For the past few years, I have seen pretty little laser-cut ornaments in the craft stores. Recently, on a paint run to Michael’s, I discovered an assortment of lovely unstained snowflakes. They were so pretty, I scooped up about a dozen or so. They are the perfect size to place a hot mug of tea or coffee on so I thought, "Why not?" Here’s my how-to for an easy-yet-elegant holiday gift that would be especially delightful as a hostess gift.
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Step #1: Step 1: Prepare snowflakes
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- If your laser-cut pieces have ties or ribbon on them, snip them off.
- If there is a sticker label, peel that off as well. If you are having a problem removing all the stick of the sticker, try looping a piece of sticky tape, sticky side out, around your finger and use that tack to grab any stubborn stick still remaining on your wood pieces.
Step #2: Step 2: First hard coat
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- Set up a mess-happy workspace to give your pieces their first hard-coat. I used wax paper on top of a cookie sheet.
- Give each piece an even coat of the Mod Podge Hard Coat.
- Make sure you are using the Hard Coat or other sealer that is water-resistant and weather-proof. We're going to be camping many a happy glass full of something liquid on these, so they need to be waterproof.
- Go slow and keep your brush barely wet, otherwise all the nooks and crannies of your pieces may decide to collect some of that Mod Podge for their own.
- Set the pieces aside to dry a couple of hours. If you find globs of the hardcoat gooping up your nooks and crannies, use a toothpick to dab and scoop them clean.
Step #3: Step 3: Final two coats
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- Once they are dry, grab yourself a small piece of fine-grade sandpaper and give your wood cut a little sandpaper love.
- Dust off any debris.
- Give it another coat, dry, and sand again.
- Top it off with one final coat, for a total of three coats of Mod Podge on your wood cuts.
- Count on this part as being an all-day project.
Step #4: Make pattern for the felt backing
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- Measure your wood pieces with a compass, unless you have found yourself something with angles (then use a ruler).
- On a scrap piece of paper, make a pattern for your backing felt and cut it out.
Step #5: Step 5: Cut out felt backing
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- Pin pattern to your felt pieces and cut.
- I used two shades of blue that will be glued together to create a wee bit more stability for your coasters. You can use all the same color of felt or four different colors; it's all up to you.
- If your wooden pieces measure 4" across, you will need two sheets of felt, 9" x 9".
- A wool felt or wool blend is preferable. Acrylic felt will work as well, but I find wool and wool blends come in prettier colors. I picked up my felt from Lupin at etsy.com.
Step #6: Step 6: Glue felt together
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- Layer up two circles of felt and glue them together by dabbing small dots of tacky glue along the edges.
- You can anchor them together with clothespins until they dry.
- A quick press with a hot iron will smooth out any bumps and wrinkles.
Step #7: Step 7: Attach snowflake to felt
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- Apply wee dots of tacky glue to the back of your wood cut, position over felt circle and gently push down.
- Repeat for each shape and set aside to dry.
Step #8: Step 8: Enjoy
- Admire your crafty work and wrap 'em up, or make yourself a hot cuppa somethin' and relax.
Conclusion
If you are having trouble finding laser-cut snowflakes, a simple style in maple can be found here, or try getting a friend or two to go in on a purchase of this lovely set. You can also forgo all the Mod Podging and pick up this beautiful brass set from Crate and Barrel; just don't forget to add the felt!
