This week I combined two of my favorite projects: marbling paper and making coasters. Care to guess what the result was?

The marbling is done by dropping ink into a water bath, creating interesting patterns in the water, then submerging nice, heavy, acid-free paper into the inky water.

For the coasters, I attach the paper to 4.25″ square tile with spray adhesive. I back the coasters with cork so they protect tabletops from both water damage and scratches (fancy, right?). Then I apply a few coats of polyurethane to protect the paper and make a nice, smooth surface. I finish them with two coats of spray lacquer, which evens out any brush strokes from the polyurethane and also makes the top coat matte, so there’s no glare on the image.

I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out. I started making coasters this way two years ago, and those from Summer 2009 have stood up beautifully to two years of daily use in my apartment. Practical, durable, beautiful and hand-made — what more can you ask for, really?

Here are some of the coaster sets I’ve made previously. The first set uses images I edited of steel and coal plants from the Life Magazine archives. The second set is from NASA satellite images of the Great Lakes.

I think I’ll be making more of the marbled coasters. Let me know if you want a set!

July 29, 2011

Comments

oh, these are divine, sido! (is that second comma necessary?)

if you wanted to send me a set, i will return the favor with something made by my hands or found on new york!

xoxoxo

Love! Want! I too should take this as an opportunity to return something handmade and wonderful. What a fun thing to do.

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