DIY Coasters

I have been thinking of a really good idea for a DIY, and honestly a lot of my ideas are one time DIYs and I can't really continue to recreated them. However, one that I found was a fun idea that I think could possibly be done a few times is a coaster set. Everyone has a different style, and when it comes to coasters you want to express yourself in the best way possible. Craft stores can help to make this happen, but you can also get inspiration from your daily activities.

I like board games, and so do many of my friends and family who are the recipients of most of my gifts. So making a coaster set from a board game was one of the things I thought would be an interesting gift for a friend of mine who's birthday is at the end of the week. To do this, I had to think of games that could be easily turned into a coaster, and then realized I didn't want to hack up the boards for coasters. I nixed the idea of board game coasters and though, what about the pieces? I found a bunch of ideas on the internet about game themed decor, and ran with an idea I saw about Scrabble tiled coasters.

Materials:
-Industrial strength adhesive with application. (choose one that dries clear for best results.
-25 Scrabble tiles (per coaster, can also use dice of any color combo)
- Cork board. You can get it from a craft store, or lowes, and you need enough so that each tile (or die) sits on it halfway when organized.

Instructions
-Before assembling anything, play with the tiles to get them organized. Spell words that connect to each other, or 5 letter names. It's a challenge to use smaller words, but it is more fun to have words that upside down tiles. Speaking of which, any tile that you do not use to spell with, can be turned upside down and made into a blank tile for spacing (see picture)
-Arrange the tiles on the cork WITHOUT GLUE to see if they all fit properly. If needed cut the cork smaller so that there is no exposed cork.
-Glue all pieces in place one at a time making sure that all pieces are glue tightly together. You cannot change the order once the glue dries, so make sure it is something you are willing to keep. Then allow it to dry, and the coaster is ready to use!

If you are using dice, you must glue all sides of the die that are touching any other die as well, so the dice take much longer. I also found out because of the texture of the die, they don't really make sensible coasters. The glasses tend to slip off the surface, so it is a riskier move.

Another easy idea is grabbing a Scramble Squares Puzzle which has 9 pieces that are roughly the size of coasters. (the plastic ones work best, but you can easily cover a cardboard piece with Con-Tact paper before gluing it) and Glue it to a piece of cork board. This would give guests, or a recipient the option to rest their drink, or figure out a fun puzzle.