I took apart an old printer and salvaged the parts, like gears and springs! Recycle some old stuff and turn them into a coaster!
Supplies You Will Need
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- Coaster mold
- Gears
- Old keys (would look great!)
- Springs
- Resin
- When deciding on which resin to use for your coasters, you need to keep in mind whether you want it just for cold cups or for hot as well.
- If only for cold drinks, you can be flexible and use whatever brand you like:
- If you want it to work for both hot and cold drinks, you need to look for a heat resistant resin, like these:
- FX Poxy ~ According to the manufacturer, this one is heat resistant to 500° F.
- Stone Coat
- When deciding on which resin to use for your coasters, you need to keep in mind whether you want it just for cold cups or for hot as well.
Here is the Video Tutorial
Directions:
1. If you take a printer or something apart, wash and dry the parts to remove any oil. If you use unused parts, you can skip this step.
2. Prepare your resin, according to the package directions.
3. Pour a little into the bottom of your mold and remove bubbles with your lighter.
4. Take your parts and drop them into the resin and make sure they are all covered.
5. Place the resin covered pieces into the mold.
6. Remove bubbles as needed and then let it sit for a few hours.
7. Prepare some more resin and pour it over the coaster to make sure all the pieces are embedded and you have a level surface.
8. Remove bubbles as needed and allow to cure a minimum of 12 hours.
9. Unmold it and now you have a cool new coaster.
Other Coasters I’ve Made With Random Stuff Stuck In Resin!
- Pearl Coaster
- Manly Coaster
- Rubber Band Coaster
- Straw Coaster
- Foil Coaster
- Cigar Band Coaster
- Keys Coaster
*If you are having trouble with your coasters curing, let me try and help you! Check Out 5 Reasons Your Coasters Aren’t Curing!
Gear Coaster Alternatives
If you aren’t ready to jump in and make this coaster, here are some great alternatives!
Thanks for stopping by! Remember: Life’s too short not to shimmer, so grab your glue gun and your glitter!™ Stay safe!
Mona
Hi Mona,
I do crafts all the time myself. My mother taught me tons of things then I sort of took over teaching myself. Ceramics, porcelain dolls, sewing, just anything and everything. I thought of a few projects I think you'd have a ton of fun doing and they're really fun and easy. Have you tried glass etching yet? There are some more complex ways of doing it. I've done with little electric engraving tools and also with the etching creams. The etching cream is what I think you'd like, and the simplest to start out with. You can find it at Michael's and probably Hobby Lobby if you have one near you. All you really need are 4 simple things. The etching cream, a brush, some clear transfer sticker paper. Even vinyl tape works to. And anything glass. You can pick up glass vases and candle holders at the dollar store. You take a stencil or draw your own design out on the sticker paper. Take a xacto knife or razor blade and cut the design out. Take the backing off the sticker paper and put the sticky stencil on the glass. Then you cover the areas in the stencil with a heavy layer of the etching cream. Let it stand for a few minutes, then rinse it off, pull off the sticker stencil and that's it. The second project I think you'd like is mosiac tiling. It's really limitless as to what you can do. You can do flower pots, table tops. Especially little foot stools or garden tables. You can do large cutting boards or even large platters. You don't even need to use the pre-cut presold square glass pieces from craft stores, although you can incorperate those along too. You can use flat back marbels, and shells and pebbles. but something you can easily use, are old plates you find at thrift stores or yard sales. Different patterns and colors. Take them home and put them in a pillow case and smash them into tiny odd shaped pieces with a hammer. Then all you need is Ceramic Tile Mastic. Get it at any Lowes or Home Depot. Cheap. And Tile Grout. Again at Lowes. You can use whatever color grout you want. They even make (or they made) glow in the dark grout. Take a flower pot and a butter knife or popsicle stick, spread the Mastic on the little tile pieces and stick them right on the flower pot leaving little gaps in between the pieces. Then after they all dry, grout the whole thing. (grouting is so simple and fun) Seal it and done. You can make patterns and images in mosiac. It's simple and really fun. You could also probably use some of your scrap resin chips and pieces in some mosiac tiled pieces also.