DIY Christmas Gifts: Jewel Coasters

Today I am sharing a simple DIY gift that is easy to make and airplane carry on travel friendly. We are headed for Maryland on Thursday and it got me thinking about how hard it is to get gifts home without checking bags. These coasters are compact, sturdy, and lightweight - all must haves for carry on! 

Last week I found these jewel coasters from Kate Spade and instantly fell in love with the simple design, as well as the gold accents that make them extra special! These would be a great hostess gift, or something that your mom, sister or friend might enjoy!

While $20 for the Kate Spade coasters isn't terribly expensive, these only took about a hour and a half from start to finish, plus you can say that you made them yourself! Also, making them out of wood instead of paper (like the Kate Spade ones) will increase their durability.

Here's what I used:

1. 1/4" MDF squares (mine were 4")
2. craft paint/spray paint or acrylic paint
3. gold paint marker
4. polyurethane or clear spray paint 

Another plus for this project was that I had everything on hand, so it ended up being free!!

Here's how we did it:

David cut 4" squares with 45 angles cut 1" from the corner using the chop saw. We used MDF that we had left over from the credenza shelves. 

I then painted them with craft paint. Once dry, I drew the faceted design with a pencil and ruler.

Then I traced the lines carefully with a gold paint pen. Again, once dry, I repeated with a second coat to get better coverage.

Finally, I gave it three thin coats of polyurethane to protect it from water and then let it cure/off gas in the garage for a few days.

Wrap with a pretty bow and you are good to go!

Aren't they fun?

Tips for supplies:

Wood: Don't have extra wood laying around? Ace Hardware often has scraps that they will sell for under a dollar (depending on size). They may even cut them out for you for free or a small price per cut, depending on how many cuts you have. 

I also found these squares from Michaels for $1.99. Use a holiday coupon to get them for 40% or 50% off. I've also seen an extra 20% off your whole order coupon floating around!

Paint: Any fast drying paint should work fine, I used cheap craft paint that I had from projects past.

Gold paint pen: I purchased mine from Michaels (Craft Smart brand) for about $2 (I've also used some from Wal Mart, but they dried out too quickly)

I had all of these items on hand, but if you didn't, expect to pay:

Wood: $1-3 (if you are lucky and Ace Hardware has scraps)
Craft paint: .50 a tube
Paint pen: $2
Polyurethane/Clear coat spray paint: $3-7  

Don't like the jewel look? Customizing with polka dots, chevron, stripes, or maybe a name/favorite quote would look great too!

Hope you enjoy!

Next week, I'll have one more super last minute DIY Christmas gift that would be easy to put together the day before or even the day of!

Looking for more ideas? Click here to see my other DIY Christmas gift ideas :) 

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