Coasters from Terracotta Saucers

Don’t you just love when you take a million pictures for a post and they just all disappear? That’s my favorite thing. -_- Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to take more pictures of the finished product. Hopefully I can explain this well enough.

My mom’s coasters are really old. And falling apart. She really needed some new ones, but she couldn’t really find any that matched her price range and her style. So I made some for her!

I needed something that matched her living room, that wouldn’t scratch her tables (her last ones did), that could handle a little overflow from a glass, and that didn’t require a special coaster holder. The last one was really important to me, because my mother likes to just strategically place each coaster where people can easily find them. That way, they have no excuse not to use them. (Which is a good idea. I’ve found that if my coasters have been put in the holder, people will just lay wet glasses on my wooden coffee tables. Mostly because they don’t realize I have coasters. And then people who do know do it anyway…for reasons I don’t understand.) So no coaster holder.

It worked out perfectly. 😀

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Coasters from Terracotta Saucers

• terracotta pot plates
• spray paint (I used Rustoleum’s oil-rubbed bronze)
• mod podge
• scrapbook paper (I used Lost and Found, which is cheaper at Wal-Mart)–newspaper, magazine pages, and wrapping paper also work
• scissors
• felt
• clear moisture-resistant spray paint 

Step 01: Clean the saucers and remove any stickers (good luck with that). Following the directions on the can, spray them with the paint. Let that dry for a minimum of 24 hours. If you can, give it 48…particularly if you put on a thicker coat. If you don’t, they will stick together when stacked.

Step 02: If you need another coat, repeat the first step. Otherwise, cut out the scrapbook paper to fit the saucers. I used 6-inch saucers and I found that the easiest way to measure the paper was to just trace around a can of tuna and cut it out. If you want, you can use a pen to distress the edges. I didn’t do that…because distressing pens are expensive. Cover the paper in mod podge, lay it in the saucer, and flatten it. Do not cover the saucer in mod podge and then lay down the paper. It will cause bubbles. Once the paper has dried flat, cover the whole top of the saucer in mod podge.

Step 03: After the mod podge has dried, coat the coaster in the moisture-resistant spray paint. Wait for it to dry (about 24 hours), flip them over, and coat the other side. I realize it’s an enormous pain to wait so long between coats, but just because they feel dry that doesn’t mean they are. I learned that the hard way. Be very careful not to load the clear paint on too thick or they’ll turn white. I also learned that the hard way. Add another coat if you think it’s necessary.

Step 04: Lay the dried coasters down (face up) on a piece of felt. Trace the bottom of the coaster. Cut out the felt and glue it to the coaster. Let that dry.

Done!

Keeping with tradition, I won’t give you the full price of this since it was a gift. It was, however, cheaper than buying coasters since I had everything except the saucers.

The only thing I would change it the size of the saucers. While regular glasses fit very well in these, I forgot to account for coffee mugs. My coffee mugs fit in them just fine…but mom’s coffee mugs have lower handles. They still somewhat fit, but not in a way that makes me feel confident that they won’t spill. I just turned them over and set the mug on the felt. If I did it again, though, I’d go with the 8-inch saucer instead of the 6-inch.

Otherwise, I’m really happy with the way they turned out. 😀