Reponding to Your Questions About the Coasters

I have gotten several emails asking about making the coasters so I wanted to put up a quick post addressing the common questions.

Q:  What size did you cut your paper?
A:  I was using a 4 x 4 coaster so I cut my paper to be 3.8 x 3.8.  This prevented having paper that was hanging over the edges and made it much easier to get a good bond with the coaster.

Q:  How did you get all of the air bubbles out?
A:  Well...as you can see in the picture of the finished kitchen tray I didn't right away.  However, I have found that it is easy to get air bubbles out when you use a light coating of mod podge on both the coaster and paper, work at smoothing the paper down for about a minute, and allow adequate dry time before sealing with a top coat.

Q:  How do they hold up?
A:  Its still too early to tell, but so far so good.  I put four thing coats of mod podge on top to seal them and so far condensation hasn't hurt them.  I will be sure to keep checking on them and let everyone know how they hold up or fall apart over time!

Q:  What else could I use to make coaster?
A:  There is no end to what you could do.  You could decoupage fabric, doilies, lace, ribbon, print outs of lyrics, photos...the list goes on!  Or you could paint them, stencil on them, cover them in glitter, bedazzle them...again the list goes on and on!


And even though it has NOTHING to do with the coaster, I couldn't help but share this one that I have gotten several times.

Q:  How did you get so crafty?
A:  Well you see, when a woodwork madman and a quilting genius fall really love each other...okay not really!  But I did grow up around some pretty crafty people.  My PaPa (paternal grandfather) and Daddy are both great with woodwork and building things.  My Jammie (paternal grandmother) can carve, paint, and quilt incredible pieces.  My Momma is the most amazing quilter I have ever known...everyone gets married just so they can get one of her wedding quilts!  My Aunt Kathy (Daddy's sister) is probably the most versatile crafter in the family.  She can do it all!  She made amazing decorations for the wedding--I need to do a post for them--and then turned a bride's worst nightmare into a stunning addition to the reception hall that looked like we had spent time and energy planning it on purpose!  Tammi--there is no classification under which she can be placed...she is like a mom, aunt, sister, bestie, all in one--is an epic photographer!  She did all of our wedding photos!  Matt--son of Tammi and pretty much my little brother--is an incredible artist.  I want him to do a guest feature on here one day!  So yeah, I grew up going to craft shows, quilt shows, carving festivals, you name it!  I have always dabbled in a little bit of all of their hobbies and skills--some of which I was much better at than others--and now I'm claiming my own little corner in our family's museum of crafts and arts.