"Custom Artwork Coasters: simple craft project." Topic

NOTE: this is done as a fantasy coaster set. It can be done with historical artwork, Ancients, Sci-Fi, or even horror artwork…

Back in 2017, I learned how to make drink coasters, using 4-inch square, white, ceramic bathroom tiles, from YouTube. So I got me some artwork, and I made a bunch up. These are my favorite ones: Premium AD&D rulebook covers Image1, and Image2.

I decided to make a second set, recently, as a gift for a friend: Image3. I discovered this set of six round wooden coasters, undecorated, raw wood, for $5.99 USD, at Hobby Lobby. I bought a set, and I began working on them, today.

I recently bought a small can of Minwax Polyshades Antique Walnut urethane stain. I decided to use this, to stain, and seal, the raw wood. I applied it using a sponge brush applicator. Since I could not get it to apply, without pools of excess, I took a paper towel, and I sponged off the excess. I did this around the edges, as well, to get a more consistent look. They turned out OK, but most of the wood will not be seen, anyway, for the coasters. The holder was given similar treatment. I will likely apply a gloss clear coat to the holder, to finish it, so that it appears to match the glossy finish on the coasters.

After the Minwax cured, I used matte Mod Podge to apply the artwork (color laser printouts). At this point, I need to apply at least one more coat of Mod Podge matte, to fully secure, and seal the printouts, to the wood. After that, I will likely set them on top of a plastic pill bottle, inside of a small bowl-shaped container: I will pour full-strength Pledge Floor Gloss over the top of the artwork, and let it run off, and dry. I will repeat this 2-3 times, to give it an extremely durable, high gloss, seal coating.

I experimented with different finishes, back in 2017. I tried the outdoor version of Mod Podge, but it just did not seem to seal as well as the Pledge Floor Gloss, and it took a very long time (4 weeks!) to fully cure… The Pledge took a day. I applied two thick coats of Pledge to one of the ceramic tiles, and that is the glossiest of them all; it is also the most durable for use with hot coffee cups! I've been using that one, in particular, since I made it, without any issues.

After the Pledge dries, I will lightly sand the bottoms, to make them smooth again. Then I will apply some craft foam (see Image2, above) to dress up the back side. I cannot put anything too thick on the backs, as they do not have a lot of extra space within their box. The foam looks decent, it is thin, won't scratch anything, and it is durable. I will attach the foam material to the wood, using E6000 Glue, as I did with the porcelain tiles, back in 2017.

I took other artwork which I pulled from the Internet, for additional ceramic tile coasters. I pulled some monsters from the 2e Monstrous Manual, but I really don't like them nearly as much as I like the Premium AD&D book cover artwork.

I will update this thread as my project proceeds. I anticipate finishing these coasters within the next week. Just a fun craft project, which I hope will inspire others. Cheers!

PS:

That wooden dowel, in the upper right corner of Image3, is the handle from the sponge brush which was used to apply the urethane-stain. I broke off the head, stained it, and now I will use it for making columns, either wooden, or I will apply a stone printout, on label paper, to make it appear to be a stone column… Dungeon up-cycling! Double-Cheers!

What a cool and unique gift for your friend. Well done!

Definitely a cool and more than unique gift. Nice job!

I started making them in 2017, as a house-warming gift for him… I had issues with the final seal coatings, so it got tabled -- until now. Oops!

Thank you, Gentlemen. I am motivated to apply the proven techniques. I just put it on the back burner, and forgot about it, until the other night, when I saw the raw wooden coaster set in Hobby Lobby -- it jarred loose the memories of what I had once planned. The wooden set is even better than the ceramic tile approach. Cheers!

The wood coaster set from Hobby Lobby is now marked down to $3.59 USD.

link

I might have to give this a try!

Jim

Update: first coat of Pledge Floor Polish applied, and dried: Image4. I will apply another pouring of Pledge over their tops, and let that dry. One of them is rather dull, yet.  That's a surprise. It will gloss up, though, no problem, other than it might need one more coating than the rest. Cheers!

Very nice. Depending upon the cost to produce, you could probably sell them at a fantasy convention.

I would need to use something other than copyrighted artwork, in order to sell them, legally. I admit, I think they could have a market, but I don't care to go down the IP infringement route. Cheers!

Added the craft foam bottoms to the six coasters, today. Image1, Image2, Image3, Image4, Image5, and Image6. As I posted previously, the original holder box could not hold all six discs after I coated them with Pledge Floor Polish! Need to build a bigger box… A friend promised to give me a free Chop Saw, a month ago. I could really use that to cut up a box for these coasters… Time to look up that generous friend, and see if he is still interested in handing off that extra Chop Saw of his. Otherwise, I have a Table Saw, which could do the work. Time to get busy cutting some wood!

I used High Temperature Hot Glue to adhere the craft foam material to the bottoms of the six wooden coasters. I considered other glues, but both water-based, and solvent-based glues would require air to fully cure. With a ring of glue around the outside edges, air could not easily reach the interior of the circles of foam. This would likely prevent the glue from curing, possibly for several years! I needed something fast, easy, and something which does not require air to cure. The High Temperature Hot Glue gives much more working time, before it hardens. This allowed me to time to apply multiple concentric circles of it, starting at the outside edge, and working my way inwards, to the center of the wooden disks. Then I pressed the wooden disks against the craft foam sheet, setting several D&D books (of course!) on top, to press the disks down, evenly, while the Glue cooled, and hardened. I then used a scissors to cut off the excess foam, around the edges. I still need to trim them a bit, to make the foam edges cleaner. Cheers!