Revamp Your Old Coasters with Miss B

I've never been much for coasters since we didn't use them growing up and there always seems to be a book or magazine handy to rest a beverage on. (At bottom though, I'm sure the real reason is that I've never owned any truly nice pieces of furniture!) But Momma D had these plaster coasters here at the Vegas pad, and I found another set at the Goodwill. The second set had wine bottles on them and in my zeal to finish this project I didn't get before pictures. If you want to give a set of plaster (or cardboard) coasters a makeover, you will need the following:

Acrylic Gel Medium or Mod Podge
Stiff medium sized Paintbrush
Some Cool Paper Ephemera, maybe some stickers etc.
Sharpies, if you'd like to doodle on them a bit like I did
Scissors

And don't forget the coasters! Make sure they are clean and dry first.



First, trace the shape of the coaster onto your paper ephemera. Then carefully cut the circle out. You may have to trim it down a bit more to make it fit neatly since your outline will be a tad larger than the actual coaster. Repeat for the entire set. I found that my pencil left marks on the plaster, so I only used one coaster to trace and then erased the pencil marks at the end.

Decorate the paper circles as desired. I just used my trusty sharpies to pick out the details on the images for a pop art feel. My ephemera is from a book about the Wild Women of the West that I found at a thrift shop.



Next, use a stiff brush to coat the top of the coaster as well as the underside of your paper. Getting both sides wet at the same time will help prevent air bubbles and buckling. Quickly apply the paper to the coaster, working from the center outward to prevent bubbles. Let dry for at least ten minutes. Repeat process for the entire set.



To finish up, you'll want to seal the paper ephemera. Use your stiff brush to coat the surface once more with acrylic gel medium. Make sure to vary the direction of your strokes to give an interesting pattern to the surface. Let them dry overnight.



Voila! I might have just become the kind of girl who always uses a coaster. Katie, aren't you proud?