DIY Tutorial: Wood Branch Slice Monogrammed Coasters

My brother-in-law is getting married this weekend and I decided to gift the newlyweds with monogrammed wood slice coasters!

My friend Alex helped me slice the logs. He was quite the trooper because it took us several tries to a) find the right size log that didn't have cracks and b) he did all the slicing while his wife Kristin held the log steady and closed her eyes because she didn't have extra safety goggles. Do as I say not as I do...wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from flying pieces of wood!!

 If you don't have wood logs/branches laying around and/or a saw, you can buy wood slices here.

Read on for the tutorial below.



MATERIALS

• wood slices (we cut them into slices ourselves)
• black marker
• sandpaper (I used 220-grit because that's what I already had)
• DuraClear Satin varnish 
• ModPodge (Matte finish)
• adhesive cork paper

1. Sand the coasters down by rubbing smooth with sandpaper

2. Print out the monogram onto wax paper. I taped the wax paper to printer paper so that it would feed through the printer. Unfortunately it smudged quite a bit because the wax paper moved around inside the printer, so if you have a Silhouette machine I'd definitely recommend using that to cut out a vinyl letter! Or you can use a rubber stamp to stamp out the letter.

Select "Mirror image" in the Print options so that the letter is flipped the right way when you transfer it to the wood.

3. Tape wax paper in place

4. Use rando credit card (I used a Panera one!) to transfer the ink from wax paper to wood by rubbing the edge of the card firmly onto the paper.

 5. The ink didn't completely transfer so I used a black marker to fill in the rest of the letter. Test out the marker on the underside of the coaster to make sure it doesn't bleed! A few of my letters ended up bleeding outside the lines a little, sadly.

6. Trace the outline of the coaster onto adhesive cork paper**, peel the paper off and adhere to the underside of the coaster. Press firmly in place.

**Alternatively, you can apply 4 adhesive rubber feet or adhesive pads.

7. Apply the Duraclear varnish to seal the wood. Let dry for 10-20 minutes, then apply Modpodge. Let dry again, and apply 4-5 more coats. I also dabbed some Modpodge on the bark rim of the coaster to preserve it because it's crumbly!



There you have it! Monogrammed, personalized, waterproof wood slice coasters! Perfect for a wedding or bridal shower gift. I love the look of black ink on wood. And the upcycling part of me me loves that I can reuse things in nature like these fallen logs leftover from cutting down the trees in my friend's backyard.