Help
Creating a coaster album:
Supplies:
6-7 4”x4” coasters (I purchased mine online, but you might be able to sweet talk your local waitress! )
Binding tool and wire binding OR Hole punch and metal rings
Mod Podge (I used Matte)
Spray Sealer (I used Krylon Low Odor Clear Matte from JoAnne’s)
Paper – cardstock (or photopaper, which I have not tried)
Sanding block or sandpaper
1. In your software, create a new document sized at 7.5x7.5 inches, with a white background.
2. Add a layout to your document. Resize the layout to 3.5”x3.5” (an easy way to do this is to turn on your grids and use snap to grid)
3. Move the layout to the upper left corner of the page.
4. Repeat steps 2-3, placing a layout in each corner of your document. It should look like the sample at the bottom of this post (with layouts instead of blank squares). Print the page.
5. Repeat for additional pages.
6. For the Front and Back Covers, create two 4”x4” pages/layouts and print. (I kept mine simple using a pretty paper from the Refresh Collection and put Sages’ name on with an alpha.)
7. Trim the layouts, leaving a ¼” white border around each layout.
8. Spray each page with 2-3 thin coats of sealer (when using cardstock, Mod Podge will make the ink bleed if you skip this step. For photo paper, you might be able to skip this, but I have not tested it.)
9. Adhere one layout to the coaster using Mod Podge or glue stick. Trim off the extra at the rounded corners. Repeat for the opposite side of the coaster (make sure your second layout is facing the right way )
10. Sand the edges and corners of the paper until it makes a nice transition to the coaster (i.e. no paper hanging over the edge).
11. Repeat steps 8-9 for each page of the book.
12. Seal each page with 3-4 thin coats of Mod Podge, letting dry between coats.
Tips:
I did this book with HP Presentation Paper (which is 32lb paper, my ‘regular’ paper is 20lb and my cardstock is 110lb) and was able to get NEARLY all of the wrinkles out after Mod Podge. Using cardstock seems to alleviate the wrinkling, but on my printer, it sacrifices some of the color.
If your papers wrinkle up when doing the Mod Podge layers…don’t panic! Once they start to dry, they pretty much flatten out. When they are dry to the touch, smooth them out the best you can and place some weight on them (i.e. a ream of paper or something) before doing the next coat.
To get thin coats of Mod Podge, I have had good luck dipping my paint brush in water, removing the excess by scraping on the edge of the water container, then dipping the brush in the Mod Podge. This thins the Mod Podge down some. (You can also leave your brush right in the water between coats…saves on cleaning up as much!!)
Don’t forget to consider where your binding/holes will be when choosing your layouts and which side of the page they will be on.
HAVE FUN!!!
Attached File(s)
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Book_Template1.jpg (406.53K)
Number of downloads: 40
Thanks Christy for the awesome directions!!
