From a liquid poured in candlelight to a gem-like d20 that catches the light mid-roll — here’s what’s really happening inside the craft.
If you’ve held one of our dice sets and found yourself tilting it to watch the light move through the layers, you already understand the magic of epoxy resin — even if you couldn’t quite name it. I get asked about the process constantly, and I love talking about it. So: let’s talk about it.
The Material
Resin is a transformation, not just a material
Epoxy resin begins as two separate liquids — a resin and a hardener. On their own, they’re inert. But when they’re combined in the right ratio and stirred together, a chemical reaction begins called polymerization. Over hours and days, the liquid slowly crosslinks into a dense, solid polymer. The final result is glass-clear, incredibly hard, and built to last.
What makes it so compelling as an art medium is what can happen during that transformation window. Before the resin sets, it can accept pigments, metallic powders, botanical inclusions, alcohol inks, and layers of color — all suspended exactly as they were placed, preserved permanently in a piece you can hold.
The resin doesn’t just capture what you put inside it. It magnifies it. A single dried chamomile bloom becomes something you’d find in a Victorian apothecary cabinet.
The Process
How a set of dice actually gets made
The process sounds simple in outline — mix, pour, wait — but the real craft is in the timing, the layering, and the decisions made at each stage. Here’s how a set of Knucklebone Forge dice comes to life:
Step I
Prepare the inclusions
Dried botanicals are selected, positioned, and sometimes pressed flat. Every flower is a decision about depth and movement inside the final piece.
Step II
Mix & tint
Resin and hardener are measured precisely by volume and combined. Pigments and inks are folded in to achieve the target color.
Step III
Pour the molds
Resin is poured in layers. Botanicals and pigment effects are set at specific depths to create visual dimension inside each die face.
Step IV
Cure and wait
The molds rest, undisturbed, until the resin has fully hardened — a process that takes days, not hours, for a deep, stable cure.
Step V
Demold and finish
Pieces are carefully released from silicone molds, then sanded, buffed, and inspected to ensure clean faces and sharp edges.
Step VI
Ink the numerals
The numbers and symbols on each die face are hand-filled with paint for contrast and clarity.
What Goes Inside
The ingredients of a Knucklebone piece
At the Forge, the plants I use aren’t just decorative — they’re chosen for visual texture, color retention after curing, and the way they interact with light once suspended in clear resin. A few favorites that make regular appearances:
Chamomile Lavender Statice Baby’s breath Forget-me-nots Yarrow Fern Rose petals
These go alongside pigment powders (for the navy and gold tones central to the Knucklebone aesthetic), mica flakes for shimmer, and sometimes metallic leaf for a gilded effect. Each piece is composed as deliberately as a painting — with the added constraint that once the resin begins to set, the composition is final.
This is what separates handmade resin work from mass production. No two pours are identical. The botanicals settle where they settle. The color swirls where it swirls. Every piece is genuinely one of a kind.
Why These Objects, Specifically
On dice, chess sets, and objects meant to be used
I was drawn to tabletop gaming objects because they sit at an intersection I find genuinely interesting: they’re functional, they’re tactile, and they matter to the people who use them. A d20 is rolled at a table surrounded by friends. A chess set gets handled, studied, moved. These aren’t objects meant to sit behind glass.
Resin is a perfect match for that kind of object — it’s durable, water-resistant, and smooth to the touch. But it also rewards close looking. The more time you spend with a well-made resin piece, the more you find inside it. A die that looks like a deep navy field from across the table might reveal gold mica currents and a pressed lavender sprig when you hold it up to the light. That’s the experience I’m always trying to build.
A chess set made with resin can carry an entire visual world in it — a celestial theme across all 32 pieces, each one consistent with the others but still individual in its pour. Coasters can be made to match a specific table’s aesthetic. Dice boxes can hold your set like a reliquary. The craft scales beautifully because the material is so flexible.
Whether you’re a longtime TTRPG player hunting for a set that feels like an heirloom, or someone who just wandered past a craft fair table and got stopped by something shiny — welcome to the world of handmade resin. I hope you find something here that earns a permanent spot on your shelf (or your game table).
May your rolls be ever in your favor.
— Sarah Beth
Maker and founder, Knucklebone Forge · Springfield, Oregon