Thursday, September 4, 2014

Craft Thursdays: Photo Coasters






Today on Crafty Thursdays we are making vintage looking photo coasters. You can make these with any photos you like. We used book covers, which isn't a surprise. We're not giving these away, but we do have a giveaway in yesterday's post that is still running so if you haven't commented already you may want to click on the autograph post. 

This is an easy project to make, but it does have a lot of steps. 

Materials:

  • Squares made of wood
  • Sand paper
  • Mod Podge
  • Sponge brush
  • Photos printed out backwards on regular color paper        (square book covers below)
  • Scissors
  • Water
  • Waterproof spray sealant


Step One:
Print out your photos in reverse in color on a regular piece of printer paper, as you see here. If you're using a Mac you go to Preview, and then Tools. Click on Flip Vertical, and then rotate it until it's upright and print. If you're on Windows, follow the directions here.  Then cut them out in squares to match the wood. 

I used photos of book covers for this project. The reason they are square is the end of the book is included in the photo. 





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Here's an example of a reversed photo. 


Step Two:
Sand the wood to make sure it's smooth.



Step Three:
Spread Mod Podge on the wooden square using the sponge brush. 




Step Four:
Paint Mod Podge on the front of your reversed photo. And then put your photo on top of the Mod Podged square, photo side down. Once it's there, you should see it very faintly the right way, through the paper. 




Step Five:
Wet your fingers and gently rub the paper off. Do this slowly because if you move too quickly too much paper will come off and degrade the image. Keep doing this slowly until you like the effect. This process is not only tricky but it's also a little annoying. Go slow. It will create a vintage look. 

Step Five:
Once you get the desired look, paint it with Mod Podge and let it dry. Do this for three coats. Let this dry for at least 24 hours. 

Step Six:
Once your coasters are totally dry, spray them with the water proof sealant. I used two coast to make sure they were waterproof. And you're done. 



We're not giving these away, but come on back next Thursday for another crafty giveaway.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for inspiring me to dig out the clay tiles that I bought to make coasters using rubber stamped images. I like the book cover idea.

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    Replies
    1. Go Barbara go! Send us photos. Can't wait to see them with clay tiles.

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  2. These look wonderful and I can't wait to try my own. I use coasters all over my house and always need more.

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  3. Good choice of covers - I just wish I were more crafty (or patient!). :-)

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