are a result of differing densities. The different densities mean each type of pigment differs in weight. A seasoned resin artist can somewhat predict the types of effects that will result in a final product, based on which pigments she employs. For example, resin colored white with acrylic paint (thick and heavy) poured with resin colored red, with a liquid (thin and light) alcohol ink, will produce a product where the red-pigmented resin has floated to the top. Sometimes the resin mixed with the heavier pigment will dictate the color of the rings that form around any cell structures. So in this scenario, the white-pigmented resin displays as rings or outlines of the cell structures in your piece. The red-pigmented resin forms the actual cells or insides of the white circles. This effect is exasperated if you use a cell activator like silicone oil or ResiBlast.

Okay, enough of that.  How did we come up with the effects we did in our resin geode coasters?  Here is the order we poiured our pigments, for those of yuou trying to get the same effects we did. 

How to Emulate the Effects In our Resin Geode Coasters

  • Pour a puddle, about 2 inches in diameter, of clear resin directly in the center of your mold. 
  • Starting on the outside edge of your mold, pour your colored resin in circles, working toward the center.  Be sure to leave about an inch and a half of space in the center.  So, leave a little puddle of that clear resin in the middle of the pink circles you are making. We poured the pigments in the following order:
    • Pink Alcohol Ink Colored Resin
    • Metallic Pink Acrylic Paint Colored Resin
    • White Pigment Colored Resin
    • Pink Pigment Powder Colored Resin
    • White Pigment Colored Resin (Just a thin line this time)
    • Pink Acrylic Powder COlored Resin
  • In the space containing clear resin in the center of your mold, pour a puddle of your Gold Pigmented Paste Colored Resin.  You want this puddle to overlap the pink a bit, but it should not spread more than a couple of inches from the center.  
  • Next, take a toothpick or silicone stir stick and pull your resin from the center to the edge of the mold.  In other words, place your stick in the center of your mold and pull a line outwards, through the pink-colored resin we initially poured, all the way to the edge of your mold.  Repeat this in a starburst formation until you have evenly spaced lines around your entire geode. 
  • Next, pour your Gold Pigment Powder Colored Resin into the center of your mold.  If you have any leftover pink-colored resin, pour a bit in the center of the mold.  
  • Lastly, pull out the gold resin in the center a few more times, but only pull about an inch from the center. You can also run your stir stick (the one your used to pull the gold from the center) around the edges of your mold if you want to add some gold color to the pink edges. 

Step Six: Let Resin Cure

Let your coasters cure overnight and demold. If you would like, take a metallic paint pen and trace along the edges of your coasters to add a bit more flare. 

Stay Gorgeous, Stay Creative!

I hope you guys enjoyed this video and post. 

If you follow the directions in this article and watch the video tutorial, I have no doubt you will create something beautiful. 

Hope to hear from you in the comments below. Feel free to share your work on our Facebook page!

xoCraftelot

18 Responses

  1. Oh, these are cool!  I’ve just recently discovered how much fun it is to work with epoxy and you’ve just given me another interesting DIY project.  I often do crafts I either keep for myself or give as gifts to others.  On occasion, if I feel I’ve crafted something that’s sellable, I will go that route too.

    What you’ve provided here is something I believe is sellable, with practice.  I’m looking forward to see how my latest stab at working with epoxy will turn out.

    1. Millie so glad we could spark some creativity!  We would love to hear how your project turns out.  

  2. Great article and very interesting. I’m not to familiar with the terms, but you provide very good information especially the step-by-step method of making a resin geode coaster. I really like the lively colors that you have suggested and how much creativity can be done on this. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thanks David. Colors are the best way to express yourself in art. I love experimenting with them.  I am so glad you were able to check out our work.  

  3. Wow! Nice, though I don’t understand about what Resin Geode Coaster is, I was able to get the Idea through the tutorial video. You have done great by providing us with the tutorial video it’s simple to follow, however, I’m not familiar with colour mixing technics, I think that needs experts. Is it Beginner friendly or is there another post or tutorial for beginners?

    1. This is absolutely beginner-friendly.  All you need to know is that pigments go a long way in epoxy resin. You don’t usually need more than a dime-sized amount to color your resin.  We have tons of tutorials you can check out, like Round Resin Tray and Resin Wine Holder and Coasters. Both of those are beginner friendly as well!  I hope you end up trying one. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Hi, I’m pleased to meet you.

    I love this post. It’s very interesting, well presented and organized. I have really learned a lot about Make Your Own Gorgeous Resin Geode Coaster. 

    It’s great that you get a lot of compliments of these resin geodes and you encourage us to experiment with different colors when using the technique you outlined.

     This is awesome, thanks for sharing

  5. I read that mixing resin can be a little intimidating but once you get the process down it’s the same steps over and over again: you mix resin, pour, pop bubbles, layer resin, and then let it cure. They also said that regardless of the number of layers you put in your resin piece the basics are the same which makes it pretty easy to learn.

    However, when I saw various pictures of resin geodes (beautifully designed), it does not look that easy to me. Anyway, I learned something new today. Thanks for this interesting article.

    1. Jerry- Once you learn how to mix correctly it is pretty simple.  However, it can be intimidating to learn at the beginning.  I recently purchased a mixing machine which makes some of my projects much less tedious.  You can get so intricate with resin and the different types of pigments. Basically, you could create anything you put your mind to using the same method.  Thanks for stopping by. 

  6. Hey Craftelot, thanks for this useful article. I’ve been looking for ways to make art and crafts at home but until now, I haven’t found any articles with actionable and comprehensive instructions. So thanks for this! 🙂 The video you posted was very useful and easy to follow as well. I’ve dabbled with resin geode coasters back at my old boarding school when I was younger and I really enjoyed it! When did you learn how to make your own resin geode coasters?

    1. Honestly, I am pretty new to the resin art space.  I started a little over a year ago. I needed to find a hobby and fell in love with resin art pretty quickly.  If you are interested more in my back story, check out About Us.  You should try making some more coasters.  Bet you still enjoy it!  Thanks for stopping by!

  7. Well, I have to say, I’ve been reading quite a few of your posts here lately and they are absolutely brilliant. They always make me feel creative and want to do something creative when I read them. I dontb think i need any coasters but i reckon theres plenty of other things you could make using the same method

    1. Absolutely, check out the resit of our tutorials.  I bet you can find something you could use in your home.  Or you may find something you could make as a gift for someone. Thanks for stopping by the site.  

  8. Hello there! This is an interesting read. These days I’ve been really mesmerized by resin technology especially after watching people create landscapes using resin. Unfortunately, I only watched them create the final product but did not necessarily learn the steps and the materials required. But I am glad I ran into your post that teaches people about the materials and steps needed. Reading through your post, the steps seem pretty straight forward to do. I definitely would’ve missed something as simple as the leveling step to make sure the final product doesn’t come out lopsided. Thanks for this. 

    1. Mike, I am so glad we could break it all down for you.  Leveling is literally the most important thing you can do for any resin project.  If you don’t do it, it is a very frustrating experience.  Even with a thick resin, you will go back to check on your project 12 hours after the fact and it will all be a puddle next to a canvas. Thanks for stopping by!

  9. Wow. These look so pretty and it’s something I’ve always wanted to try! 

    Unique that you have them in triangles to form one big circle. I would never have thought of that, but they would look perfect as a centre piece on the coffee table until someone needs to use a piece as a coaster. I’d probably make one in blues and either silver or gold, not decided yet. Either way, you’ve inspired me! Thank you.

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