Embedding Flowers in Resin Jewelry (Without Browning)
Embedding Flowers in Resin Jewelry (Without Browning)
Pressed flowers in resin is one of those things that looks complicated and is actually manageable once you understand why the browning happens. Most people who try it and get brown, mushy flowers made one mistake: they used fresh or insufficiently dried flowers.
The short version: water and resin are enemies. Any moisture left in a flower will react with the resin as it cures — usually producing trapped moisture, cloudiness, or accelerated browning that ruins the piece. Dry the flowers completely, and the browning problem mostly goes away.
Drying flowers properly
Press drying: The classic method. Flowers placed flat between sheets of absorbent paper (parchment, coffee filters, or blank newsprint), then stacked under weight — heavy books, a plant press, a piece of plywood with weights on top. Thin flowers (pansies, violas, small daisies) dry in 1–2 weeks. Thicker blooms with dense centers (roses, marigolds) need 3–4 weeks and ideally should be separated into petals before pressing.
Silica gel drying: Faster and better for 3D flowers you want to preserve with some shape. Bury the flower in silica gel crystals (sold in craft stores as "flower drying art") in an airtight container. Small thin flowers: 2–3 days. Full roses: 5–7 days. The silica pulls moisture directly out of the plant tissue without the flattening that pressing causes.
Microwave press: A silicone flower press (sold specifically for this) placed in the microwave presses and dries flowers in minutes. Results vary by flower type — works beautifully for pansies and flat flowers, less reliably for complex ones. Worth having if you're making flowers in volume.
Whichever method, the flowers need to feel papery and completely dry — no softness, no flexibility, no moisture when pressed. If in doubt, give them another week.
Sealing before embedding
Even dried flowers can off-gas tiny amounts of moisture and plant oils into liquid resin, which can cause cloudiness at the flower surface.
Sealing the dried flowers before embedding nearly eliminates this. Options:
Mod Podge: Brush a thin coat over both sides of the pressed flower. Let it dry completely (30–60 minutes). The Mod Podge creates a moisture barrier between the plant tissue and the resin.
UV resin seal: A thin coat of UV resin over the flower, cured with a UV lamp for 60 seconds per side. Creates a hard, clear barrier that keeps the flower fully stable in the epoxy.
Clear acrylic spray: A light spray of Krylon Crystal Clear or similar over both sides. Quick and effective. Let it cure for an hour before embedding.
I use UV resin to seal — it's the cleanest result and goes on evenly. Mod Podge is fine too and what I used for the first year before I had a UV lamp.
Placement in the mold
Flowers in liquid resin float or sink depending on their density. Pressed flowers are extremely light and will float to the top of the pour — which becomes the back of the finished piece if you're using a face-down mold. To get the flower positioned exactly where you want it:
Two-layer pour: 1. Pour a thin base layer — about 1–2 mm — into the mold. Let it gel (approximately 2–4 hours at room temperature, until it has the consistency of thick honey and doesn't pour when the mold is tilted). 2. Place the sealed flower face-down onto the gel layer. It will stay where you put it. 3. Pour the remaining resin over the flower to fill the mold. 4. Let cure fully — 48–72 hours.
This method gives you control over exact positioning and prevents floating.
Alternative for very thin pours: If the jewelry piece is shallow (under 4 mm total depth), you can pour the full depth, wait 5–10 minutes for the resin to start thickening, then place the flower and gently press it to the level you want. It won't float as readily in slightly thickened resin, but positioning is less precise.
Color preservation
White and pale flowers are the most prone to yellowing over time, even when properly dried and sealed. This isn't entirely preventable — plant pigments degrade. But a UV-resistant casting resin (most good brands have UV stabilizers built in — check the product specs) slows this significantly.
Vibrant colors like deep purple, yellow, and orange hold much better than white or pink. Blue flowers are notoriously difficult — the pigment is unstable and many blue flowers shift to purple or gray within months even in resin.
If you're making pieces to sell, be honest about this with customers. "Botanical jewelry ages like the flower" is a fair description. Some buyers love the natural aging; others expect it to stay bright forever. Manage expectations.
Small details that matter
Stems, leaves, and thick flower centers are harder to embed than flat petals. Thick plant material traps air more easily along its surfaces. Either press everything flat or use silica gel to dry in a way that preserves some dimension.
White resin (a tinted base) behind a light flower helps the flower read visually — a delicate white pansy against clear resin disappears; the same pansy against a pale champagne background jumps out.
Multiple small flowers arranged in a pattern look more intentional than one large flower centered in a piece. Both are good choices, but clusters of small pressed flowers photograph better for Etsy listings — there's just more visual interest.
I've had great luck with: pansies, violas, Queen Anne's lace, small daisies, lavender sprigs, cherry blossom petals, and fall leaves. The ones that consistently give me trouble: roses (thick centers), large sunflowers (too dimensional), and anything with very dark centers that bleed.
Browse botanical and organic-style molds at bmmold.com.
What flowers are you trying to use? Some are much more forgiving than others and I'm happy to share what worked.
— Nikolai
Meta title: Embedding Flowers in Resin Jewelry Without Browning Meta description: How to dry, seal, and embed pressed flowers in resin jewelry — the exact process that prevents browning, floating, and cloudiness around the flower. Suggested URL handle: embedding-flowers-in-resin