I picked up these beautiful vintage botanical chart postcards a couple weeks ago. And I’m feeling kinda selfish, they are just too beautiful to share. After a long internal debate over whether or not I should simply frame them, I decided to turn them into coasters! I’m so glad I did because they turned out amazing with a really thick, high-gloss finish. Looking around the internet there are a lot of different tutorials for making coasters, this is the way I did it.
Supplies
tiles
postcards
scissors
white glue
cheap brush or foam brush
pour-on epoxy resin (I used Envirotex)
plastic cups
drop cloth/cardboard/paper
felt pads
Cut postcards to size. I cut mine into 3 ½ inch squares.
Coat the back of the postcard with glue and place it onto the clean tile. Make sure you get the postcard positioned correctly and press it down to remove any trapped air. Coat the top with a layer of glue. Don’t worry about brush strokes, they will disappear when you apply the resin. Allow to dry completely.
Use a disposable cup to elevate your tile, so the resin runoff will not pool under the tile. Put down a piece of cardboard to catch the runoff.
Pour on the epoxy as directed on the package. For more thorough instructions on using Envirotex, check out this incredible step-by-step from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.
Allow to dry completely, which took 3 days in my case. The resin was easier to use and less messy than I expected. I highly recommend it if you want a professional finish. Mine turned out smooth, even, and really glossy.
Attach felt pads to the bottoms and you’re done.
The total cost of this project was around $10 (but there was enough resin left to do a lot more than 4). The postcards were 25¢ each, the tiles were 16¢ each, I already owned the glue, disposable cups were a $1, and the pour-on resin was $7 from Michaels with a 50% off coupon (it can be found in the glue section). They took less than an hour of active time to make, but took several days if you include drying time.
If you aren’t feeling selfish like me, these would make a great gift.
What a great idea, resin has always scared me a bit, but if you can get it in Michaels, I feel better already! I know what you mean about cards which you don’t want to share.
I was nervous about the resin too. But I’m glad I tried it. It was so much less messy than I thought it would be and a lot more forgiving. I’m excited to do some more projects with it, I have so much left over!
great idea! I like that a lot. my mom and I exchange postcards and some that I have are nice enough to do something like this with.
Plus every time you see them you’ll be reminded of your mom, love that.
DID YOU HEAR THAT? That was the sound of my mind being blown. This. Is. Amazing.
What a great idea! Useful and pretty. Perfect!
Great gift project. But I’m one of those scared cats about the resin. How is the odor … do you have to work in a well ventilated area, or is it safe anywhere?
I was worried about the odor, too. I initially wanted to do it outside but we have a big pine tree always dropping needles in the backyard so had to do it inside to avoid anything falling in.
I was next to an open window so the odor was low, it didn’t fill the house. Odor compares to that of a heavy duty craft glue like E6000. You definitely want to open windows to be safe though. I also wore plastic glove to avoid skin contact.
There is no lingering odor on the coasters.
Very cool. I’ve taken on a larger epoxy resin project not long ago. We did our coffee table and it turned out beautiful. The resin for a furniture project should be bought at Lowe’s or other hardware store since they are higher quality and won’t yellow. These turned out adorable. Nice idea!
Oh my, I didn’t even think about yellowing. I really hope they don’t, looking around the web it looks like most yellowing is a result of UV exposure which shouldn’t be a problem with these. But I will keep that in mind for future larger projects, thanks!
I’ve been compiling gifts ideas to make for Christmas gifts. Added this one to the list.
Thank you! I love your blog so much!
I never thought to use postcards for coasters!!! This is so neat and opens up a world of coaster ideas! Great post :)
Very cute! I have made these several times for gifts and everyone always loves them. I love that they are one if a kind :)
Love this! I need a good Christmas idea and this is perfect!
Very cute! I think these would be a great way to preserve vintage postcards I find when traveling. Now, I just need to figure out where to find resin in Germany…
I still need to figure out where to get the supplies for doing something like this. I wanted to use resin to make some bottle cap magnets. I need to go shopping soon at a supply store. I like your blog so nominated you for the versatile blogger award here: http://dragonflybeautyreviews.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Those turned out lovely!
Thanks!
I saw that you are a supporter of the USPS – I am too!! ;) I’ve had a postcard exchange going this whole year and I host giveaways (not just virtual) with Etsy shop owners, so there has been a whole lot of mailing going on! :D
Oh, and I am a BzzAgent, so I get to receive packages of stuff to review quite often too!
This would be fun to do with postcards of places you have been. Great tutorial pics!
Such a fun project! I’m going to do this with my homeschooled kids! They will love it!
Very cool. You could use photos or kids drawings, too. They will definitely be impressed when they see the end results. Let me know how it goes if you make them :)
These are so clever!
I haven’t sealed the coasters I made the other day at our church Pinterest Party yet. So excited to find out about resin!
Church Pinterest party!? How fun! I found the resin pretty easy to work with and I’m so happy with the results. Let me know how it works out for you.
I love this idea! I think I just found my Christmas gifts for this year. Thanks for sharing!
Those look amazing! So beautiful! I love your blog.. can’t wait to look around more :)
These are beautiful! I’ve been looking for a new non-holiday craft to do and this may be the one!
I have featured your coaster for the last two weeks at the top of my web site Oh My! Creative! Thanks for submitting it. I am looking for Christmas/Winter ideas if you would like to submit them! Happy Thanksgiving!
Great idea! I love the cards :D