Handmade felt coasters + free printable gift tags

Welcome to another quick tutorial, this week for handmade felt coasters. This is a project I'd been meaning to make (and share) for a while. It was actually part of my handmade Christmas gifts list last year but then I ended up postponing it for so long that I never finished it in time. I finally decided to give it a try and it went so well that I just had to share the tutorial.

To make these felt coasters you need: 

• the pattern - download here
• felt in two contrasting colors
• fabric glue

To "package" the felt coasters in a gift bundle I also used a patterned thin cardboard (the kind you get for scrapbooking, for example),  a bit of matching ribbon and the printable gift tags which you can download here.

For each coaster you will need to cut one square of each color. Initially I decided to make a set of six coasters, although later I added two more to have a set of eight. 

Then you need to decide which color you want for the top and the bottom of the coasters. I tried both ways and ended up going with the red-on-white look. Use disappearing ink or chalk to draw the flower on the top square (making sure it is centered) and then cut out that shape. In my experience this is the most difficult part of the whole project. If you don't feel comfortable with the flower shape, you can always decide to go with a simpler shape. 

Once you have all your squares cut out, you just need to glue top and bottom: 

Easy, right? Now make as many as you want: 

To bundle the coasters I cut an additional square out of a matching patterned cardboard for the bottom: 

And printed a gift tag onto the back of the same paper: 

Gift tags here, in four different colors. 

And here is the complete set: 

These felt coasters are probably one of the easiest handmade gifts you can make and are perfect for every occasion. And you can make a set for you too, of course.

Happy Monday!