DIY Junk Mail Cork Coasters

I came up with this project because I have so much cork scraps and my favorite material to upcycle with is junk mail!  It's so plentiful and I like revealing it's inner beauty, literally.  Here's an easy coasters project! 

{ Materials needed }    

• cork squares
• junk mail with patterns on inside
• paint and brush
• mod podge hard coat (or any waterproof sealant)

{ Instructions }

1. Cut junk mail with patterns into 4x4" squares to fit your cork squares.  Place on adhesive side of cork.
2. Paint whatever pattern you'd like onto junk mail paper.
3. Seal it with mod podge hard coat (purple bottle).  I chose this one because it is a non-toxic, waterproof sealant since we will be putting cold drinks on these coasters after all.  

I plan to add these packs of handmade coasters to Christmas wine baskets this year!

*The cork squares I offer are natural, eco-friendly, and from a renewable resource.

Happy upcycling!

DIY Beeswax Candles

I love an excuse to bring out my beeswax candles since they set such a romantic ambiance.  This photo is from my point view, sipping on some chianti while Sutty makes dinner in the background.  We don't do candlelit dinners every night but he does always cook dinner.  We've learned that I struggle in the kitchen and it's just a scene we'd like to avoid and so I get to set the table while he cooks the meals, works for me! :)

DIY Beeswax Candle Kits are available in my shop if you're interested!  Get them in time for the holidays which will be rolling in soon!  This is a very easy project. 

How-to: Beeswax Spiral Taper Candle
1.  Lay beeswax sheet on paper so that it does not stick to your working surface. Your sheet will come as a rectangle sheet, 8" x 16".  To create your spiral taper, cut the rectangle diagonally from one corner to the other so that you get two triangular sheets that looks like so: 

2.  Align wick along edge.  Flush the wick on one end which will be the bottom of your candle and then on the other end let it exceed the candle about 1 inch so that this will be the top of the candle.  

DIY Beeswax Kit

3.  Fold end of beeswax sheet over the wick.  Tuck it around wick to achieve a round basis for rolling the rest of the way. Work slowly to prevent cracking and breaking.  You can use a hair blow-dryer to warm up your sheet but don’t over heat it.

4.     Once you’ve reach the end of your sheet, press edges to flush to candle.

I use a collection of vintage and recycled glass bottles as my candle holders.  I place kraft paper on the table so that clean up is easy.  They're so beautiful and smell wonderful!  Get your kits here!

Happy candle rolling!

-EcoMonster