March 10, 2015

DIY Marble Coasters

A week or so ago I stumbled upon a new blogger, Sarah Johnson, and when I came across her DIY marble coasters I knew I had to do this project for myself. I love all the vibrant colors that she used, but for our living room I wanted to go with a more neutral Carrara marble look. I love the current trend of mixing grays with golds so I also thought this would be a great way to incorporate that trend in our living room but for a low cost. Another bonus about this project was that it was actually fun to do. I don't have kids yet, but I thought this could be a fun DIY home project that even your kids could get involved in. They didn't turn out perfect, and I should of probably smoothed out the sides a little better, but it was my first time working with clay so I'm happy with how it turned out. 



Supply list:
Sculpey Premo Clay: I bought mine from Michaels in white and silver
Gold Gilding
Small paint brush
Sculpey Glaze Gloss
Parchment paper
Baking sheet

1. Take a piece of white and silver clay from the clay packs (the small packages come with four sections). I wanted more white than silver so I took a larger piece of white.

 2. With your hands roll the clay into long strips. 

3. Take the strips and wrap them around each other. If you were using multiple colors you would twist them all together, but since I was using two different colors I did two separate strands of white and silver first in order to ensure that there would be swirling among the two colors. Don't worry about them being twisted evenly or perfectly because that non uniformity helps to create more unique patterns. 

 4. With your hands, roll the clay out until the two colors form a smooth strand. 

  5. Take the two pieces you created in step four and twist them together.  (Also at this step it looked like there wasn't enough white so I also wrapped another solid white strip around everything.) 

6. With your hands, roll out the piece until it's twice as long at it was in Step 5. 

 7. Twist together the two legs and then roll it out one more time. This is creating even further swirls in the clay. 

 8. Now roll the clay in a ball.

 9. Roll out the ball of clay using either a rolling pin or a vase. I preferred using the vase so that I could see the pattern in the clay as I rolled it out. 

 10. Once everything is rolled out and is 1/4" thick (I accidentally did mine a little too thin) find a pattern you like in the clay and use the top of a vase or cookie cutter to punch out the round shape. I found it easiest to press down on the vase, and then just remove the extra clay around it with your hand like you would when using a cookie cutter. I tried using an X-acto knife for the first couple ones and would use the vase as a template and cut around it but it made the sides really bumpy. 


 11. Once you have cut out all of circles, place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper under them and bake them according to the directions on the clay package. I backed mine at 275 degrees for 35 minutes. 

12. After you remove them from the oven let them cool. I put them on a cookie sheet to help cool them down faster. 


13. Once the coasters have cooled down, I then trimmed out the sides and top of the coaster using gold gilding. I attempted to make the border the same width all the way around but I found that to be a little harder than I anticipated. I ended up liking, however, the not so perfect look. It gives them character. 

14. After the gold gilding dried, I went ahead and also put on one coat of the Sculpey Glaze Gloss to protect them from liquids. 


 I love how they turned out. The only thing that I would of done differently looking back is tried smoothing out the edges a little more before baking them, especially on the ones that I used the X-acto knife, but nonetheless I still love the look and functionality of them. 


What do you think on how they turned out? Does this look like a project your kids could enjoy too?
  
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7 comments :

  1. This looks like an amzing and fun project! Thank you for sharing!!!

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  2. Awesome! Thanks for sharing! We'll be trying this for sure! :) I'll let you know how it goes with the kids!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you liked it ! Yes please let me know how it goes!!:)

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  3. I'm doing this project right now! They look awesome, and it's so fun and easy!

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  4. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work. marble fountains

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  5. Onyx Marble Coasters both functional and ornamental, they seamlessly blend luxury and protection, elevating your decor while safeguarding surfaces.

    ReplyDelete