Handcrafted gifts for Men

It’s so hard for me to think of crafts for men! You may be like me and have a brother who loves comic books – in which case, geeky coasters are the perfect gift for said brother. And trust me, I’m not throwing stones. I’m a Star Wars fanatic. I even have a t-shirt (I wear it) that says “Be Nice to Nerds.” Haha!

I’m quite pleased with Man Podger David’s project because I know a lot of you are looking for gifts and project ideas for the men in your life. You’ll want to pay attention (especially if you’re a beginner); he also used an unusual surface for the base. Coupled with Outdoor Mod Podge, this project is a win.

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If you’ve visited my Etsy store you know I’m the coaster guy. I have coasters of every style under the sun but they only come in one shape: square. So, I’m always looking for new possibilities and I was so happy when in the electrical/lighting section of Home Depot I came across these metal blanks that are made to cover up unused outlets ($1.40 each).

You can buy round wood or chip-board blanks for coasters but for me they are just too lightweight (nothing is more annoying than a coaster that ALWAYS sticks to your glass). However, these are perfect – less clunky than making a coaster out of a tile but still heavy and versatile.

For this project you will need:

I wanted a white coaster, so after a light sanding with some 220 grit sandpaper (just to rough up the surface and give the paint something to stick to) I used some Antique White spray paint and allowed it to dry thoroughly.

I love old comic books and decided to use some graphics from a book I found on the Remainder Table a while ago. Sometimes I find it hard to visualize what a section will look like when it’s cut out so I used my Fiskars Circle guide to get a sense of where on the page I wanted to cut.

There are two screw holes in the blank and your paper will need to cover them. I chose to leave a little edge showing, but it would also work to cover the entire surface with paper. If you choose this route, just cut a circle a little larger than the blank and after applying it and allowing it to dry you’d cut away the excess paper with a craft knife. After deciding and cutting out the images it’s time to Mod Podge.

I like to dampen my images before attaching them as it reduces the bubbles and wrinkles that plagued me in my early Mod Podge attempts. NOTE: This method will NOT work with images printed on an ink jet printer as the ink will run – you should always test a little section of the paper to make sure it will hold up. I fill a container with water and drop the image in to soak a little while I prepare the surface.

When I pull the image out of the bath I run my fingers along either side of it to remove any excess water. After that I lay it on the surface and gently smooth it out, pushing out any air that gets trapped or any excess Mod Podge (having a paper towel handy is helpful) and allow it to dry. After about 20 minutes, I top coated the coasters with a layer of Mod Podge and allowed it to dry, then sanded it with my 220 grit sandpaper and gave it another coat.

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