Book Page and Sheet Music Decoupaged Coasters

I just love how these decoupaged coasters turned out and I am excited to share them with you – including the steps to make these yourself and a printable for the holiday words I used!

Although there’s nothing new about decoupaging coasters, it’s still a wonderful way to upcycle old, outdated coasters into either gifts or holiday-themed decorations.

And how easy is it to “decorate” for different holidays or seasons just by switching out a few coasters? Sheesh – everyone will think you are SO on top of it.

I started with this set of eight coasters I bought at a thrift store for $2.99. Eight just seemed like too many coasters to me – I only have three tables in our living room – so I decided to break them up and make four into a fall/Thanksgiving themed set and the other into a Christmas set.

And I’m not gonna say a thing about those birds.

Once I decided what I wanted to do, putting them together was fairly simple. I chose book pages for the Thanksgiving set and music pages for the Christmas set, just to mix it up a bit.

Steps to make decoupaged coasters:

1. For a more vintage-paper look tea-stain the paper you’re using: soak a tea bag in about 1/4 c. of water until dark and use a brush to paint it on the paper before setting aside to dry. The book I used wasn’t vintage, so they were too white without the stain and although the sheet music was vintage, it still looked older with a bit of staining. Plus I could make it darker at the edges by adding another layer of staining on the outside (after the first layer dried) which helps emphasize the words, I think.

2. Print out holiday words onto the sheet music and book pages in the size and font of your choice. I taped four book pages onto a piece of printer paper (just at the edges where I’d cut it off for the coasters) in order to get the words where I wanted them. The sheet music could go right in the printer after I trimmed the edges to fit. It took a couple of tries to position the Christmas words in between the rows where they could be read, so plan for positioning.

BONUS! If you’d like to use the words that I used, I created a set for you to download and print:

Click here for AOC’s Holiday Coaster Words3. Trace the tops of the coasters and cut out the sheet music and book pages to fit. I found it easiest to make a template from an old file folder so that I could make sure the word was positioned where I wanted and that the words and printing were covering the cut-out.

4. Brush a layer of Mod-Podge on the top of the coaster. Slightly dampen the paper with a second brush dipped in water (it will help to smooth out the wrinkles) and set it on the coaster. Apply a top coat of glue, brushing from the center outwards and smoothing the paper as you go. Let dry and apply one to two more coats of Mod-Podge.

5. Finish with a coat of clear spray sealer so that when they get wet, the Mod-Podge glue won’t get sticky.

That’s it – pretty easy, huh? I love the warm, homey feel of the fall/Thanksgiving set – it’s a perfect continuation of our fall mantel with it’s book-page banner and the script pumpkin I added.

And for those looking closely, no I did not deface an actual copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – these pages were from one of those “continue the story” modern books. Goodness, I can’t believe how many of those are out there – hundreds, I think! I’ve read a few and some were good – it was fun to imagine what might have come next for Darcy and Elizabeth – but others, like this one I tore into (literally!) weren’t worthy of the Austen association.

The sheet music I used for the Christmas se was an actual vintage music page from a pack that I bought last year to make this awesome wreath and a few ornaments. I’m happy that the Christmas coasters will coordinate nicely with these decorations – I wonder what else I can cover with music sheets for the holiday?

Okay, fess up: how many coasters do you all have? {click to comment}

This is day 25 in our series (you can click on the button to see all the posts in the category). If you’re wondering what’s up, you can read the introduction to 31 Days of Thrift Store Transformations here.

I’m sharing this at Inspiration for The Season.