Can I use craft resin over natural objects like flowers and wood?

Yes — flowers, leaves, wood, and other natural materials are some of the most popular things to cast in resin. But natural objects aren't a stable, predictable substrate the way glass or acrylic is, so a few things need attention before you pour: moisture, trapped air, and the fact that resin changes how these materials look once it's cured.

Resin changes how the object looks

Colors read differently under cured resin than they do dry or wet — resin typically makes colors look darker and more saturated, similar to how a color looks when it's wet versus dry. If the exact shade matters, test on a spare object first rather than guessing.

This matters most with sentimental or one-of-a-kind items — wedding flowers, a pressed leaf from a specific tree, a keepsake. Different flowers and plant material react differently to resin, and once something is cast in, there's no undoing it. Test the same species/batch on a scrap piece before committing the real item.

Wood needs to be sealed and dry

Wood is porous. Trapped air in the grain expands as the resin cures and rises up through your pour as bubbles, and if the wood is genuinely damp, that moisture can interfere with a proper cure and cause fogging or peeling.

• Check moisture content. Wood at more than roughly 12% moisture content will keep off-gassing no matter how carefully you seal it. If you're not sure, let the piece dry or acclimate before pouring, and avoid wood that feels damp or has been stored outdoors.
• Apply a seal coat first. A thin layer of resin brushed or poured over the wood and left to cure plugs the pores from the inside, so bubbles from the wood itself don't surface in your final coat.

For guidance on choosing between Table Top and Deep Pour resin for wood furniture-style projects (boards, tabletops, river tables), see the dedicated wood article below — this article focuses on wood as a natural inclusion rather than as structural furniture.

Drying flowers and leaves before casting

Fresh flowers and leaves hold moisture, and that moisture causes the same problems as damp wood — trapped air, a compromised cure, and mould risk over time. Dry them first, either the traditional way (pressed flat, for instance between the pages of a heavy book) or faster using silica gel, which tends to preserve color and shape better than air-pressing.

Even properly dried, some flowers will continue to change color or brown slightly over months, especially with light exposure — that's the plant material aging, not a resin fault, and it isn't fully preventable by product choice alone.

Casting delicate objects

For fragile items like petals or thin leaves, don't just pour resin straight over them — the flow of the pour can shift and damage them. Instead:

1. Tack them down first. Brush a thin coat of resin over the object with a fine brush to hold it in place.
2. Let that coat firm up before adding more.
3. Build in thin layers rather than one deep pour, so the object stays where you placed it and isn't distorted by the weight of the resin.

What resin does and doesn't do for natural objects

Resin encases and protects — it isn't a preservation treatment. It won't stop dried plant material from slowly changing color over time, and it won't fix moisture problems in wood that hasn't been dried or sealed properly. Test first, dry and seal your material properly, and treat one-of-a-kind items as a "no do-overs" project.

Related articles

• Using Epoxy Resin on Wood — Tables, Charcuterie Boards & Live Edge
• Bubbles — Why They Appear and How to Remove Them
• Yellowing — Causes, UV Protection, and Product Choice