As someone who recently started grad school I lost two things I hold dear to my heart..... all my money & crafting space. So I have been challenging myself to craft "free" project with common items from around the house. That leads me to my next project I recently refinished a 50 year old chest that I use as a coffee table and have been plagued by constant water markers and already had to refinish the top. To combat this I came up with the idea to enter the STONE-CONCRETE-CEMENT Challenge with my concrete coasters!

Supplies

Concrete - This can be bought for about $3 dollars at your local hardware store or online for a bit more (in my case I have a half bag laying around) https://www.amazon.com/QUIKRETE-110110-Concrete-Mi...

Molds - This is where the project gets exciting, I challenge you to do what I did and find objects in your kitchen. In my case I found some Tupperware I really liked the shape of. https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Glass-Locking-...

Mixer - Any old bucket/cup will work perfectly fine no need to spend any money here. In my case I used a beer can with the the top cut off & a screw driver.

Release Agent - There are a lot of store bought options here but I was trying to meet my personal challenge of keeping this project free so I used Pan cooking spray https://www.amazon.com/Original-No-Stick-Cooking-n...

Optional:

Sandpaper - I keep to higher grits for finished concrete (400) https://www.amazon.com/Sandpaper-Performance-Furni...

Finish - There are a ton of great concrete sealers on the market but I used a wood finish (Danish oil) to keep with my "free" theme as I ready had this on hand https://www.amazon.com/Rainguard-Micro-seal-Penetr...

Step 1: Selecting Your Mold

There is a lot of creativity here, you can go as mild or wild as you want. Repeating my theme of "free" I walked into the kitchen and found three glass tableware containers I liked the shaped of (in hindsight a plastic container which has a bit of flex to it may be a better selection but glass works fine, I will expand on this in steps to come). Remember this should be sized for a cup keep it small & fun.

Step 2: Adding a Release Agent

You will want to add a release agent to your mold, there are tons of great options available online/instore or you can think outside of the box here and use Butter/Pam. To stay on my personal mission here I used and Pam and had average results.

1.) Apply light coat with your release agent, use a cloth or old T-shirt and wipe the agent into all of the corners

2.) Wait a few minutes and apply a second coat to ensure every square inch is covered

**Pro Tip: THIS STEP IS REQUIRED IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET YOUR COASTER OUT OF THE MOLD....Do not make the same mistakes I have

Step 3: Mix Your Concrete & Pour

For this step you are going to want to step outside as concrete can get a bit messy. A good set of my latex gloves is recommended to help keep your hands clean.

1.) Pour enough water to cover the bottom of your mixing container (I find this help keeps the dust down while pouring you concrete)

2.) Add the concrete to your desired level this will vary greatly depending on the size of your mold and mix to a pancake batter consistency (see the above image it should be a runny & able to drip off your mixer)

3.) Pour your Concrete into your molds go slow and avoid spillage this will give you the best end result.

4.) Wait the recommend cure time, a good rule of thumb is 24 hours (sometimes its more and sometimes its less so be careful with this)

**Pro Tip: Tap the edges of you mold to reduce air-bubbles and a give yourself a professional end product

Step 4: Optional: Add Your Toppings

This is an optional step if you are feeling a bit wild & looking for an aesthetic twist. Add in Rainbow sprinkles, Coffee beans, Bottle cap, ...etc. Its a good to know this this may reduce the functionality a bit as the coaster will not be perfectly level and can have a hard time placing cups on your "Topping".

**Pro Tip: Make sure your "Topping" is seated in your concrete or you will have fall out after only a few uses

Step 5: Demold & Enjoy

This is where a plastic mold will come in handy, that bit of flex will help you delaminate the concrete from the mold. This is also where you will thanking yourself for following Step #2 as the concrete should slip right out of the mold with a few taps.

1.) Invert your mold and give the back a few light taps... it should slip right out

2.) Light sand the edges if required

3.) Finish is optional, concrete can sealer is a great option there are a ton of sealer on the market or you can use a wood finish in a pinch

Advanced removal tips

Sometimes no matter how well you apply the release agent the concrete still wants to "stick" so you may have to use some of the following techniques.

1.) Freeze your mold

2.) Heat your mold (Make sure your mold is a heat safe container)

3.) Try giving the mold a few light taps and it should release without a problem, if still unable to release try repeating these steps a few times to get that pesky concrete to release.

**Comment any question you have and add pictures of your creations