Wooden Coasters

Days are very short now-a-days. I don't just mean the sun setting by 5 or 4:45 pm. We are still learning how to do it all by ourselves - work, work-out, cook, D's day-care-n-everything-else and manage enough sleep. Time always runs out!

It was way easy when Amma was around. I used to be able to spend at least half an hour each night with my crafts - be it terracotta jewelry or simple DIYs like updating the labels in my pantry (That project has been pending for the longest time - I wonder when I can get around to pasting the labels!). Now-a-days all I seem to do is accumulate all raw materials for a DIY. I simply cant find time for doing the DIY itself! 

But, this weekend, I managed to get the drop cloth and spray paint out and get some projects going... 

One among them - updating the wooden ikea coasters. 

I found this lovely printable bandani pattern printable on Etsy and I decided to mod podge these on to the coasters.

Here are step by step pictures:

This is a fairly simple project. First of all, I sanded the wooden coasters. 

I read somewhere that it is best to sand along the grain of the wood.

Sprayed a primer, let it dry. Sprayed 2 coats of high gloss white paint, let them dry in between coats.. I had to choose white (of course!)

Go to the next step only after the paint is fully dry. I let it sit for an entire day.

Apply a thin layer of modpodge on the coasters. Allow it to dry slightly and place the paper.
The thin layer and allowing the modpodge to dry before placing the paper is supposed to prevent bubbles and wrinkles.

Once the paper is stuck nicely onto the coaster, wait for about 15 minutes and apply 2 layers of modpodge on top. Mod podge dries clear.

I did notice some bubbles on the paper after applying the top coats. But once the modpodge was fully dry, it definitely was better. I still see one or two small bubbles here and there - I guess its still the learning curve for me - after all this is my first mod podge project...

Apply a coat of clear spray - finish on top - This will make them better resistant to water / liquids.

I like how colorful they turned out -I don't know much about how long they are supposed to last - will update this post as we go - But for now I am a bit more excited about my cup of tea :)

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