We’ve talked about geode art a lot in the past, particularly the basics and how to apply this technique to other projects like mirrors. We wanted to take these techniques even a step further with a project that uses resin on larger pieces, like furniture.
Using epoxy resin with furniture may seem like an intimidating task, but it can be wholly rewarding and less scary when you break it down into steps as today’s project will demonstrate. We will work through the process of creating a geode coffee table.
Let’s take a look at what we’ll need to start this project before we delve into our step-by-step instructions. If you’d rather follow along with the process through a video, we have that available for you below.
Project Needs:
- ProMarine Supplies Table Top Epoxy Resin
- Gloves
- Safety glasses
- Color additives of choice
- Coffee table surface
- Stir sticks
- Mixing cups/buckets
Let’s Make a Geode Coffee Table!
Start by putting on the appropriate safety gear: the safety glasses and gloves. When working with epoxy resin, you’ll also want to ensure that you’re operating in an open space with a lot of ventilation and air flow.
If you’ve never worked with Table Top Epoxy Resin before, it’s commonly measured in a 1:1 by volume ratio, which is listed in the instructions. Familiarize yourself with the product’s instructions before you start to measure everything out.
Measure and combine the two parts of your epoxy resin. When stirring, you’ll want to take several minutes to slowly incorporate the two sides. If you go too fast, you risk introducing air bubbles; too slow and it might remain undermixed.
If you have a specific vision for your geode coffee table, it can help to make a sketch ahead of time, as described in this article. Otherwise, feel free to experiment with your favorite color combinations! We decided on a color palette of white, gold, pink, and red beforehand. For the gold, we chose to give ourselves some options by having a softer and more transparent shade along with a darker one.
Separate out your epoxy into different cups, one for each of the colors you’re going to be using. Then, take whatever dyes or dye powders you like and stir them into the separate cups.
We have an entire article dedicated to coloring tips that address various types of colorants. For now, we’ll focus on one of the most important things to consider: When adding color to resin, it’s best to start out with small amounts of colorants and work your way up. A little really does go a long way, and too much of your dye could ultimately result in your project not curing well.
Now that we’ve assembled and mixed all of our colors, we can think about the pouring process. For our piece, we’re going to begin with white, which will take up most of the space. We didn’t use all of our white resin in the initial pour because we plan on adding thinner lines of it on top of the color once we’ve poured more. This helps add further depth to the colors we’re using.
The thing that really makes geode resin art is the layering of multiple colors. This replicates the natural layering of minerals and crystals inside natural geodes. To do this, we pour the resin in wavey lines and align our next color beside the previous waves.
Take a look at how we did this with the first two colors, white and gold. Since this resin is self-leveling, it moves to fill the space it’s given.
Let’s go ahead and throw our next color on. In this case, we’re using pink! We’ll follow the same lines for pouring as we did before.
The pink really brightens up the soft, elegant tones we’ve made with the white and gold. Next, we’re moving on to red. You know the drill!
We thought it needed a little something more, so we added a layer of the darker gold throughout the middle. Check it out below:
And—why not—some more gold accents throughout. You can see how the whole thing really comes to life with every layer that you add.
Once we’ve finished pouring, we’re going to turn to a trusted resin tool: the heat gun. This heat gun serves a few purposes. First, it’s one of several methods used to remove bubbles in the resin after you pour it. Second, it helps blend the different layers of colors and move the resin around to create more natural flowing lines for our geode coffee table.
We’re going to add a line of the white epoxy through some of our red portions to dilute the color a bit and create a sense of depth.
We continue using the heat gun to warp the lines of the different layers, resulting in a far more organic blending of colors and a more textured feel.
Then, we added more white lines. Again, these are thin and only show a subtle change, but truly mimic the layers that you can see develop in geodes.
Finally, we use the heat gun to blend the edges and make more marbled lines in your resin. When you’re satisfied with the way it looks, that’s how you know it’s finished. Here’s how ours turned out!
We allowed the surface of the table to dry for the amount of time recommended in the product’s instructions. Then, we mixed up another batch of clear table top epoxy resin to pour over the geode art. This will create a smooth and durable layer for the surface of our coffee table.
Once that topcoat dries, we can reassemble the table components and our piece will be complete!
Talk to us at ProMarine Supplies
If you decide to make your own geode coffee table, we’d love to see what you create! You can reach us on any of our social media pages and follow us there to see a variety of great projects done by our customers and fellow crafters.
If you have any questions about our products, this project, or any others, feel free to contact us or visit our FAQs page.
Until next time, happy crafting, everyone!
