Tulip Placemat & Coaster Gift

Surprise mom, granny or someone special with a unique tulip placemat and coaster gift. Perfect for a surprise breakfast in bed. You only need minimal materials, ones you can recycle, and this project is so easy!

Placemat

You will need:

• Hardboard approximately 28x40cm rectangle
• Colored paper
• Modge podge
• Free Tulip Template

What to do:

You can make any design of your choice but I will explain the steps according to our mosaic-inspired tulip design.

For the background:

Select 3 or 4 different shades close to each other – yellows and greens work well together for our picture as we want a bit of contrast with the bright red flowers. Sugar paper is great for decoupage as it is absorbent and the colors won’t bleed.

Tear the paper for the background in small squares. Start at the top of the hardboard and work in sections, covering a section with a generous layer of podge and gluing the squares onto the board. Give a layer of podge over the squares as you work. Once the whole board is covered, leave to let dry properly. This might take a few hours.

Trace the tulip design from the template, using carbon paper (or use your own design). Cut out and cut straight lines for the stems.

Cover the hardboard with a layer podge, glue the stems first, then the tulip and leaves. Do the border in a contrasting color. Make sure as you are gluing the border to fold the paper over the edge of the hardboard and glue it to the back.

Give your placemat another coat of podge. The more coats of podge, the more water-resistant the board will become.

For the large placemat/coaster- follow the same steps as above. I happened to have a hardboard disc on hand and thought the size would be perfect for a teapot.

Coaster

You will need:

• Old cd or dvd disc
• Paper
• Modge Podge
• Free Tulip Template

What to Do:

Use the cd and trace a circle onto the paper you are going to use. Cut the paper a millimeter larger than the cd. Cover the cd with a generous layer of podge and glue the paper onto the cd. Paint a layer of podge over the paper. Once the podge is dry, do the other side, making sure you seal the edges properly.

Give your disc a few layers of podge, letting the podge dry properly in between layers to make your coaster waterproof.

A pretty handmade tulip placemat & coaster gift to make with the kids! And a fun recycle craft to boot!