8.18.2010

Covering Coasters

Hello everyone. Remember when I asked about your shopping mojo and if it was lost? Well, it seems my crafting mojo was misplaced somewhere and the simplest little project gave me such fits. I saw Rene over at Cottage and Vine do a little coaster makeover. They turned out so great. I had these cork backed coasters that needed a little updating so I thought, lets give his a try.



I traced the coaster onto some scrapbook paper and cut it out. My first attempt I used modge podge and a small brush and brushed the MP on the coaster and then laid my cut paper on top. Smoothed it out, tried to smooth it out some more. Ack, bubbles. I used my fingers. Nope bubbles still there. I let it dry. Bubbles still there. Needless to say, there are no pictures of the process since my hand were covered in MP.


I tried letting it dry before the top coat, I tried top coating right away and this is what they looked like. Crapola.


My next attempt. Weeks later. I decided to try spray adhesive on three more coasters. I sprayed the paper and laid it down on top of the coaster. The one up front, perfect. Not a bubble in site. Joy! The other two? Trouble makers. It seems I did not spray them enough so when I tried to top coat with the MP, bubbles appeared like magic. Black magic. So I ripped off the paper. See my mess?  I wonder if my mojo will ever come back. This really shouldn't be this hard.


After I cleaned off the two problem ones I tried again and sprayed them well. This time I sprayed the coaster and not the paper. Beautiful. Smooth as glass. I gave them a couple or three top coats of the evil MP with a foam brush this time and let them dry.


Here they all are. They all got a few coats of some spray on clear coat. The ones on the left, smooth and bubble free. The ones on the right, not so much. It might be hard to see in the picture but trust me. There is a difference. The one in the middle? Well, that was an experiment to see if I could do this without the evil MP. I just used the spray glue and then the sprayed on the top coat. It did work but it doesn't have as much of a coating so it might not last as long. 


Can you believe this is my first time using this stuff? I know, hard to believe. So, here are my tips if any of you have had problems with modge podge. Being that I'm an expert now.

1. Make sure surface is clean
2. Use a foam brush, leaves less brush strokes
3. Use thin coats, thin, don't squirt the MP onto the paper.
4. Try the adhesive glue if you have it. It worked for me.
5. You can get it off if you mess up. Though, I didn't wait too long.
6. Find someone who's good with this stuff for more advice.

Cheers!
I'm linking up with Debbiedoos Before and After Party.



16 comments:

  1. HI ANita - this is helpful for me. I use Mod Podge for coasters that I make for gifts. Sometimes I get bubbles and other times I dont. I am not sure why this happens. I am going to try the spray adhesive...Thanks!!

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  2. What a great idea. I come across coasters at sales all the time & have wondered what I could do with them. Now I know! Cannot wait to try this.

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  3. Hi Anita,
    I feel your pain! I have done quite a bit of Mod Podging myself, and bubbles are a real pain! I read once in blog land that if you spray your paper with a clear acrylic sealer & let dry before MPing, it eliminates the bubbles. Well, I tried it and it didn't work for me! About the only time I don't get bubbles is if my paper is just a bit thicker. Computer printer weight paper (or thinner) always seems to bubble big time!

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  4. They look great! I've had my share of bubble problems using modpodge but still love the stuff!

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  5. Awesome idea Anita...that totally looks great! What a pain I know...I have been thru craft drama myself a few times:) Thanks for joining in..Enjoy~

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  6. Well, I love the paper you choose, in the end they turned out great. I love the spray adhesive, I use it for all kinds of projects and it always holds well.

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  7. great job! thanks for all the tips! I have a huge package of some kind of restaurant coasters (thrifted) I haven't done anything with them yet. Maybe I'll try this.
    thanks for sharing!
    gail

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  8. Good job for going back and trying it again. I've never used modge podge yet but I've been thinking about trying it... yikes!

    Thank you for your comment earlier about my side table. The tray you mentioned came from a store called Hilltop Interiors (they have a website) in a small town called Rosseau, Ontario. I did see it in a different decor shop (for 15 dollars more, haha I got it for cheaper).

    :)

    P.S. How are you able to email a reply to comments that are left on your blog? I can't seem to figure out how to do that!

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  9. It looks like you really did get your mojo back. I did not know elmers made a spray adhesive, I will check that out. It all turned out wonderful in the end! I am visiting from Debbiedoos.

    Carol

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  10. They look great! That's good to know about the spray adhesive~I'm just getting ready to do a mod podge project.

    Why is it that what should be the simplest projects are the ones that give us fits?

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  11. Anita, your persistence paid off. I'm sorry you had a tough time with MP. Mine were done with wallpaper so that might explain the difference. Anyway, your coasters look great and I'm glad that you found a solution.

    -Rene

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  12. Great job in the end Anita!Sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right - just like my mirror makeover in my master closet!!! Thanks for the nice comment on it :)

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  13. Cute stuff! Now, if I can just get motivated, I could re-do so many!!!
    xo
    lynn

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  14. Your coasters are so cute Anita! I hate those little bubbles. And I need to get my craft mojo back!!

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  15. Great and simple decoupage project! I definitely like to try this..., once I finish the things that I've started, haha.

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