DIY Agate Coasters

It's Madalynn here with a super quick DIY for you guys today. I'm sure a lot of you guys have seen these super cute agate coasters floating around at places like Pottery Barn and Home Goods. They are super cute and fun and pretty, but the price tag is usually a no go for me. So today I'll be showing you how to make your own agate coasters for literally just a few cents.

For your supplies you're going to want to gather the following items:

• Scissors
• Painter's tape or brown packing tape (Regular scotch tape or duct tape won't work the same.) 
• Gold or silver acrylic paint
• Cardboard
• Paintbrush and sponge
• Pencil
• Agate Pictures (I just googled "agate slice" and found some I liked. Print two out of each stone. It's easiest to put them on Word and size them how you want and then just copy/paste. Print these out on card stock and then just cut them out like shown.)
• Mod Podge
• Acrylic Sealer (I used this one. It is moisture resistant.)
• I also used Copper Dust on the edges of mine, but depending on the paint you use, this is optional. Just be warned that copper dust is not the safest material. It can cause respiratory, liver, and kidney issues. If you have small children I would recommend not doing this part unless they aren't around at all while you do this. You can also just use reglar glitter if you wish.
• A plate or palette

The first thing you're going to do is trace the outline of your agate slices onto your cardboard and cut it out. You're going to want two of each one.

Next, take the painter's tape and tape the matching pieces of cardboard together. When I traced them, I made little marks on them so I would be able to match them up better. When I taped them, I used short pieces of tape. You also want to make sure that the top and bottom are as flat as possible, so if there are any flappy bits, go ahead and tape them flat.

At this point, I did two coats of paint on the cardboard. Pretty much I just painted wherever there was tape.
Then you mod podge the agate photos onto either side of the cardboard. There were a few places where the photos hung over a bit, so I just trimmed them. It's okay to have uneven edges and painted tape showing because it just makes it look more like a natural rock. Just be sure to get out as many air bubbles as possible.
After those were dried on there, I applied the copper dust around the trim of the coasters. If you arent using the copper dust or glitter, I would suggest using another coat of paint. Doing this step after applying the photos helps hide the edges of the paper.

​Finally, go to a well ventilated area and apply the acrylic spray. You can do a couple coats of this to really make sure everything is covered well. After that dries, you are finished!

I seriously think these are the cutest things in the world. I ran into a lot of problems while I was doing this (I had to mix my own paint because the colors I had didn't match perfectly, I forgot to use card stock, but then we ran out of colored ink so I couldn't print more, etc etc...) but I still think they came out pretty stinkin okay! Try this out and let me know what you think! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask!