I have a fun resin project for you today, how to use gold leaf with resin! I will walk you through using both dyed and clear resin along with gold leaf all made in a petri dish to create a novel coaster for your home.
This post may contain affiliate links, view my full disclosure policy.
Do you love resin projects? Or are you interested in learning new techniques or getting started all together. Make sure to check out a few of my other resin projects like Resin Art with Eyeshadow or How to Pour Resin on Wood for Beginners. Watch this video on how to make a galaxy resin dish.
I have used gold leaf in a number of projects, it’s a beautiful material that creates a look you just can’t get with paint. If you want another project with gold leaf make sure to take a look at DIY Gold Leaf Wall Art.
Resin Coaster Silicone Mold Supplies
- Amazing Clear Cast Resin
- Petri Dish Silicon Mold
- Gold leaf sheets
- Tweezer – for working with the gold metal leaf
- Toothpick – for manipulating the gold metal leaf once in the resin
- Opaque Resin Dye
When mixing resin, always work in a well ventilated area. Cover your work surface, wear gloves and a mask. Resin can be dangerous, but if used properly you won’t have any issues.
To get started, I mixed up a batch of clear resin in a one-to-one ratio. Most resin comes in a 2 part kit, follow the mixing directions on the kit your purchase.
One good tip is to make sure to let it sit for just a little while to allow for some of the bubbles that form during mixing to make their way out. Then, pour this clear resin into one of the petri dish molds. Make sure to only fill it about half full. Again, let this sit to allow for some more bubbles to rise up and out.
While the resin is still a little wet, add some of the gold leaf. Remember, gold leaf can be very fragile. That is where the tweezers come in. Use the tweezers to break off small pieces of the metallic leaf. Then, drop pieces of the gold leaf into the clear resin that you have sitting in the petri dish mold.
I chose to avoid any geometric shape or anything similar with my gold leaf. I preferred a bit more of a haphazard approach to laying in the gold leaf. An alternative would be to simply buy flakes of gold leaf that are already broken up for you. If you choose that route, it is a bit quicker as all you have to do is dump a portion into the resin.
To get a bit of layering within the clear resin and gold leaf mix, use a toothpick to push down a few of the gold leaf flakes. This will help give it more of a three-dimensional type look. Be gentle with the movement of the toothpick while you do this, as you don’t want to accidentally create any more of those pesky bubbles. Once you are satisfied with the gold leaf and clear resin it is time to let it sit and fully cure.
Be sure to watch the video to see this full process from start to finish.
Now it is time for the second half of the project. Make a clear resin mix very similar to what you did at the beginning of the project. Except, this time you will add some white opaque dye. Add just a few drops of the opaque die at a time, mixing as you go. Keep doing this until you get the opaque white color you want.
Next, pour that opaque white-colored resin on top of the gold leaf infused clear layer. Let it sit for 24 hours until it is fully cured.
Once dry, you get to pop the entire coaster out of the petri dish mold. You should be instantly satisfied with what you created. There will be a distinct divide between the white and clear and the gold flecks will look suspended.
I really love how mine turned out. The way the gold leaf specs seemed to float within the coaster was really the look I was hoping to create and sure enough, it turned out exactly how I wanted! In fact, my morning coffee is sitting on this exact coaster next to me as I type up this post.
Be sure to pin and share this project.
Do you like working with resin? How about gold leaf? Let me know how your project turned out in the comments below. Make sure to ask any questions you might have too.
Thanks for visiting!