Coasters are used to avoid spills and water rings on tables. You can make your very own personalized coasters to go with your table setting. Here, we are going to teach you how to make drink coasters.
How many times has it happened that you or your friends have placed a cold drink on your expensive coffee table, only to left with ugly ring marks. To avoid staining your table in this way, you should always use coasters. Although you can find coasters in any supermarket or home textile store, it is quite easy to make them yourselves.
Making your own drink coasters will give you the flexibility to match them to the decor of the living room or dining room as well as the table setting. Moreover you do not need to stick to the same old square coasters, but can experiment with various shapes and designs.
And lets face it, some of the coasters that you find in supermarkets are plain and quite run of mill and does nothing to enhance the table decor. Imagine how much nicer it would be to design some gorgeous, a set of coasters that matches with the table settings and table runner patterns. Here we are going to discuss how to make drink coasters.
Making Coasters out of Old Magazines
Things required
Old magazines, Mod podge, Bamboo skewer, Square cardboard pieces, Scissors, Pencil, Ruler, Glue stick.
Method
To make drink coasters out of old magazine, first tear out colorful pages from old magazines and keep them aside. Now place one page of the magazine on your work table and fold it in half, making a crease. Cut the paper along the crease and you will be left with two sections.
Now place a bamboo skewer on the lower right hand corner of one of the paper at a 45 degree angle. Start rolling the paper around the skewer making sure that the paper is snug. When you reach the end of the paper, apply a bit of glue to the edge of the paper and continue rolling the skewer.
Now gently but firmly remove the bamboo skewer from the magazine reed that you have just made. Make some more magazine reeds in a similar way.
Next place the square cardboard piece in your work table and apply glue over its surface. Place the magazine reeds over the glue making sure that the magazine reeds are straight. Press the reeds together ensuring that there is no gap in between the adjacent reeds.
Once you have covered the entire cardboard square with the magazine reeds, allow the glue to dry for an hour or so. When the glue is dry, cut out the excess magazine reeds sticking out of the cardboard square with a pair of sharp scissors.
Finally apply a coat of mod podge over the finished magazine coasters. Your magazine drink coaster is ready. Make four to six more coasters in a similar way to complete the set.
To make coasters out of old maps, first place the maps over the cutting mat, with its printed side down. Now place the cork coasters over the map. Cork coasters are inexpensive coasters made out of cork and can be found in any home center or department store. If you are having trouble finding cork coasters, use heavy cardboard instead.
The next step in making the map coasters is to cut out circles from the map that you have placed over the cutting map. Follow the given tips to do this. Hold the cork in place and then cut along its circumference by using the craft knife.
Cut out some more circles from the map. Apply glue on one side of the cork coaster with the help of the glue brush. Make sure that you apply the glue evenly.
Now place the circular portion of the map that you had just cut out over the glue, smoothing it with your hand so that no bubbles are formed. Apply a thin layer of transparent varnish over the coasters and you are done.
Making Drink Coasters out of Twigs
Things required
Few twigs, Dental floss, Pruning shears, Sandpaper (optional)
Method
To make drink coasters out of twigs, first collect twigs that are of similar thickness. With the help of pruning shears, cut the twigs to 4 inch length. Make sure that you apply gentle pressure while cutting the twigs, otherwise it might break unevenly.
Now place the twigs next to each other on the work table until you have a nice square pattern. Cut a foot length of dental floss and fold it in half. Place the looped portion of the dental floss over the first twine, about an inch from its end and tie two simple knots.
Bring the two ends of the dental floss over the next twig and again tie it with two knots. Continue in this way until you tie the last twig. Cut off excess floss. Repeat the same steps of tying knots on the other side of the coaster. Once this is done, your twig coaster is ready.
These were three unique ideas of making drink coasters for your home. You can also use pieces of fabric, felt, ribbons, beads and sequins to make coasters. Try to utilize some uncommon materials like coir, feathers, seashells and ceramic tiles for making unique coasters.