Make a Drink Coaster of Dried Flowers

Description: Creative idea for making decorative drink coasters with dried flowers from your garden.

If you have scoured the retail stores and websites selling drink coasters and have been unable to find something completely unique, then you will have to consider making your own. You do have many materials around your house that you would probably toss into the trash without giving them a second thought that you could use for such a purpose. For example, do you have a Scrabble game lying around that you no longer use because there are letter tiles missing? Take these tiles and glue them together to create a very unique drink coaster that won't scratch your furniture.

One unique idea of bringing Mother Nature into your home by way of a drink coaster is by picking some flowers in your garden and drying them to use for your project. It won't cost you any money and you can have a wide variety of coasters to use for different occasions. They will also make the perfect gift to give to your family and friends. Since flowers can take as long as three weeks to dry, you can pick a selection of them and then choose the ones you want to use for making the coasters.

You will need to have a thick book in which you press the flowers you are going to use for each drink coaster. Use tissue paper for spreading the flowers on, but don't let the flowers touch each other. Cover the flowers with more tissue, newspaper and cardboard that you have cut in the same size as that of the book you intend to use. Lay the book on top of the flowers and let sit for two or three weeks. If you don't grow your own flowers you can bypass this step in by purchasing dried flowers at a craft store or by purchasing flowers from a garden center that you can dry.

Once the flowers are dry, you are ready to proceed to the next step of making your own beverage coasters. You do need to purchase panes of glass that measure 4 inches by 4 inches because this is the standard size of a drink coaster. You will also need to have clear glue and heavy aluminum foil tape. Use regular glass cleaner to clean the panes of glass and the edges. Arrange the flowers in whatever way you wish and lay them on one pane of glass and cover the flowers with another. Apply the glue to all four edges of the coaster.

Take strips of the aluminum foil tape and carefully apply this along the glued edges. Make sure you cover the four edges of the drink coaster and cut off any extra edges to give you a smooth finish. When the glue dries, you can remove the tape to have glorious dried flower coasters. The glass will not harm your furniture unless you drop it, in which case it will shatter. You can leave the coaster as it is so that either side can be placed under a glass or you can apply a cork or rubber backing to one of the sides as a way of protecting the surface of the table. In any case, you will have coasters that guests will admire and ask you where you managed to find such masterpieces. No doubt you will have plenty of orders to fill.

Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in interior design, home accessories, and arts and crafts. For gorgeous sandstone beverage coasters or a personalized drink coaster set, please visit http://www.thirstycoasters.com/.

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