DIY Coaster Tutorial

I don't know about you, but I hate the look of water rings on wooden surfaces! It is so disappointing to come across a nice table with little, dark rings mottling the surface! After spending a week refashioning my dining table, the last thing I wanted was for people to plonk their drinks down on it and create water rings, so I set about making my own pretty, blue and white coasters for my dining table to protect that pretty, wooden surface!

I also made these cute vintage bicycle ones for my non-existent coffee table (hopefully we will find one soon!)






















To make your own pretty coasters, you will need:

Blank Wooden Coasters 

(Mine were from Kaisercraft and were less that $1 each)

Scrap booking Paper 

Mod Podge 

Foam Brush

Spray Sealer

(highly recommended)

Exacto Knife/Rotary Cutter

Cutting mat

Pencil

Scissors

Here's the how to:

1. Turn your scrap booking paper upside down and trace the outline of the coasters onto it.

2. Cut around the outlines with scissors, making sure to cut outside the line! This is important so you don't end up with wood showing on the top side of your coasters. You can trim off overhang later with your exacto knife.

3. Mod Podge your scrap book paper cut-outs to your coasters, using a wide, foam brush. Let it thoroughly dry.

4.  Turn your coasters upside down on your cutting mat and trim off any overhang using an exacto knife or rotary cutter.

5. Give your coasters a few coats of Mod Podge to seal them, letting each coat dry before applying the next, and making sure to seal around the edges. I gave mine about 5 coats, but I was probably being excessive.

6. To eliminate tackiness, spray your coasters with a light coat of acrylic sealer once Mod Podge is dry, and they're ready for you to enjoy!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. You don't have to use the spray sealer if you don't want to, but I would highly recommend it. I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, and my coasters are constantly stuck together when I stack them! I used matte finish Mod Podge for my coasters, and some people have told me that the shiny finish is less tacky, but I'm not entirely sure whether this is true.

Happy crafting!