cork coasters

One of the new projects I'm working on is cork coasters with my photographs on top. 

I started with some 1/4" thick cork squares that I actually purchased at CVS. 

I took some coasters I had to use as a guide for cutting out the cork.

I printed a random selection of photos thinking mostly of trying to grab a variety of colors and textures in the photos. 

An exato knife and a pair of scissors for cutting 

Mod Podge to adhere the photos to the cork and to coat the photos to water proof them 

Nail Polish to seal the sides of the coasters

I started by cutting the cork with the exact knife. One of my challenges with any medium is getting things cut well and cutting multiple things to the same size, I still don't have any good tricks for this. The cork was a little more challenging to cut than I anticipated. Hopefully with practice I'll get a good technique down. 

Then I decided to try nail polish to seal the sides of the cork a bit and to provide some bright color.    Next I cut out the photos but in hindsight I would adhere the photos to the cork first and then trim them to the right size for a more exact fit. In this case I cut them then used the Mod Podge to adhere them. 

I put the coasters under a stack of heavy books and left them overnight so the photos would adhere nice and flat to the cork.
The next day I put Mod Podge on the top of the photos to seal them and make them water resistant.




Now I just need to test them out and see if they'll hold up to use. Once I've done some testing they'll show up in my etsy shop. I also like the idea of making custom coasters, they could be a great take away gift from a party or a wedding...