Martenique Torlage

Aug 4, 20233 min read

Pallet coaster DIY

The perfect save to your spills.

DIY Coasters. Photo: Martenique Torlage — DIY homemade pallet coasters

What's the biggest bummer about coffee? I am not sure about you, but for me, it is the fact that the mug leaves coffee stains and circles on your furniture. Being the clumsy person that I am, I am constantly knocking and bumping into things. It results in my mugs always leaving stain marks wherever I put them down. Being the coffee snob that I am, I found it annoying. I therefore decided to give some mug coasters a chance.

I have always been a fan of wooden pallets and the rustic vibe they give. What if you can recreate that vibe inside your own house? I played around with the idea and decided to try and make some mini pallets as coasters for the living room area.

I enjoyed this DIY project as it is a forgiving and absent-minded craft. It did not require a lot of brain power; only a moment of focus every once in a while. I had so much fun with it, I even played around with a couple of decorative variations.

Please, feel free to let your inner creativity come out as you create this project with me.

Cappuccino Rating

I rate this project two cappuccinos if you're doing the plain rustic coasters. If you want to do one of the more decorative ones, you can plan on two cups of cappuccino. I based my rating on the making of 4-6 coasters. (Find out more here)

What you will need:

Ice cream/craft sticks (11 per pallet)
Glue gun
Glue gun glue (two sticks for six pallets)
Newspaper/paper/paper plate

Extra's

Markers
Wool
Scissors
Highlighters

Setting up craft space

Creating a clean and safe space for you to work in is crucial. It will help you to avoid damages and losses. Find an open table where you can work and start by laying out the newspaper. You will be working with a glue gun and don't want the melted hot glue to get onto your table. Next, ensure that there is a power source close by for the glue gun and that the cable is long enough. You don't want the glue gun to fall off the table while working.

You can then pack out your supplies along the outskirts of the table.

The Assembly

Take note: the decorative variations do require prep before assembly so please take a look at them before assembling your pallet.

Step one in making Pallet coasters. — Step 1

1. You will want to count out your sticks for your pallet and make sure you have enough. You will need 11 per pallet.

Step two in making DIY pallet Coasters. — Step 2

2. You will want to mark lines on the bottom for glueing. I drew the first line where the curve ended on both sides of the stick and then used a ruler to find the middle of those lines for the middle stick. By the second one, I was eyeballing it and threw the marking out the window. What is rustic about it if it's perfect, right?

Step three in making DIY pallet Coasters. — Step 3

3. You will glue the middle sticks going in the opposite direction as the bottom ones. Next, you will use a bit of glue on each of the lines to glue them in place. The middle sticks will be glued onto the thin side and not the broad side. It is to create a 3D look.

*Remember to be careful with the glue gun. It gets extremely hot.

Step four in making DIY pallet Coasters. — Step 4

4. You will then flip your pallet over and stick the top ones in line with the bottom sticks.

Step five in making DIY pallet Coasters. — Step 5

5. Your project is supposed to look like this now. Don't give up we're almost done.

The three sticks at the bottom line up with the ones at the top and the three in the middle go perpendicular to those.

Step six in making DIY pallet Coasters. — Step 6

6. Lastly

You will add the last remaining sticks into the remaining gaps. After doing that you can go and remove the glue gun strings that that can be found in between.

Your pallet is now complete!

Well done on creating your first rustic coaster. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Please feel free to read on to see some of the decorative variations that you can also try.

Completed Rustic, DIY pallet coaster in use with a mug of cappuccino topped with cream. With white flowers on the side. — Complete DIY Pallet coaster.

Decorative variations

There are two decorative options that I came up with. The one gives off a youthful look whereas the other gives a homey vibe. You will have to do the prep for these before assembly. So please take a look at this before assembling the pallets as explained above.

Option 1 - Highlighters

Option 2 - Wool Covering

Thank you very much for reading my blog on how to make a coaster. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please go and enjoy that last sip of coffee before it gets too cold and remember to watch this space for my next blog.

Till my coffee spills again