DIY Concrete Coasters Tutorial

This tutorial will walk you through how to make your own concrete coasters at home!

How to make your own concrete coasters at home

I’m not sure I’ve shared it on here yet, but my husband and I recently bought our first home. It’s a lovely little townhouse, and we’re SO excited about it! But since we’re moving from an apartment to a townhouse and we’re first-time homeowners, we have a long list of projects on our radar.

I can’t say that getting new coasters was high on the list, but alas, I went and made new coasters. We’ve had some cork coasters for years, but they always stick to your drink, which is kind of annoying. And I love working with concrete—so DIY concrete coasters it was!

One night, my husband said we should get new coasters. I immediately remembered some lovely concrete coasters I had seen on Etsy. But you know I am hard headed and am not going to pay $35.99 + $23.24 in shipping for six coasters. No way. Guys, you can get 10 pounds of concrete for like, 10 dollars. So the next morning, that’s exactly what I did.

The process was actually pretty easy, but I suggest doing a test coaster first to ensure you have the right measurements and are comfortable working with concrete. Not all of my coasters turned out perfectly, either. But that’s okay. There were only a few duds, and the materials are so cheap that it’s totally fine.

What type of concrete should be used for small crafts?

You can use any type of concrete for crafts. There are even some lightweight concrete mixes that mix in small balls to help keep the finished product lighter than normal concrete. I used this type of a concrete for my concrete succulent planters, but I don’t think this specific brand is still being made.

The type of concrete I like the most for DIY projects and crafts is RapidSet Cement All. This stuff is super cheap, easy to find at your local big box hardware store, and lasts forever. I had this box for a couple years before it ran out. This comes in a powder form that you just add water to and mix. And the finish is really clean and smooth.

Step 1: Prep (because concrete sets fast)

Grab any kitchen oil and a paper towel. Give the inside of the bottom of your cups a light coating. This makes your coasters pop out super easily when they are done setting up. Then decide how many coasters you want to pour at one time.

It’s important to know how many coasters you will pour at a time because the concrete sets up quickly and you need to have a good estimate of how much to make. To keep costs down, I decided to pour only two coasters at once and make them gradually—I didn’t want to buy a ton of the 1-quart paint mixing cups.

Step 2: Mix your concrete

The concrete I used is a ready-to-go powder that just requires water. The ratio of powder to water is 1 tbsp water for every 4 tbsps of powder. After doing a test coaster, I estimated that each coaster would need about 6 tbsps of powder (that means 1.5 tbsps of water). Since I poured two at a time, I mixed up 12 tbsps of powder (3 tbsps of water).

Step 3: Pour the concrete

Pour the mixture into your molds. Then, pick up each cup and “drop” it from about 2 inches high. This will help the mixture settle completely to ensure it dries evenly and with as few air bubbles as possible.

You can also take any sort of utensil and tap the outside of the cup. This will further help the air bobbles to pop.

Step 4: Let dry

Let the coasters dry. I gave mine about an hour before I popped them out, then I let them sit overnight before using sandpaper to smooth out or round edges where necessary.

Step 5: Add furniture protection

Cut out felt circles that are just a bit smaller than your coasters. Use your multipurpose glue to glue them on—this will help protect your furniture!

And here are my finished coasters!

…and voila! Here are the finished coasters. I ended up going with a set of five. They are simple but lovely, aren’t they? Perfect for indoors or outdoors 😉

Sealing concrete coasters

You can use an aerosol acrylic spray sealer to seal your coasters. However, just know that if you seal the concrete, the coasters will no longer be absorbant. Rings and water stains will begin to appear on your concrete coasters after a while, but that’s because they’re working! 🙂

If you don’t want these rings and you want any condensation from the glasses and cups to pool on top of the coasters, check out Thompson’s Waterseal aerosol spray. I have used this to seal terracotta pots before painting them, and it works really well.

If you like this, check out my epoxy resin paint pour art tutorial, my small geometric concrete planters, and my stainless steel bowl hanging planter.

Can you paint concrete coasters?

Yes, it is super easy to paint concrete coasters. I would recommend using acrylic craft paint of any kind or just straight spray paint. If you use spray paint, you don’t have to seal the paint job. The spray paint usually does a great job of self-sealing.

If you use an acrylic paint, I would recommend using a clear spray sealer to protect the paint from chipping. Some acrylic paints say they are self-sealing, but with the water and heavy use on coasters, I’d say it’s probably best to use a sealer on top of the paint.

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