DIY Polaroid Photo Coasters

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That special time of year that we all love is rapidly coming, so I’m sure you all need some super amazing gifts for everybody. Today I’m giving you an idea for such a gift and I’m sharing with you a new DIY project: Polaroid Photo Coasters with Shabby Chic touches – an easy project that you can make for yourself or your loved ones.

You are already imagining all the endless possibilities, right? :)

The first thing you will have to do is to … steal some pictures from your friends Instagram or Facebook accounts, of course! :) That is if you want to make them a surprise. If not, I guess asking them for their favorite photos could work too. :) You could also use some old real pictures, just make sure you make copies first and don’t use the originals.

I made the Shabby Vintage Polaroid photo coasters a few weeks ago for Nico, a super talented and warm person I’ve met online, who makes some of the most amazing Fimo clay portraits and figurines ever (I’ll show you a glimpse of her work in a bit). The coasters were a surprise for Nico, so the stealing part applied here :). Scooping up into someone’s Instagram or Facebook account for their favorite pictures is not as easy as you might think, so I suggest saving more pictures on a folder on your computer, just to be sure you have plenty of options to choose from later.

MATERIALS NEEDED

• 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cm) square MDF/wooden plaques (you can cut them yourself  or buy them), painted white and distressed to get a Shabby Chic look
• Instagram/Facebook photos sized to 3” x 2.5” (8 x 6,5 cm), printed on photo paper/cardstock/regular paper (I used glossy photo paper)
• scissors
• paint brush or sponge brush
• Mod Podge*
• for the  Shabby Chic look you will need two contrasting colors (I used black acrylic paint and white acrylic paint, but any other colors will work), candle wax, brushes and fine grit sandpaper
• optional, for the wrapping: white tissue paper* and purple raffia ribbon*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To get a beautiful Shabby Chic look on your square MDF plaques , paint them black first and let them dry.

2. Rub some candle wax on the edges of the plaques, apply 1 or 2 coats of white paint and let them dry. Use a fine grit sandpaper to distress the edges and a damp cloth to remove any residues.

3. Save the photos you want to use on your computer (to save from Facebook, just right click on a photo and click save as in a specific folder; to save from Instagram it’s a little bit tricky, so this tutorial might help)

4. Use a photo editing program to size the photos to 3” x 2.5” (8 x 6,5 cm) arrange them on a 6 pieces grid per page. Print the photos and use your scissors to cut them. (You could also go to a copy center and ask them to arrange and print them for you.)

4. Use a brush to apply an even layer of Mod Podge on the back of a photo and adhere it to a plaque. It will now look like a Polaroid photo! :) Use your fingers to smooth the photo and remove any air bubbles. Then apply an even layer of Mod Podge on the whole surface (both the photo and the plaque) to seal it. This layer of Mod Podge will make to photo look washed out at first, but don’t worry, after it will dry completely, it will become nice and clear.

5. That’s it, just be patient while they dry! :)

You can choose a theme for your Polaroid photo coasters, depending on your (or your friends) favorite things and make different sets of 4 or 6 pieces. Something like last summer vacation for your best friend, best Christmases ever for your parents, our perfect honeymoon to Rome for your dreamy half, a trip to beautiful France for your sister, the perfect sunsets from Belize from your friend’s Instagram that loves to travel … and anything else that you can think of.

You can choose black and white pictures, colorful or vintage ones, there are lots of beautiful alternatives that you can get create with. Give them as gifts or use them in your home and admire them while sipping the perfect creamy and foamy coconut oil coffee.  

I was telling you before that The Polaroid photo coasters were a gift for Nico, you can also get creative when wrapping these beauties and adapt the whole wrapping concept to a specific theme. I knew Nico loves lavender so I used some fresh lavender from the garden, some white tissue paper* and some purple raffia ribbon* to create a simple but elegant lavender theme.  P.S. I also made Nico a beautiful painted planner, I’ll show you in a future post how you can easily make one on your own.

* Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, see more of my favorites products here.

Speaking of Nico, I really want to show you some of the amazing little pieces of art she makes in her atelier, all handmade from polymer clay and personalized for her clients. Nico says: ”I love making you part of my art” so she creates 3D custom portraits starting from a photo of you or your family. How cool is that?! She can even make a super cute and realistic 3D portrait of your dog, cat and even your parrot, all from small colorful pieces of polymer clay. I just love creative people who put a little bit of their hearts into creating beautiful handmade items ♥

Make sure you stop by Nico’s virtual places to see more of her amazing work:

Nicomade | Etsy shop | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |  Tumblr |

That’s it for today’s DIY project, hope you like it and decide to give it a try.  Would love to hear what themes would you choose to create beautiful Polaroid photo coasters sets, for you or your family, just leave your thoughts below! :)

Don’t forget to smile,

Diana

Sharing with lovely people:  StoneGable | Cupcakes and Crinoline | Dwellings | Making it in the Mitten | The DIY Dreamer | Knick of Time | Shabby Art Boutique | A Burst of Beautiful | Craftberry Bush | French County Cottage | The 36th Avenue |

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