One of the most long-lasting and beautiful ways to preserve flowers is to embed them in resin. But resin can actually damage the flowers and spoil your beautiful blooms.
It can:
It can:
- Fade the petal colour...
- Create "wet" spots on petals...
- Turn the petals completely translucent... or even...
- Scorch the flowers so they look overcooked!
So, how do you prevent those things from happening?
The solution is to seal the flowers BEFORE embedding them in resin.
Sealing flowers creates a barrier between the flower and the resin that stops the resin from penetrating the cells.
Sometimes, the resin doesn't penetrate the flower surface, but there's no way to tell if your flowers
will be affected by the resin until AFTER you embed them, so the safest thing
is to seal them first.
Here are 3 different methods you can use to create a barrier between the petal and the resin. You can skip to each one by clicking the link:
If you're working with PRESSED flowers, (or paper or stickers), you can choose any of the three methods above.
For complex, 3D flowers, choose one of the spray methods, because it's incredibly painstaking to paint all the petals of complex flowers.
Before we dive into that, your blooms must be completely dry. Learn how to dry flowers in this post, "Drying and Preserving Flowers for Resin".
Once you've dried all your flowers, you're ready to move on to
sealing them.
So first, let's look at flat flowers and pressed petals.
1. The Painting Method
For pressed flowers and leaves, and simple flowers like daisies, you can paint the petals with white craft glue. Some of the best known of these glues are
Mod Podge, Aleene's Tacky Glue and Elmer's School Glue. But any PVA based adhesive will work.
It doesn't matter whether the product you choose has a matte, satin or glossy finish because it will disappear under the resin.
Plain PVA glue is generally too thick to paint on, so thin it with a little water to a paintable consistency. Try 3 parts PVA to 1 part water and you'll find it much easier to apply.
TIP: For added UV
protection, use a sealant with a UV protector like PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive). It helps the flowers keep their colours.
N.B. PPA has a thinner, wetter consistency compared to products like Mod Podge so it's better suited to petals and flowers that have more body to them than flowers that are delicate and flimsy. The flimsier petals tend to curl up as they dry, making them harder to work with in resin.
How to "Paint" the Petals
What You'll Need:
White craft glue of your choice
Soft paintbrush
Non-stick surface to work on (silicone mat, Teflon craft sheet, silicone
baking paper, etc)
Paint palette
Place the botanicals on the non-stick surface and paint on a thin, even coat
on one side of each petal.
Once the first coat is dry, apply a second coat.
When this coat is dry, flip each petal over.
Apply two coats to the back of the petals, allowing drying time between each
coat.
Allow the petals to dry completely before embedding them in resin. I like to
leave them overnight to make sure they are well and truly dry before using
them.
2. Spraying Methods
If you have whole flowers to work with, then the spraying method is the easiest way to seal them.
There are a number of different products you can use for this and the process
is much the same for each one.
These are some of the sprays that can be used:
Castin'Craft Resin Spray
Mod Podge Spray (if you like Mod Podge, then you'll love it in the spray can!)
EnviroTex Spray Sealer
Any clear, quick-drying acrylic aerosol sealer
Hairspray - a budget solution that needs multiple coats for complete coverage.
You'll need to test these out on your flowers as they can behave differently
on different flowers.
Tip: There are a lot of variables with any flower/spray-sealant/resin combination, so test your chosen combination in the resin before starting on a major project.
How to "Spray" Flowers for Resin
What You'll Need:
Disposable gloves
Spray booth or painter's drop sheet
Non-stick baking paper
Work in an area where overspray won't a problem, like outside, or in a spray box.
Spray tends to float around in the slightest puff of wind so protect the area you're working in:
- Lay down a painter's drop sheet that covers a much larger area than you're spraying
- Set up a makeshift spray booth using a cardboard box (cut one side away for easy access)
- Lay down a piece of non-stick baking paper so that you can easily peel off your delicate flowers and petals once they've dried.
If you're working with petals or flat flowers, set them out on the paper so that they're not touching. If you're working with 3D blooms, you may be able to hold the base of the flower so that you can rotate it as you work.
Tip: Wear gloves to keep the spray off your skin!
Spray each flower or petal with a short, light mist.
If you're sealing
individual petals, you may find they fly away with the pressure from the
spray, so spray from a higher position and allow the mist to settle on the
petals. Let the botanicals dry. If they aren't fully covered, give them a
second coat (and a third, if necessary).
For petals, you'll need to turn them over to do the back also.
Each of the aerosols will take a different amount of time to dry:
- The hairspray will dry in just a few minutes, so you'll be able to use these petals straight away.
- All the other spray sealers will tell you on the can how long to wait between coats and how long before the product is dry. Make sure you wait this long before embedding the flowers in resin.
Tip: It's faster to spray a few light coats, waiting for each coat to
dry before adding another, rather than spraying with one heavy coat.
3. Laminating Methods
This method is only suitable for flat botanicals.
There are two different ways you can go about this. The least expensive is to
enclose the petals inside packing tape.
How to "Enclose" the Petals in Packing Tape
What You'll Need:
Clear packing tape
Scissors
Cut off a length of tape and place a petal onto the surface, pressing it down
firmly.
Fold the tape over to cover the back of the petal, taking care not to get any
wrinkles.
Cut the petals out, leaving a border.
There'll be a gap between the edge of the petal and the point at which the
tape sticks to itself. To make sure that the resin can't get in, you'll need
to CUT OUTSIDE this point.
If you like the packing tape idea but your botanicals are too large, you can
also use clear contact paper.
How to "Laminate" Petals
If you have a lot of petals to seal, then you can use a laminating
pouch.
What You'll Need:
Scissors
Just open the sleeve and place the petals on the surface, leaving a gap
between them.
Cut out each petal, leaving a border. You'll be able to cut a little closer
to the petal than you can with packing tape.
Now you have several options for sealing flowers ready to embed in resin.
You'll need to experiment to find the right combination of flowers, sealing
method, the resin that you're using and the project you want to use the
botanicals for. For example, you don't want a great big clear packing tape
border around a pair of rose petal earrings!
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