Christmas Presents

“Oh, I’ll just make Christmas presents for everyone, it’s so much cheaper than buying presents, and it means more too!”

While the latter might be true, the former is NOT, as I learned this week. Heh.

However, despite the groaning of my wallet at the end of my shopping this weekend, I was very pleased with the results of my labor.  Also, for those of you who are Pinterest addicted, I’ll post the steps I took to make these things too.

First were the wine glasses.

The color is kinda hard to see, but it is gold all the way around. Let me tell you, I’ve never known how to draw maple leaves before now. I used a yellow sharpie to sketch the concept on the glass on the first one, but I couldn’t completely cover it, and I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out when I bake these (to make sure they’re safe to drink out of).

I use enamel paint to paint my glasses normally, but I also bought some Martha Stewart “glass paint” to try, just to see what I thought. I prefer the enamel. It’s easier to use, and you have a little more control over where the paint goes. Martha’s paint was a little gloopy, so I just used it to add a little texture to my leaves (over the enamel).

Then I did these coasters:

 

Fear not, dear Pinteresters, they’re very easy to make, they just tend to be a bit time consuming. They’d make great gifts for the men in your life that you’re just not quite sure what to get.

Here’s what you need:

– A set of coasters, any kind will do (I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and picked up a leather set for about $15, though I’m told that cork or even tile coasters will work just fine)
– Mod Podge, and a sponge applicator to apply it
– The pictures you want to use on your coasters (magazines, photos, print them out yourself, etc).
– Clear nail polish (optional)
– Scissors
– Compass (or, a thicker paper like a manilla folder to make a template to trace)
– A pencil

NOTE: If you want to print your own images, I would recommend not using a paper with less than a 24lb weight. I had a little trouble with mine even with the 24lb, as I will explain. 20lb copy paper probably won’t look as nice.

Because my coasters had a lovely edge-stitch, I didn’t want to cover that up with my paper, so I used the compass to measure how wide my circular images would be. You can also trace your coasters onto your manilla paper and cut that out to make a template to use.

Get your pictures together and apply your template or trace with the compass and cut them out.

If you’re using pictures that you printed out yourself (especially on 24lb paper), apply one coat of the clear nail polish to the top of your image. You’ll be able to tell if you missed a spot because it will show a nice gloss if you hold it up to the light.

Once that is completely dry (don’t freak out if there’s some discoloration at first, it will go away once the polish dries), apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the top of your coaster and apply your picture. Starting from the middle, work your way out to get all the air bubbles out. If you missed some, fear not! Take a needle or a safety pin and poke a little hole in the bubble. It’s almost invisible and takes care of the problem. 🙂 Make sure the edges of your pictures are completely glued down.

Once you’re certain your Mod Podge is dry (I left mine overnight just to be sure), apply another coat of Mod Podge over the entire top of the coaster. Try to make it as even as possible, but even if you can’t, it leaves a nifty texture over the top, so I wouldn’t fret too much.

Let the coasters dry, and voila! Awesome coasters for the men who are impossible to shop for.

All in all, mine took about two hours, just because I was doing some trial and error with the color of my images (I printed mine), and that’s not including letting it sit overnight. I don’t think that overnight is mandatory, but you want to stress the paper you’re using as little as possible to avoid discoloration.

The nail polish serves as a shield against the Mod Podge, actually, because the Mod Podge IS waterbased, and that can make your pictures’ colors do funny things (trust me). You could probably use a clear paint or another kind of sealant to do the same thing, but I decided to use what I had on hand and not go spend another $3-10 on something that I could substitute.

Have fun! 🙂

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