DIY: Holiday Coasters

Here is one many festive DIYs that I made. This project is done by using simple wooden blocks. In the past, I've made several coasters but used felt or linen as the backing. I finally designed a way to use these wooden blocks with the bonus of being able to revamp them for other crafts.

Materials:
Wooden Letters/Blocks
Scissors
Vinyl Paper/Sticky Back Paper or Contact Paper (Textured cloth backing works best)
Mod Podge®  or Waterproof Fixative (Optional)
Ruler (Optional)
Paperweight (Optional)

Method:

1. Arrange words or letters to read as you prefer, (making a four block x four block square = to total  16 wooden pieces). You should now have assembled four rows across. Set aside, in the order as you want the blocks to read from left to right. *Tape can be used to hold the letters in place if you prefer. 
2. Cut the textured paper into squares slightly larger than 14 cm or approx. 6"x6". Peel off the backing from textured paper and place it on a flat surface with the adhesive side facing up. Place each letter on the textured paper (atop adhesive side), lining each letter up as much as possible side by side and row by row. 
3. Press firmly on the block of letters (which should now look like one whole square piece) for 30 seconds or put a heavy book on top of the square block of letters.
4. Turn the block of letters over and repeat Step 3, smoothing out air bubbles if any are visible. Next, turn the block over again with letters facing up, and carefully cut off the excess material of textured paper on each side.
5. Now you have a versatile coaster! You should be able to fold the blocks vertically or horizontally. The textured paper holds pretty well. *Alternatively, you may use Mod Podge®  or any waterproof sealant over the letters if you want them to stay this way permanently instead of having the folding feature.

*The sticky vinyl paper that I used had a cloth-like backing, which prevents sliding. You can buy this type of paper, and the wooden blocks at art stores, fabric stores or crafting stores.

Benefits of using the adhesive:

• No damage made to the wooden blocks. You can always adjust your letters or phrases for any occasion.
• Completely versatile.
• They have heaps of character! The more you use the coasters, the more aged and stylish they will look, so don't worry about colour variation!
• Great conversation starters, especially for foodies (I will share more interesting uses on that later).

I wanted to create these coasters in a way that could be later recycled for another project. For example, I have used similar letters in making homemade magnets that I created for a friend and used the leftover blocks in a place setting for a game night party that we hosted. By using the adhesive paper instead of glueing the letters together allows versatility for future projects. 

*Also, congrats to Shireen and Cheryl, winners of the holiday giveaway.


What do you think of my DIY coasters?