Easy Peasy (Matching) Coasters

Yeah, I'm one of those people who still uses coasters. I have a lot of wood furniture and water rings make me sad. Here's a simple, fast, crafty-type project to make matching (or not) coasters.

I recently (ok it was last year and I'm just now getting around to this project) renovated the little sunroom in my house. The floor needed to be leveled and because of the space between the floor and the bottom of the door, I needed to use peel-and-stick tile. There's lots of nice looking options out there and most people think what I used is real tile! With projects like this, you always have left over bits of tile from going around doorways and such. I thought it would be cute to make coasters for the sunroom from the stuff I would just end up throwing out.



What you need: bits of tile, scissors, pencil, sandpaper and cork coaster rounds from the craft store. I happen to have a tin snips and used that to cut the circles apart, but that's not necessary.

Trace out the cork rounds on the back of the tile and cut the circles apart. Cut out the circles as smoothy as possible with the scissors. This tile cuts pretty easily. I found cutting just inside the drawn circle was the best fit. Once cut out, peel the backing paper off and carefully place the cork round and smooosh it down.

This is when I went back and trimmed any little edges that needed it.  I decided not to just peel the backing and place the cork first, then cut it out because this can be a bit sticky and it's easier to chew up the edge of the cork this way. Next, I used the sand paper to smooth out the edge. I found using an across and downward (towards the cork) motion best as it kept the sand paper from pulling up the paper layer of the tile.

Next, go pour yourself a cocktail and place it on your new coaster. Enjoy.
That's it. Easy peasy! All four (including picture taking) took maybe 20 minutes. The tile I had/used is a bit thicker because the tiles were 18". I'm guessing 12" tiles might be thinner. Any tile could be used. Mix and match! Go crazy!

That was Crafting Corner with Judi for today!

My Year in Portland

In June, I celebrated my one-year anniversary in Portland. Here are a few things I’ve learned in that year:

• All work and no play makes me a dull girl – to myself and to everyone else – and more than a bit neurotic.

• Portland is an incredibly wonderful place to be an artist/crafter in. There are tons of people who also craft and the community itself loves and supports crafting.

• People in Portland do not believe in rain. Unless the water from the sky is falling extra hard, which it doesn’t do too often, people tend to just ignore it and act like nothing is different than a sunny day. Since during some times of the year it rains a lot, this is a very healthy mindset to have.

• You can’t swing a mildly sedated cat without hitting a coffee shop. In Portland, caffeine is one of the 4 basic food groups. Beer is another.

• People in Portland actually do take time to stop and smell the roses. Being the “City of Roses,” they are everywhere, in every shape and color. I often find myself sniffing blossoms and I see other people doing the same.

• Crows are really very clever, quite mean and terribly noisy.

• Closed-toed shoes are considered dressing up. Unless they are bike shoes.

• One of the nice things about living in a smaller city is that, although I’ve only lived here a relatively short time (and never leave the house – see the first bullet point), I already run into people I know when I am out and about. It’s nice. It makes me feel connected to the place.