Recycle Newspapers and Old Fabric into Tea Coasters

I had a series of errands to run a month ago which included laminating my son's identity card that was given to me by his Day Care Centre. I walked into this small xerox and lamination services shop where there was a long queue of customers that day, getting identity-cards, certificates and documents laminated.

As I watched each job being done patiently by Joyraj, the assistant, an idea struck me. It was a period when I was making a lot of crafts using newspapers. So my current obsession at that time was newspapers, newspapers and more newspapers! I was so fascinated by their texture, colours and the possibilities that my mind was swamped by their images and thoughts.

There was also some old clothes of my toddler and mine from last year that I had gathered to make space in our cabinets. Those clothes were to be given away to charity the next week.

Here's a step-by-step guide to help you make the coasters. I do not have separate images explaining the steps as they are very simple.

1. Paste 4 sheets of newspapers neatly, one over the other, using paper-glue. You can also make this glue at home by mixing flour in water into a smooth solution and giving the mixture a quick boil.

2. Leave it overnight to dry completely and become hard.

3. Mark out 9 cm x 9 cm squares on the sheet using a pencil and a scale and cut out these squares carefully. You can also use a small dessert bowl as a dice for making the markings and cut out round coasters for a different shape.

4. With quick, rough strokes, paint both sides of these newspaper cut-outs with white acrylic paint using a thick flat brush (size 10).

5. Cut out the old fabric into small squares - 4 cm x 4 cm.

6. Paste these small scraps of fabric on one or both sides of the painted newspaper cut-outs.

7. Put your completed cut-outs into a bag and take a nice, brisk walk to the nearest xerox and lamination shop in your neighbourhood!!

8. Once you reach, explain that you want each of these cut-outs laminated and cut into the same size after lamination.

9. Your beautiful, recycled coasters are ready to brighten up your coffee table!

1. Do not use more than 4-5 sheets of newspapers. If the base becomes too thick, it becomes more difficult to laminate them.

2. Avoid pasting them in moist weather. Newspapers combined with glue and the moisture in the atmosphere will produce a steam-like effect after lamination which will not allow your coasters to stand out bright.

3. Avoid using fabric that threads immediately on the edges after cutting. It is wise to use cotton or even T-shirt material.

You can even customize your coasters by writing something interesting on them with acrylic/fabric colours and a paint brush!

Add a bit of fun by printing out caricatures of yourself and your family members or friends (if you want to give it as a gift) and stick them on the newspaper cut-out before lamination.