DIY Coaster for Father's Day

Last weekend was Father's Day and my 12 year old is at the age where she can pretty much organise her own gifts (this year she decided to give him a 'News Report' dvd which was me interviewing her on her dad ... we had the skills to film ourselves and then MY dad helped us edit it, adding in the News intro you would see on tv, music and rolling credits at the end. As I had nothing to do with the editing I can't write a post about this, as great an idea as it was!). However my nearly 3month old obviously didn't have any major plans of her own. So, after scrolling through ideas on the internet and coming across the usual stuff that is kind of cute but not very useful, I eventually stumbled upon the idea of turning a hand and foot print into a super-hero (the foot print as the body and the hand print as the cape).

 



 

As sweet as this would be on paper, I thought "Why not put it on a coaster and make it useful?" And so I did ... easy!

 

 

Here's how ...

 

You will need:

 

- A small square tile or coaster (about 10cm x 10cm - I used a coaster that we already had in the house, however in the future I will most likely purchase some from a tile shop, craft / hobby shop or hardware store).

- Paper

- Paint and brushes (My super hero is very traditional with a blue suit and red cape, however your main man might have a favourite hero such as batman and you could use different colours accordingly).

- Scissors

- A decoupage glue (this acts as a glue and a sealant)

 

 

Instructions:

 

1. I painted my bub's foot and hand one at a time, using a paint brush. I know from experience (working within a childcare centre) that this can get messy so I had baby wipes nearby for a quick cleanup.

 



2. After brushing the paint onto your child's hand or foot, grip it firmly and press down onto paper. If it's too hard to push your child's foot down onto a hard surface, try lifting the paper up to their foot instead by placing a hardcover book underneath it.

3. Now, I kept the hand and foot print very separate because I wanted to scan them onto my computer. I used Photoshop to position each print on a 10x10cm canvas and then added a superman logo ontop. HOWEVER, you could simply draw a 10x10cm box onto your paper and press your child's foot / hand print down within that box. (If you want to add a superhero logo then a simple print, cut and paste or drawing would still look great!)

4. Add your superhero's arms and head, as well as your text. (Again, I did this in Photoshop, but if  I was to do it again I would just use an artline or black texta.)

5. Once the paint is well and truly dry, cut out your 10x10cm box and carefully stick it onto your tile or coaster by brushing a thin layer of decoupage glue onto the tile. (This will be super hard to move so make sure the positioning is right before pressing down.

6. Brush another thin layer of decoupage glue over the top of the paper, making sure to go over the edges of the paper, then allow to dry for a good couple of days!

And that's it :) You could do this with photos, inspirational quotes, your children's drawings, scrapbook paper ... ANYTHING you like!