This resin art tile project has been in my head for ages. It’s so exciting to see it come to life. What makes this tile so gorgeous is its chunky thickness and imperfect sides and corners. So rest assured, this is definitely not a precise art, but one that’s enhanced by it’s imperfections.
Because there’s a bit of time spent waiting for things to dry, the project will take you about a week from start to finish, but it’s worth every minute. It’s also one of those projects that has a sweet WOW factor and best of all, you don’t need to be a fine artist to produce a gorgeous piece. I promise that you’ll love the outcome.
Depending on the effect you’re looking for, there are a few different techniques which I’ll go into in the instructions below. If you want an aged effect, that’s easy to achieve. Otherwise, you may prefer a perfectly clean white look to your tile, that’s easy too.
There are three steps to follow. You’ll start by making a plaster tile, then you’ll do a bit of decoupage and finally you’ll pour some resin over your tile to finish off.
The hardest thing about this project is waiting for the plaster and resin to dry.
The best way to tackle the steps below is to set aside about an hour to complete Step One. Then after about 7 days you can do Steps Two and Three.
Step One: Making Your Plaster Tile
Materials / Equipment:
Plaster of Paris, 400 grams
Water, 280 mls
Cardboard Box, 15 cm x 15 cm
Plastic Food Wrap
Masking Tape
Chicken Wire, about 10 cm x 5 cm
Wire Strand, 15 cm
Scissors
Container and stirrer for plaster
Cut the front panel off your cardboard box and tape up sides to firm up box. If you’d prefer to make a round shape tile, use a round plastic disposable plate with a bit of depth to it. All other steps remain the same.
Line the inside of your box with plastic food wrap. To ensure a smooth plaster tile, ensure the plastic is stretched tight with no creases on the flat. To prevent leakage your plastic should come up and hang over the sides of your mould.
Secure your wire strand to your chicken wire
Add water to plaster and mix thoroughly for about two minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.
To avoid plumbing problems, when you wash your equipment make sure not to wash any plaster down the sink. I do my wash up in the garden.
Pour plaster into cardboard mould and set your chicken wire just low enough so that the wire won’t show when used as hanger.
Press the chicken wire into plaster and ensure hanging wire remains protruding. Set aside to dry for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove plaster from mould, remove plastic wrap and continue drying on a wire rack for about a week until completely dry and hard.
Step Two: Adding Your Art
The sky’s the limit with how you decorate your resin art tile. My examples include a fabric cutting, a magazine cut out, a shape cut from a serviette and a pretty little Ryn Frank fine line illustration.
Materials / Equipment:
PVA Glue
Paint Brush
Art of choice – Photo, magazine cut out, drawing, piece of fabric, serviette cut into pattern etc
Spray Paint
Sandpaper
Plastic Card
Scissors
Once your tile is thoroughly dry, give it a sand to smooth away any rough bits and remove the wire rack marks. Wipe away any plaster dust.
Seal your tile by painting the front and sides with PVA glue. To achieve an aged look, leave a few tiny spots unsealed. This will ensure you get a slightly blotched look. Have a look at the round skier tile below to see what I mean. If you don’t want blotches, give your tile a second coat of PVA.
At this stage you can either leave your plaster tile unpainted as above, or using spray paint for a smooth finish, paint the sides and front of your tile as I’ve done with the tile on the right.
Once glue/paint is dry, brush your tile with glue again and place your art work in position. To remove air bubbles from under your art work, use a plastic card and squeegee from the centre of your art outwards. If you’re using a serviette as art (see my rainbow piece below) just use your fingers to pat down any air bubbles.
To thoroughly seal your picture, apply at least two more coats of glue over your print. My coverage wasn’t thorough enough in this skier tile so if you look at the finished piece down below you can see lots of blotches.
Step Three: Resin Finish
This final step involves pouring resin. Now resin is sticky and dries really hard so make sure you have thoroughly protected your work surface. Using gloves will also keep your hands clean. The small quantity of resin required in this project will also keep it simple. For instance, to coat one tile I use a total of 60 mls (this is resin and hardener combined).
It’s much easier than you think, so don’t be daunted. I sourced my resin from customresinaustralia. They’re excellent to deal with and quick to respond with really helpful advice if you need it.
Materials / Equipment
Resin
Masking Tape
Foil
Plastic Cup and Stirrer
Small Saucepan
Sandpaper
Wire Rack
Bamboo Skewer
Scales to weigh resin with precision
Tape underneath your tile, just along the sides. This will ensure you have no huge resin drips that need heavy duty sanding at the end. To ensure no spillage, make an aluminium foil base for your tile. This will allow you to pick up your tile and tilt it while you gradually pour your resin.
Combine your resin and hardener in a plastic cup according to the instructions on pack. Follow all safety advice provided with resin. To get a precise measurement I use scales.
Mix resin for two minutes in a hot water bath. I’ve been told the heat reduces air bubbles in the resin. A heat gun would eliminate all bubbles but I don’t have one, so I rely on this method. I still get a few bubbles but it’s ok. Obviously if resin art is something you want to pursue a heat gun would be a wise investment.
Hold your tile while slowly and gradually pouring resin onto the centre of your tile. To ensure a quick, even coverage, gently tilt the tile to allow resin to spread over the entire top and sides of your tile. You can also use a skewer to push resin into any little gaps that aren’t covered.
Allow about two hours for resin to settle, then remove tape and foil and place on wire rack to continue drying.
Allow resin to continue drying in a warm place. This will take a few days. Initially your resin will look very very shiny. Once it dries it will dull slightly. You may end up with a few drips on the back of your tile. These can be sanded flat.
And so we come to the end of this project. Here are a few of the tiles I’ve made:
