March Craft - Customizable Coasters

Greetings from Craft Night!

The March craft at the library was Customizable Coasters, an inexpensive way to jazz up your dinnerware, or for use on special occasion events such as weddings, graduations, or baby showers.

Supplies

• Scissors
• Sponge brush (A regular artist's brushes would also work, but I felt like the sponge left a smoother finish.)
• Decorative paper (We used scrapbook paper. Photos would also work, just make sure the paper or photos are prints on cardstock or another heavy-duty paper.)
• Clear-drying glue (We used Modge Podge, which was the priciest investment for the project, it was about $10.00 for two medium-sized containers.)
• Cork (We purchased ours at about $3.00 a package for six pre-cut round or square coasters.)

Process (Total Time: 10 - 15 minutes per coaster)

The whole project runs about 10 minutes, including drying time, if you buy your cork pre-cut. We recommend it, you save a HUGE amount of time and if you're planning on making a full set of coasters they'll be uniform. If you can't find pre-cut cork coasters, you can cut the coasters out of a roll of cork yourself using an X-acto knife or a pair of sharp scissors.

Once you have your cork base, place the picture or paper you want to use to cover it beneath the cork and trace an outline. Cut out the the shape and set it aside. Then apply a layer of glue to the top of the cork. Go all the way to the edges of the cork. Then glue your cut piece of paper to the top of the cork.

                          

We found that the paper wanted to curl up along the edges, so weighing it down was necessary to make the paper lie flat while the glue dried. Find an old book without a dust jacket to use as a weight, it only takes about 5 minutes for the glue to dry to the point where the coaster can be handled.

   

                      

The reason we recommend a plain cover is because if there's extra glue around the edges of the picture, a dust jacket could get stuck and take some of the image off the coaster when the book is removed or some of the dust jacket will get stuck down on top of your coaster (we learned this the hard way). 

                           

Once the image is stuck down, apply a thin layer of glue over the top of the image. It will look white-ish when it goes down, but it should dry clear. A thin layer is all you need, but if you really want to make sure the coaster is properly sealed over the image, wait until the first layer of glue has dried completely and add another layer or two. 

Results

See? It really does dry clear!

 Special Notes

The Modge Podge that we used isn't 100% water-proof, so we recommended to participants that they not use the coasters on beverages that are really going to sweat in the heat, a lot of water will probably soak through to your image under a layer or two of glue.

Can the Kids Do It Too?

Absolutely! If you use pre-cut cork, this is a project that kids would have a lot of fun doing themselves. The only time you need to use scissors is either cutting out the cork or the pictures to glue on top, younger children might require some supervision to avoid snipped fingers and to ensure accurate cutting. Kids might be inclined to go overboard with the glue, but just remind them - a thin layer is all you need. And less glue = a faster drying time. 

Next Month...

No-Sew T-Shirt Vests!