diy by Grace Bonney 43

diy project: rubber lace coasters


the other day i was walking through my local hardware store looking for fun new materials, and as usual i was not disappointed; in the contact paper aisle i found these awesome rolls of grip drawer lining made of foam rubber! the material is non-adhesive and easy to cut with scissors, but the best thing is that you can easily wipe it clean with a damp cloth, making it a perfect material for coasters or place mats. these are quick to make and super inexpensive, especially if you already own a craft punch. if you don’t want to make this design, or if you want to do a place mat instead, you can really cut these into any kind if silhouette or shape you want using scissors or a craft knife for a clean cut. have fun! -kate

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!


materials:

1. scissors
2. cutting mat
3. grip drawer liner (this is found with other contact paper and drawer lining products in hardware stores)
4. craft hole paper punch (this allows you to punch holes anywhere on a sheet of paper. it usually comes with three size tips for making small, medium, and large holes)
5. hammer

cost:
roll of grip liner: $5
hole punch: $6

time:
1 hour

instructions:

1. find something circular to trace that is a good coaster size. unroll your grip liner sheet and trace the circle shape on the backside of the material.

2. find something circular with a smaller circumference and center it inside the bigger circle. trace this on the back as well.

3. using the small circle as a guide, punch 8 large holes, spaced evenly along the circle’s circumference. to punch the holes, place the punch down on the surface of the materials and tap it firmly with the hammer. lift up to see a clean hole. if the materials did not come off completely, place the punch down in the exact same place and tap harder with the hammer.

4. punch 5 medium size holes evenly spaced around each large hole, like petals of a flower.

5. punch two small holes on either side of each “flower” you just punched, along the line of the circle you traced.

6. now you can add holes of various sizes anywhere you’d like. you can also vary this pattern to create different lace patterns.

7. use your scissors to cut out the large circle shape. if you want petal shaped edges, then cut around the flowers you punched, leaving about 1/2 inch of space between the flowers and the edge.

8. repeat all steps three more times to get four matching coasters (or make each coaster different).

YOU’RE DONE!


43 Comments

Ari

Adoarble! There is nothing I like more than beautiful and practical!
I have my next rainy day project now.

Emily

This is too much of a coincidence to ignore – I just bought a roll of this stuff to line my guy’s tool chest drawers and was wondering what to do with the scraps… Perfect!

Jessica

This is a great idea…I love finding new uses for utilitarian materials from hardware stores. I have coasters on the brain as I just finished making some reversible leather coasters and blogging about them minutes ago!

Lindsay Armstrong

I LOVE this idea. I’ll be using this idea to make little mats for my houseplants…
:D

Abigail

What a cool idea. I wonder if it’s hard to cut out shapes with a craft knife if you don’t have a punch?

julia

I really like this idea. I’m picturing a set of outdoor placemats and coasters I could make for nice weather outside eating!
I do wonder how absorbent the material is though…

Jack

This is a very cute idea. My partner and I always need new ideas for when we host little gatherings. This is so perfect.

Jack O’Sullivan

Kate

thanks everyone! here are some A’s to your Q’s:
anna – i am not sure if it is heat resistant..i think the best way to find out is make a test one and put a hot plate on it to see what happens. they are definitely not microwave or oven safe. but maybe alright for trivet material..let me know what happens!

abigail – this materials is incredibly easy to cut. an exacto blade or scissors would work perfectly if you have no punch.

julia – the material is not absorbent, and pretty much waterproof. i wouldn’t suggest leaving them out in the rain, but i spilled liquid on them and it just beads up on top.

Kristi

I love this as a fun gift idea! Can you tell us the brand of craft punch you used? I couldn’t tell from the pic.

Lili

what a great repurposing project! also great for the leftover bits of drawer liner that isn’t wide enough to line anything.

becky

I Luv these coasters!! Great for Gifts!
I will try this! Can I pick up a hole punch at a Joannn Fabrics or a Michaels store?

emily

these are cute! i did something similar with EVA foam i got from a store in new york. they had it in huge sheets that i used to make coasters with matching placemats, too. i believe they had like, two dozen colors.

canal rubber supply
http://www.canalrubber.com

bettye

oh my gosh, how did u know! I’ve been setting drinks on bills (what, there’s something else I’m supposed to do w them??) on my new desktop…thinking, there’s gotta be be something better to use! These are *brilliant*!

Laura Nicholson

Where can I find a hole punch like this? 10 minutes search online at the craft stores & etsy haven’t yet turned one up!

Leave a Comment

Design*Sponge reserves the right to restrict comments that do not contribute constructively to the conversation at hand, contain profanity, personal attacks or seek to promote a personal or unrelated business.