Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Quick and Easy DIY Coasters

I'm not really a "coaster person"...with three little kids that drive toy cars, play games, and put their feet up on our wood family room coffee table, I tend not to worry too much about a cup or two placed on it.  At this point in my life, there is a reason why I like "distressed" furniture!  I'm lucky enough to have a cozy area in my "formal" living room (or as the kids call it, "Mom's room) where I like to sneak away with a cup of coffee or tea, a book, or my laptop.  This is where I blog...


Unlike our chunky wood family room coffee table, this one is predominately glass and was handmade by my step-dad out of an old window that opens up and holds my collection of bird's nests...
Since the glass pretty much shows all my cup rings, I thought I'd whip up some quick and super-easy coasters. Here's how I make them:
Gather your supplies.  You'll need:
1) Package of natural stone travertine tile - you can get these at your local hardware store pretty inexpensively.  I bought mine at Home Depot and contains nine tiles. 
2)Assorted stamps of choice
3)Stamp pad in color(s) of choice.  I picked out this teal color at Michael's to coordinate with my curtains.
4)Cork or felt pads with adhesive backing.  I found the cork pads at the Dollar Tree and the package contains 36 pads - just the right amount for my package of tiles!
5)Spray can of clear sealer - matte or gloss, whichever look you prefer.
First, give your tiles a good brushing-off.  Natural stone out of the package can be a little dusty.  I apply the cork/felt backing first so I don't scratch the table I'm working at, but you can apply these at anytime.  The next step is pretty self-explanatory...just firmly apply an ink-loaded stamp directly on the tile...
In no time at all, you can finish a whole set using any design you'd like...
After stamping, set them aside until the ink has dried.  The last step is applying a couple of coats with the spray sealer to protect the ink from running and before you know it, you have some one-of-a-kind custom coasters!
As I mentioned above, this package contained nine tiles so it's easy to make a set for you and a friend...
I actually made quite a few of these a while back from a large lot of travertine tiles that I picked up a garage sale, but I never made any for myself.  This is part of my batch from back then for some more inspiration...
There are endless possibilities! 

10 comments:

dee dee said...

Wow! This is such a great and easy idea! Your coffe table is beautiful... I can see why you blog where you do! Wonderful project.
dee dee

Unknown said...

Very pretty and oh so easy! Love you coffee table by the way. It must have taken forever to collect all of those nests!

Sherry @ Thrift My House said...

Those are so pretty! And what a great gift idea!!! And your coffee table is awesome! Did you make it?
Sherry's Bees Nest

Debra from Bungalow said...

GREAT idea and I've got a whole bunch of tiles....hmmmmm

Thanks for the inspiration :)

Honey at 2805 said...

Great coasters! Thank you for sharing at Potpourri Friday at 2805!

Shan @ Design Gal said...

i'm new to your blog and i LOVE it! you've given me so many great ideas & your photographs are beautiful!

fiona anderson said...

What a brilliant idea - I just love them !

DIYbyDesign said...

I love your version of the DIY coasters! Yours seem even easier than mine. Thanks so much for sending me the link. You did a great job.

Birds and Blossoms said...

These are great. What kind of ink did you use? (Chalk, pigment, or dye)
I have so many stamps...I can't wait to give this a try!!! Thanks for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Use a permanent ink, let dry no need for sealer before or after stamping and your images are waterproof.

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