Make Spackled MDF Coasters- Tutorial (Featured Guest Blogger)

Hi everyone, I’m Kristin from Ink Dots and Polka Dots and I am very excited to be guest blogging today at Everyday Mom Ideas and sharing a new DIY project!

I’m an elementary school teacher turned stay-at-home mom to three boys ages six months to six years. When I’m not rescuing rubber snakes, washing endless loads of laundry and puréeing mountains of carrots and peas for the baby, I blog. Blogging is how I re-charge my battery and get inspired, it is my creative outlet and a place where I can be a girl amongst girls (if you know what I mean)!

Over at Ink Blots and Polka Dots I blog about crafts, sewing, furniture and room makeovers; basically I blog and write tutorials about things that make a house a home. Here are some of the things I have posted about recently:

Today I would like to share how I made these spackled MDF coasters. They are an easy project with many possibilities … use this technique to make a trivet, group several smaller plaques together for an eclectic piece of wall art, and kids can get involved in painting and personalizing their own room decor.

Step 1: Cut a remnant piece of MDF into 4” squares using a miter saw. My remnant piece cost me a dollar at Home Depot. If you don’t have a miter saw, no worries … from experience I have learned that taking the time to do your makeup and style your hair means the guys over at Home Depot are always willing to help :o)

Step 2: Paint the top and bottom of the MDF squares with acrylic paint. I like using acrylic because it dries quickly. I chose black for my coasters but I’m a monochromatic kinda gal and you might be more colorful, so you decide what you like best.

Step 3: Place blue painters’ tape in about ¼” around the perimeter of the MDF to give your coasters a border. I eyeballed this by holding it up near a window – the light coming through the tape will give you a good idea if your taped line is straight. The blue tape works best because it is made to adhere to recently painted surfaces without lifting your paint when you take it off. Love this stuff!

Step 4: Take a wide putty knife and apply about a 1/8” thick coat of spackling to the exposed part of your coaster. If you want a smoother coaster in the end, aim for a smooth application of spackling compound. I did both smooth ones and textured ones and ended up preferring the smooth. The spackling I used (Dap Dry Dex) goes on pink and dries white which helps take the guess work out of knowing when it is dry.

Step 5: Using a fine grit sandpaper, sand the spackling. Be careful not to sand too much or you will expose the wood underneath. I sanded in all directions to give a cross-hatched textured surface to mine. You can see below (I hope) the rough coaster versus the smooth one.

Step 6: Slowly and carefully peel away the painter’s tape. Some spackling along the taped edge might come off with the tape so if you are a perfectionist, beware! I happen to like a little texture.

Step 7: Select the design for your coasters. I chose to monogram mine with the letter M in different fonts (size 200 in Word). The simpler the image or wording the better. Print the letters onto paper, then hold the paper up to the window (wrong side facing you) and scribble over the entire letter. Turn the paper right side up and trace its’ outline onto the center of the coaster.

Step 8: Using acrylic paint, fill in the traced letter or image. This is where my cross-hatched sanding job came in handy: it gave my letters a slightly distressed look, one that you might get on wood if you were to sand well painted letters.

Step 9: Seal it. You could spray the coaster with several coats of clear lacquer for protection against chipping and moisture, but I didn’t have any and used several coats of Mod Podge in Satin to add some shine instead.

Add cork or felt pads to the bottom, tie them up using colorful ribbon and you have a wonderful hostess or teacher’s gift, or if you are like me, hoard them for yourself!