Funky Oriental COASTERS

Colorful coasters for all the tea time 

I have been meaning to upload lot of my arty-crafty projects for long time....

but what with two kids running around and creating havoc and me being part of it, 

you can guess how it goes....so I do get morning hours to work on my passion of crafts,

but not enough time to think and write about them and up load.....

Well today seems to be one of my lucky days when everything is going by the clock 

and I still do have little time to write one more blog post, partially because in this 

project I don't have to think too much about what to write as I had already written it once,

so just gonna explain it properly, and all set.....    

so let's see......

Materials Required

1. 3" x 3" MDF/wood squares, 6 pieces.

2. Sand paper(also known as flint paper) or file.

2. Gesso or white acrylic color, matt finish.

3. Solvent based stained glass colors and black liner.

4. Tracing paper and pencil ( 2B would be good).

5. Clear varnish spray.

6. Felt or Foam for backing.

7. Fevicol or any strong adhesive.

Procedure

Step 1. Take your MDF or wooden squares, wipe them clean with tissue,

            smoothen the edges if they are rough or uneven, with sand paper.

Step 2. Apply 2 coats of "Gesso" or white acrylic color. Keeping the interval

            of 15-20 minutes in-between the coats.

           That will give each coat sufficient enough drying time.

           I had posted the same project in another DIY craft site, and the most asked

           question was " WHY APPLY WHITE GESSO OR ACRYLIC AS BASE?"

          Answer is very simple....if you apply your stained glass colors directly on MDF 

          or wooden base, your colors will look in-descriptive.....WHY ? 

          Because A) Stained glass colors are transparent colors,so the brown mdf shining

                             under red color will make it look dark brown....

                             similarly yellow will turn mustard, green into dirty green...and so on...

                        B) Mdf or wood are porous materials, so they will absorb more colors.

          Where as White GESSO which is basically a primer 

          or White Acrylic as base will help reflect colors.

          And your coasters will look more bright and fresh.

Step 3. By the time your Gesso base is drying, it's time for selecting a design,

             and drawing it on tracing paper.....

             You can make your own designs or pick one from any design book.

             Make sure you draw on both the sides of tracing paper.

             Now fix your tracing on your coasters, with the help of any adhesive tape.

             Re-draw your design on tracing, the other side of the design on tracing 

             will get transferred on your coaster, as you had drawn on that side earlier.

            

Step 4. Out-line your traced design with stained glass out-liner.

             Let it dry for 3-4 hours.

Step 5. Fill in your desired stained glass colors (solvent based) in your design.

            Apply 2-3 coats for vibrancy and thickness of colors.

Step 6. Spray 2-3 coats of clear varnish. Keeping the interval

            of 15-20 minutes in-between the coats.

            That will give each coat sufficient enough drying time.

   
    I forgot to mention it earlier,that's why added it later on.
    These pictures are of the varnish spray can, choose any brand which is easily available,
    the only constraint is it has to be a clear varnish, meant for sealing craft projects.

Step 7. Cut felt or foam same as the size of your mdf/wooden coasters.

             Stick it at the back of your coasters with glue or any strong adhesive.

All the steps in this picture, from blank MDF 3"x 3" square to colored along with

the backing of felt.......

And Ta Da !!!!!! Your beautiful coasters are ready to be used......

Hope you all enjoyed reading about them as much as I loved creating them.

And they have inspired you enough to give it a try,if any problem do get back to me, 

I'll try helping as much as I can....

Do leave me your valuable suggestions....

I really to appreciate them...

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog......