DIY

Quick and Easy DIY Coasters

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Hi, I'm Zoe

My mission is to teach you to confidently build magazine-worthy DIYs. I used to be terrified of power tools, which is why I'm a firm believer that ANYONE can DIY.

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by
December 22, 2019
Zoe Hunt

Price

$25-$75

Time

<4 Hours

Difficulty

Easy

The perfect gift for teachers, friends, or anyone you know!

DIY coasters with marble design and gold edge

Back when we were launching our website, we planned 5 days of giveaways leading up to the launch. We knew that everything had to be handmade and it had to be things that people would actually want and use. We figured everyone needs coasters, so why not try to make some?

Overall, they were easier than I expected. The hardest part is trying not to beat yourself up about the patterns. Every coaster is unique and beautiful. 

Want to DIY buy don\'t know where to start? Click here to grab your free guide!

Alright, let’s start DIYing. 

Coaster and Clay

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

Tools

  • Knife or cookie cutter
  • Rolling pin
  • Parchment paper
  • Paintbrush

How to make beautiful coasters out of polymer clay

New to DIY? Download our free 5 Steps to Getting Start with DIY guide!

Step 1: pick your colors

 To make 8 coasters, we used 5 packages of Sculpey.

blue clay and gold paint

Step 2: prep

Preheat the oven according to the instructions on your clay. Ours was 275.

Tape down parchment paper to work on. The clay will pick up anything that’s on your countertops, even if you can’t see it!

STEP 3: mix your clay

Roll your clay into strips of different widths and then arrange them in a “random” patterns of different colors and widths.

different colored clay rolled into logs

Twist your clay strips together and then fold them into a ball.

Work the clay until the colors begin to blend together. Stop short of the colors blending together as much as you want since they will blend a little bit more when you roll out your clay.

pressing clay with palm of hand

Step 4: mold clay

Roll out your clay until it is between 1/8-1/4″ thick.

Use a knife or cookie cutters to cut out your coasters. If you want perfect shapes, you can also use a cookie-cutter.

Smooth the edges of your coasters with your finger so that they are more rounded.

smoothing edge of clay coaster with finger

Step 5: bake

Once you’re content with the shape, place them in the oven and cook according to the clay instructions. Ours was 15 minutes for every 1/4″ of thickness.

Free download wood sizing cheatsheet

Step 6: Add cork

As the clay is cooling, cut out your cork. We made ours slightly smaller than the actual coaster so that you wouldn’t see it from the side. You can also buy some pre-cut sticky cork on Amazon.

Our cork had a sticky backing, so we just peeled it and stuck it on. If your cork isn’t sticky, you can attach is with a hot glue gun.

sticking cork backing on coaster

Step 7: paint

Paint the edges of your coasters gold. We highly recommend DecoArt Extreme Sheen because it catches the light more than other metallic paints. I also like to add a tiny bit of gold to the top of the coaster, but this should mostly happen naturally when painting the sides.

painted edge of coaster with gold paint

Step 8: Seal your coasters

Spray your coasters with a glossy top coat or paint on a few coats of polyurethane. After multiple attempts, we decided we liked the look of the spay top coat better, but the polyurethane left a better texture. The spray coat had a tendency to get sticky.

There you have it–an easy DIY that’s perfect if you ever need a gift! If you enjoyed this tutorial, share it with your friends or pin it to try later!

how to make coasters in an hour text overlay on image of blue marble coasters
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