DIY Coasters

Macmillan have created a new fundraising campaign called ‘Summer Lights’ – and it’s all about celebrating the people who light up your life and raising money for them at the same time. Macmilllan Cancer Support are a wonderful charity so when I heard about this, I really wanted to share it with you guys. It’s a lovely idea to bring people together and raise money to those who are affected by cancer – by having a good time and helping out a great cause too. I’ve created an easy coaster DIY that will be perfect for a get together – whether you use them inside as you sit on the sofa clutching a cup of tea while having a good old natter or outside on your patio enjoying a chilled out summers evening. These would also make really lovely gifts – make four and then tie them up with ribbon – you could even sell them and raise money that way.

Step by step

It’s a really simple project and if you use oven-bake clay rather than air dry then it takes even less time. I used air dry clay and just left them outside in the sun to dry but it’s personal preference, or whatever you have to hand. Here are the step by steps, though the pictures are pretty self-explanatory too!

Take a piece of your clay and roll it out to a thickness of between 0.25 to 0.5cm – you could make these thinner but we want them to be sturdy enough not to be break or snap. I used a glass bottle to roll out my clay and used small pieces of clay rather than one large one as it was easier to handle. Take a circle cutter or a small dish that is 5cm in diameter and cut out your circles – I used a craft knife and small up and down motions instead of going in one long cut. Don’t worry about this being perfect – once they’re completely dry, just sand down the edges with a piece of sandpaper to smooth out any lumps or bumps. Using your tape, place this on to your clay so it separates one large and one small section. Fill this in with nail polish, and leave it to dry for 10 seconds or so before peeling off the tape – you could paint this freehand but I like the clean lines that this technique give. You can continue on in this way with adding more and more colours but be careful that the tape doesn’t peel off any colour that you’ve already put down.

Make sure you seal your coasters once the paint is dried so they withstand use – I used ModPodge for this. I wouldn’t recommend PVA – I did that once and it smudged the paint and ruined the design so an official sealant is definitely the way to go!

#summerlights

If you’re giving these as presents or selling them, they look lovely when they’re stacked together and tied with a large ribbon. If you have your own ‘Summer Lights’ night or try your hand at this DIY, send me a photo on Twitter because I’d absolutely love to see! You can learn more about the

Summer Lights for Macmillan campaign here

and be sure to use the hashtag #summerlights too.