Weekend Project! DIY Waterproof Coasters

Meet one of SELF's Editorial Assistants, Alyssa. When's she not scoping out the latest pop culture trends for our Entertainment department, Alyssa can usually be found DIYing. We tap into her craftiness to find out what she's whipping up every week.

As I get older (and yes, I know 23 isn't really "old"), I go through more and more life stages with my friends -- and right now, we're all heavily into the "moving out" phase.

With so many apartment-warming parties to go to, I needed a few unique gift options (Because really, how many tea kettles does one apartment need?), and these DIY photo coasters seemed like the perfect solution. You can take creative license with these and use whatever image you want -- one ripped out of a magazine, printed off a camera, or in my case, a few of your Instagram photos. (We love the site Prinstagram for printing ours!)

You'll need:

4 plain coasters (we got ours for under $8 at Crate and Barrel)Mod Podge in "Glossy"A sponge brushClear Acrylic gloss spray

Trim your photos to the size of the coasters, making the image end slightly before the edges of the coaster. Coat the back of your chosen photo with a generous dose of Mod Podge (but not too much -- you want it to dry, after all!).

Let the Mod Podge dry for about 15 seconds, then place your coaster over the photo and press gently, adhering it to the sticky side of the photo. Allow it to dry for at least 20 minutes without picking it up (Patience, students.)

One the photo is applied to the coaster, it's time to topcoat. You're going to want to coat the image and coaster with at least three coats of Mod Podge, allowing it to dry for 15 minutes (or until clear) between coats.

Once the final coat has dried, spray all of the coasters with a clear acrylic gloss spray, which ensures that they're waterproof/drink proof. Because you know you'll be putting a few margaritas on these babies!

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