I had a request for custom coasters. I was given a fair amount of freedom; they just wanted a specific pattern (shippo) incorporated. So I created the pattern, then I had too many ideas and much difficulty narrowing them down.
So here are a few of the coaster combos I made. Hopefully they will like them. I still have to work in the trivets they asked for. But I’m thinking I should probably keep that simpler because I’m getting a little sleepy now and I really want to get back to reading my book.
These are made with the green glass acrylic (because I had scraps leftover from my last project), medium cherry, Baltic birch, and 1.2mm cork.
The ones without the petals are the ones I made from the scraps of cutting too many. The acrylic is under those, and I will probably keep them since they take so long to cut that they really aren’t cost effective.
The ones with the filled in petals have acrylic on top and cork on the bottom. Those are going to the person who requested them.
I do too, but my husband said the final batch with the acrylic on top is sturdier and less likely to have the wood exposed to moisture. Even if I sealed the wood, I think the ones I like would warp much quicker.
to be fair, coasters that don’t/can’t absorb any moisture at all are not necessarily very good at their jobs. if they absorb nothing, then enough moisture will cause it to run off of them onto the surface they’re protecting. effective coasters absorb some/all of the moisture on the surface and then dry out w/o being damaged (or are disposable). which is why we see bars with heavy cardstock coasters and homes/offices with non-glazed tile or cork.
Yes, that’s what I told my husband. The original design has holes cut out in the wood and acrylic leading to the cork bottom.
The new ones with the acrylic top have cork bottoms. I was hoping the cork would take care of the liquid absorption for me when it rolls off the edges of the acrylic.
She had sent me a picture of her table before I started thinking about designs, it’s a woven wicker table. So she asked for sturdy coasters.
I’m taking a wild guess, but I think the coasters are going to be used to balance drinks on the uneven top. I added the cork for absorption and grippy-ness. I originally had a wood top because they added more grip than acrylic, I didn’t want the drinks to slide. But she asked for sturdy, and these are sturdy.
just thinking through process a little, maybe taking it one step further, mirror some of the holes in the acrylic to allow moisture to flow down in the middle. that keeps some of the structure, but doesn’t rely on the moisture flowing over the edge. it might still let the wood get wet, tho, and may not dry as easily, so maybe not?
alla that said, they do look great. i was just overthinking raw functionality.
I sprayed the woods with a sealant hoping that it would prevent the worst warping.
I went with Baltic birch because the core is not mdf, but the cherry has the mdf core, and the mdf is the only thing that worries me as far as warping and bubbling.
And to be fair, I didn’t cut holes in all of them, so you weren’t seeing wrong. I made 8 of the things before my husband told me I should go with a flat top for the person. Maybe I’ll reconsider it though, because I thought it was a good idea when I was designing them
Lmao, I know, but at the same time, I don’t need that review “these only lasted 1 month before falling apart!” Everything else I’ve made I’ve issued a “Do not immerse, spot clean only” warning, but coasters make it hard.
