Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Easy, DIY Nautical Coasters

Nautical Coasters DIY

With BBQs, Graduation parties and all the other fun things that come with the start of summer, I love to have a few handmade gifts on hand for the host/hostess.  Our intern came up with an easy, inexpensive project after a recent trip to our local Michael's store.

These DIY coasters are quick, colorful and the perfect gift!

Materials:
Pottery coasters - Painter's Tape - Martha Stewart Crafts, Nautical stencils (there were lots of stencils to choose from!) - Paper Plates - Paint brushes - Scissors - Cup with water (for washing brushes) - Multi-surface, acrylic craft paint by Martha Stewart Crafts
Colors we used: Putty, Copper, Habanero, Summer Haze, Deep Sea 


Instructions:
 1. Cut out whichever stencils you want to use. We loved the whole nautical theme, especially since Memorial Day was right around the corner.





2. Tape one stencil to a coaster so that it doesn't move while you're painting it.










3. Use the paper plates as palettes. Then, using the paint brushes, carefully paint the coasters over the stencils. Less paint is definitely the way to go when making the stencil.  I used too much paint while working on the anchor coaster and it ended up "bleeding" under the stencil.  It was an easy problem to fix....I just painted the entire coaster blue, waited for the paint to dry, and then re-stenciled.  Inside the Martha Stewart Crafts stencils, there are instructions that explain the best technique to use.


4. Wait for the paint to dry bit and then gently remove the stencil.



5. Ta-Da! You now have stylish, nautical coasters!



The blank coasters came tied with raffia ribbon so we just retied around 4 of the coasters to make the perfect hostess gift!