DIY Vintage Tile Coasters and Trivets

I collected these vintage tile fragments at the beach in Italy where I live. You know the saying that they don't make things like they used to? In this case it's totally true!

Let's get our materials ready:

• Tiles or other flat rocks collected from the beach
• Old and unused wool sweaters
• Permanent marker
• Fabric scissors
• Glue gun

First off, you need to felt your wool sweaters. This is really easy by washing them in the washing machine at the hottest and longest cycle. If you have a drier (I don't), you can also give them a good hot drying in there. See this post of mine on how to machine felt wool sweaters to get some extra tips for getting perfectly felted wool and some other project ideas to use it for!

Trace around the tile on the felted wool sweater with the permanent marker and then cut on the inside of the line.

Place the piece of wool felt on the bottom of the tile and trim off any bits that hang over the edge. Then just glue it in place.

Now make a few more for a full set of coasters and trivets, then have a tea party with the coolest coaster set in town!

By the way, these coasters are perfect for cold beverages, too, to keep condensation from marking your furniture!

So, all it took were some beautiful treasures found on the beach, some old ruined sweaters found in the closet, and glue, and you now have a funky and useful decoration for the home! These also make great gifts!

You can find more details in this blog post, including what to do when the bottom of the tile or rock isn't perfectly flat and wobbles a bit.

Buon appetito!