Although it is super close to Christmas, many people still struggle with finding that oh-so-perfect gift. Here's a gift that you can make today for cousins, uncles, and friends that will knock somebody off your Christmas list. About two hours of crafting and two days to dry and you will have some lovely coasters that are functional, personalized, and fun!
For my coasters, I choose to gather up some six packs of cardboard beer containers for my husband's aunt and uncle who loves craft beer. Anything paper or cardboard will do, and this can completely be done with regular soda cases, printed images from the Internet, or scrapbook paper! Although mine took a bit of planning and gathering beer cartons from coworkers, these are easy to get with a short notice as well.
For this craft you will need:
8 plain ceramic tiles (I purchased mine for 13 cents at Home Depot)
3 Sheets of craft felt
8 beer cardboard 6-pack containers
ModPodge
X-acto knife
Cutting board
Scissors
Paintbrush
Thompson WaterSeal spray
First, on the cutting board using the X-acto knife, cut the cardboard slightly tinier than the size of your ceramic tiles. This size is so that the ModPodge is able to touch each side of the tile to seal it to. Using your paintbrush (I used a sponge one), apply several thin coats of ModPodge to the cardboard to attach it to the tile. I also added some underneath the cardboard to ensure application. Ensure that these layers are thin and have the ability to dry in between coats to make sure that the ModPodge drys clear and even.
Hot glue or ModPodge felt squares, cut again slight smaller than the tile sizes, to the bottom of the tiles. After the last ModPodge layer is dry and the hot glue has harden, lightly spray WaterSeal on the top of each tile. This will allow for protection for sweaty drinks from the water-based ModPodge. Allow two days to dry.
Note: In humid climates, this WaterSeal may take longer to dry. I found that an hour with the hair dryer on cool and wiping any excess off after a couple of days help tremendously in the wintry, snowy weather.
What do you think? Beautiful, right? I think total I paid $10 for this entire project and will be able to use the bulk of the cash, the WaterSeal, as an investment for the next set of coasters!
photo credit :: hb fotographie
