DIY Polymer Clay Marble Coasters
Do you find yourself constantly reminding your guests, partners, kids, family and friends not to leave glass or mug rings on your table tops and other surfaces? We don’t blame you. It can get rather annoying and tiring constantly having to wipe the surface clean. If not wiped right away, the ring stain just stays there until someone does.
Do you reckon if you show people coasters handmade by your kids they may be more inclined to use them? Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles would get the chance to flaunt the child’s work, while guests and friends could admire it and perhaps use it as a conversation starter.
What’s more desirable is, your kids get to indulge in some unique creative activity instead or sitting in front of a screen in their free time. It seems like a win-win situation to us.
All You'll Need To Provide for DIY Coasters
Let’s Get Cracking On The Handmade Marble Coasters
Step 1: Rolling The Clay: Make 8-9cm long strands out of each of the coloured cubes of clay. All you have to do is roll a ball of clay on a flat surface applying only a little pressure, so it doesn’t become flat. Align all the different colours together.
Step 2: Make It Look Like Marble: Roll and twist the different coloured strands together into a ball so the colours begin to blend together. You will soon see a cool pattern emerging.
Step 3: Flatten The Ball: Use a rolling pin or any smooth cylindrical object and flatten the mixed clay ball. Let’s keep the thickness at a little less than 1cm. Make sure the thickness is equal everywhere and there are no bumps or bends. If it isn’t properly flat, glasses and mugs could slip creating an even bigger mess than just a ring.
Step 4: Give It The Right Shape: Use a cookie cutter or the mouth of a glass (pick your own shape) and cut the perfect shape out of the flattened clay.
Step 5: Bake The Clay: For this step, get an adult to help you out a little. Ideally, the clay is baked between 120°C - 130°C for about 30 minutes. Different brands of clay have different specification so check the clay package before heating the oven.
Step 6: Painting The Coaster: Once the coasters cool down, paint the rim (outside edges) of the coaster with the metallic paint (pick your favourite colour(s)). Go over the paint twice to give it a smooth coating.
You can even choose to make patterns on the surface of the coaster if you like: flowers, butterflies, alphabets – Anything at all.
Step 7: Coating The Coaster: Once the metallic paint dries off, coat the entire coaster with the gloss medium to give it a smooth, shiny look. Let dry.
Now all you have to do is put these out at the next party and tell everyone to use them because you made them!