DIY Beer Box Coasters – An Awesome “Man” Gift!

Anyone else have extreme difficulty shopping for the men in your lives? I always have a hard time thinking about what to give (and an especially hard time thinking up something to make) for my husband, Dad, father-in-law, and brothers. These easy to make beer box coasters are great, though, and work as a thoughtful, handmade gift for so many different kinds of men. Plus, I think they look really awesome on anyone’s table or bar and aren’t very taste specific.  Add a nice set of handmade beer box coasters to a big batch of homemade chex mix and you have the perfect man gift! Bonus for me is that they highlight the graphic art of the beer you drink which is something my husband and I really enjoy.

I first saw this idea from my brothers friend.  She did a beautiful job on a set she gave to Nick, and I’ve been thinking of them ever since! It was fairly exciting to actually get a “project” done while all of my kids (my THREE kids- holy crap!) slept and I definitely happy danced in my kitchen.  It’s not a finished quilt or anything… baby steps 😉 Someday I WILL sew again!  But I’m proud of myself nonetheless.

Here’s what you need to do:

First, start collecting beer boxes.  There’s an awesome bottle shop near our house (shout out to Hal’s for any locals!) where you can grab your own box then fill it with any six beers you want. We do that all the time so we can try all different kinds of beer and Brandon and I can each get exactly what we want. The empty boxes are there for convenience but we make sure to look through them each time and pick a cool one if we can. If you aren’t personally a big beer drinker, just ask your local bottle shop or beer distributor if they have extra boxes you could have. Or ask family or friends to save them for you. Either way, make a pile to save for coasters!

Next you just need to gather a few simple (cheap!) materials.

1. Beer boxes (covered that already, but just incase!)

2. A clear sealer. I like Plaid CS15063 Mod Podge All-in-1 Glue Set, 16-Ounce, Hard Coat
because it’s a “hard coat” and words well for so many projects. But use something else if you have it already! It just needs to be something clear that will A) stick the cardboard to your tile and B) Seal the cardboard so it doesn’t get wet from cold glasses or beer bottles.

2. A paint brush.

3. Ceramic floor or wall tiles. I got a big box of these years ago from Home Depot and think I paid about $0.15/tile or something like that.

4. And something to put under the tiles to protect whatever surface they are set on. I like these little things : Clear Rubber Bumper Pads to Protect and Cushion Surfaces (Pkg/375)) but pieces of felt or cork glued onto each corner would work well too. (You can use hot glue to attach these things or just use the mod podge).

Directions:

1. Use a sharpie to trace around your tile onto the beer boxes. Center your tile so you are getting your favorite parts underneath.

2. Cut out each square INSIDE your marker line so the square fits without any overlap onto your tiles. You may have to trim the edges a bit if the squares are slightly too large.

3. Coat the tile with mod podge and press your first cardboard square onto the tile. Use your full weight and press all edges and corners, holding and pushing down as hard as you can for a minute or so. You really want the wetness of the clear coat to soak into the cardboard and adhear fully to the tile or the edges and corners will start to pull up and peal.

4. Coat the top of the cardboard in mod podge.

5. Let coasters dry fully and add a second coat to finish them off.

That’s it! Easy right? You can probably get two or three Beer Box Coasters out of a single box depending on the design so you could definitely whip up a ton of these at once. Don’t you think they’d be a hit?!

(Hi to all the men in my life – hope you like your coasters on Christmas morning 😉 sorry to ruin the surprise. Ha!)