Turn Your Shell Collection Into a Beautiful Beach Tray

Want to preserve some of those beach memories in a fun way? Add some of them to a beach-themed decorative tray. It’s perfect for a nautical-themed bathroom or use to hold your resin jewelry. Either way, you are sure to love the look of this tray when it’s finished.

Resin supply list:

• Resin Obsession Super Clear Resin
• Resin Obsession Transparent Color Pigments in blue and teal
• Wood tray
• Rope
• Mixing Cups
• Stir Sticks
• White Paint
• Beach Treasures
• Hot Glue and Glue Gun
• Protective Gloves

Step 1:  Paint the tray

I put three coats of white paint on my beach tray. Once dry, add rope around the outer edge with hot glue.

If you don’t love the look of the rope, you can seal the tray edges by adding hot glue to the bottom instead.

Step 2:  Mix and color resin

Next, mix epoxy resin, then divide it into three different cups. I mixed about ¾ oz of resin to stay clear for the first cup and two cups with ½ oz each to add some color. Add the epoxy color to part A before adding part B. I used just a small drop in each cup, as shown above.

Mix the colors well.

Step 3:  Fill the tray with clear resin

Once your resin is well mixed, add a layer of clear resin to the bottom of your beach tray. I used my stir stick to pull resin onto the rope around the edges. You want the resin to soak into the rope.

Step 4:  Add the colored resin

Randomly drip both colors all over the clear epoxy.

Step 5:  Blend the resin colors

While the epoxy is fluid, use a stir stick to swirl your resin into a pretty water pattern. Remove any bubbles from your resin and allow it to harden until it is about the consistency of gelatin.

Step 6:  Add shells

Add your beach treasures by laying them on top of the resin.

NOTE: Starfish work pretty well with this tray. Sand dollars can take up the resin pigment and turn colors. Make sure your shells sink into the resin during this step to seal the opening.

Add as many treasures as you like, then allow your tray to cure completely.

Step 7:  Add another clear epoxy layer

Mix additional resin to pour over and complete your beach tray. The amount here will depend on your tray size and the thickness of the objects you added. This resin will stay clear. Just mix together parts A and B to create a clear layer. Make sure your things are covered, and pop any bubbles that appear.

If you want to know exactly how much resin to use for your beach tray, this article will help:  How much resin do I need to mix?

NOTE: Starfish produce bubbles from their surface. I found that using a wood skewer and running over the top after pouring the resin helped release the bubbles. Continue to check on your tray for any more bubbles that might appear.

Once fully cured, you are ready to use your beach tray anywhere in your home. Here we added some soap in the bathroom, but it will work as a catchall in any room.

The rope does take on a bit of the resin pigment and will look dark and almost wet even after curing. Again you can omit this from your project if you would like.

Enjoy, and be sure to get your supplies to make your own beach tray!

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Originally written by Angie Holden

Unpublished Blog Posts of Resin Obsession, LLC © 2023 Resin Obsession, LLC