AD Germany x atpp

mixed media coasters

click on picture for the article

Beginner level - air dry clay

need

air dry clay

rolling pin

cutter knife

paper to be used as a template

cutting board to have a flat drying surface

sand paper and acrylic paints if needed

if you wanna plan ahead how the shapes will look once stacked onto each other you can draw them on paper and play with the look of it until you’re happy with the arrangement, you can also just start cutting and find your shapes as you go

roll the air dry clay into sort of thin pieces, don’t leave it too thick, cause really thick pieces can form cracks and deform while drying

cut your shapes freehand or around your templates and put them on little wooden cutting boards to dry. don’t use plastic film or plastic boards to dry the clay on, it will warp and dry irregularly, because the bottom of the piece is sealed with the plastic, use some kind of porous surface and turn the pieces every few hours for ideal flat coasters

once the clay is dry throughly you can sand it to make the surface and raw edges even smoother. painting them a bunch of fun colors is also an option for those who love a pop

stack and decorate!

intermediate level - wood

need

different kinds of wood

jigsaw

sandpaper

paper and a pencil for the templates

wood oils, stain or paints if needed

I got the wood as leftover pieces from the hardware store, usually they are super cheap and rather small pieces, wich is perfect for projects like this

since wood is way sturdier than air dry clay you can plan much bigger projects like a big tray to act as a base for the smaller shapes. plan your shapes on paper or just go with the wood options and sizes you found

draw your shapes onto the individual wood pieces, I made three different sizes from every kind, but you can do them as you like of course

use a rather narrow blade in your jigsaw to cut easily around curves and edges

use sandpaper to get rid of chips and rough edges

you can oil the wood or stain it, paint it, as you like

expert level: acrylic glass

need:

plexi- / acrylic glass pieces at least 5 mm thick

jigsaw with a fine blade

pen to work on foil

fine sandpaper

make sure your plexi - or acrylic glass is poured and not extruded, you can’t cut the extruded kind with a saw. really make sure your blade has super small/ fine teeth to avoid cracks while cutting

leave the protection film on the glass until your done! use the pen to draw your shapes onto the foil, and cut really slow to avoid heat build up. especially if you’re cutting close to the edge of your slab of ‚glass‘ go slow and try to not bend your glass, to avoid cracks. don’t push the blade through the glass, let the saw do the work and cut super slow, smooth and steady

you can sand the glass like wood to get rid of wobbly bits at the edge

peel of the film - wich is really satisfying

decorate

Hack:

don’t waste the rest! used the small leftover pieces to cut little shapes used as decorations or gift tags, you can do the same with the wood leftovers!