DIY Marble Hexagon Coasters

DIY Marble Hexagon Coasters

A coaster DIY?? Does the universe really need another one??? Ok but what if I need a new set of coasters and I want them to be hexagon and black marble and I can’t find any to buy? Then we DIY, and also mention that they’d be great gifts to further justify that making them is a good idea. The holidays are soon.

Materials:

–black (I used one block/coaster) and white clay (used less than one block total)

-rolling pin

–parchment paper

-lid of hexagon box (at Joann for $1)

–X-ACTO knife

–sandpaper

–adhesive felt

I laid down a piece of parchment paper to work on since the clay can get seriously stuck to the working surface. This is definitely known from past experience. Marbling clay might also take some practice and getting used to, but this is generally how I do it.

I softened and mashed up a block of black clay so that it looked like a piece of you know what, then randomly stuck on small pieces of white clay. Next, I twisted the clay all over to help striate the white clay throughout before rolling it into a ball and smashing it down. Using the rolling pin, I rolled out the clay until it was just big enough for the hexagon lid to be placed on top of.

Originally I had thought I’d roll out all the clay into one giant sheet and cut each coaster out from it, but the clay marbling process is so much more manageable if done one at a time, so that’s what I recommend. Also, twisting and mashing too much will make the clay look muddy and gray, which is cool if you want a more subtle and less contrasted look, but I wanted the white marbling to be pretty crisp, so I kept the clay handling to a minimum.

I used an X-ACTO knife to trace around the hexagon lid and cut out the shape from the clay. After removing all the excess clay, I cut the parchment paper around the coaster to be transferred onto a baking sheet. Once the sheet was loaded with all the coasters on top of parchment paper, I popped them into the oven at 275F for about 25 minutes. My sheet had a total of seven coasters, and I agree, that’s a weird number of coasters to have.

Once completely cooled, I lightly sanded down any rough edges before I traced each coaster onto the back of adhesive felt and cut it out, erring on the side of cutting slightly smaller than what was traced. Peeled off the backing, stuck it on the bottom of the coasters, and they’re ready…

…for my favorite game of….

…how many ways can I arrange these coasters?

I like this game.

This would definitely work with other colors too, and shapes, absolutely. If I were to do it again, I’d want to try making thicker, round ones. What say you? And have you ever DIY’ed coasters before?

Original article and pictures take www.homeyohmy.com site