February is do-it-yourself month at Apartment Therapy and we wanted to include some small accents too. We spotted these modern number coasters over at Modern Cottage and thought they were an affordable and easy project that looks great. Check out the how-to steps after the jump...
D.I.Y. Painted Cork Coasters
Materials:
- 1/4″ mdf
- cork tiles
- printed numbers or simple design for the coasters
- xacto knife
- straight edge
- cutting mat
- freezer paper
- spray paint
- spray varnish
- fine grit sandpaper
1) Cut your mdf into six 4" squares and sand the edges to smooth off any rough spots.
2) Cut your cork into squares that are the same size as your mdf squares.
3) Tape one of your number print-outs to your cutting mat. Then tear off a sheet of freezer paper and tape it, shiny-side down, over your number. Cut out the shape of the number, in the freezer paper, with a sharp xacto knife. Do that with all your numbers.
4) Place one of your stencils - shiny side down - on one of your cork squares. Press down with a warm iron. The wax on the freezer paper will melt enough to temporarily adhere the stencil to the cork square. Repeat with each stencil and cork square.
5)Take your cork squares with the stencils stuck to them outside and spray paint them.
6) Lay out your mdf squares and spray all sides and the edges with the varnish. (These will be the backings for your cork.)
7) When the varnish is dry, use a glue gun to glue the mdf to the back of the cork and you are done.
[Images and project via Modern Cottage.]
Check out more DIY projects from Apartment Therapy here:
Comments (8)
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what is mdf?
view cojaclynsy's profile
medium density fiberboard.
i like this idea. I also made my own coasters (I just could not find anything I liked) cut out of plynl (http://www.chilewich.com/plynyl/ ) floor tile samples we had at the office! They are sexy!
view nkr707's profile
These look like they were painted by the number guy on "The Electric Company."
view Seaside's profile
I made cork coaster from samples I ordered from Ifloor. They were $1 apiece and come in all kinds of patterns and colors and measure 6"x6". I like the burl in a medium brown. I used duct tape to make a wide and a skinny stripe and left it in the sun for a month (I forgot about it). When I pulled the tape off, the exposed cork faded to a golden color. Love them.
view sjj40's profile
don't get the point of the mdf in this one?
wouldn't they work fine as just cork coasters. Right now instead of worrying about water rings in your nice table you'll have to worry about someone sliding the mdf coaster on it. I know you sanded them, but still... Just skip that part and go with just cork?
None the less i love the idea and love how it looks.
view jmorey's profile
I like using the little cork circles that you are supposed to sit plants on a coasters. And as a bonus, they are already lined with rubber on the reverse side. You could easily decorate those as well.
view GreaterYesterday's profile
great tip, i will look for those. do they only come in round? i really like square.
view jmorey's profile
I've only seen round ones in Home Depot but I'm sure they're at other stores that have a garden department.
view GreaterYesterday's profile