DIY Orange Slice Coasters

When I shared my citrus and turquoise tablescape, I left out one detail: my DIY citrus slice coasters.  You can spot a sliver of them in the photos:

Keeping with my orange and aqua theme, I made a dried orange slice garland for the window, made use of my vintage orange pitcher, decorated with mandarin oranges - and made these coasters from birch slices!

They were SO easy to make and now I'm dreaming up some other slice fruit variations - I'm making pink dragon fruit slices next.  I love dragon fruit.   

If you saw the etched birch slice ornaments I made with a friend, my "dipped" painted birch slice coaster, or my Komondor stamped birch slice coasters, you might have gleaned I have a thing for birch slice crafts.  It's such a rustic anomaly for me.  We have so many wood piles around the property for our wood burning fireplace, sauna, and fire pit, that I think birch slice crafts sort of seeped into my subconscious.  I've actually been wanting to slice a big birch log for a charger or serving platter, but our chop saw can't handle the diameter and we don't own a chainsaw.  So I have this huge birch stump in the garage, tempting me, until I can figure out a way to slice it.

Birch slice coasters are way easier!

Supplies: 

• Unfinished birch slices
• Sandpaper
• Acrylic paint or paint pen (cadmium orange and white)
• Super tiny paintbrush
• Felt (optional)
• Craft glue (optional)

How to Make Birch Slice Coasters:

If you missed my other tutorials, the steps are simple!  Either purchase pre-cut birch slices or grab a branch or log and chop it into even slices, preferable with a chop saw for a nice smooth cut.  Peel off any loose birch bark and give the top and bottom surfaces a light sand.

For this citrus slice, I first painted the entire surface white.  Once the paint was dry, I used an orange acrylic paint to paint the "rind" - birch slices are perfect for this, because I just followed the bark line.  Then I hand-painted the orange segments and let the paint dry before going back in an adding a dab of white paint here and there.  Sketching the shape lightly with a pencil (or using a paint pen like this one) might help create a more symmetrical orange segment design but I was overconfident and just started painting.  Then I realized it's been ages since I even held a paintbrush!

If you prefer, you can cut out a circle of felt and affix it to the bottom with craft glue to provide a smooth, soft surface between your drink and table.  But that's it!

Imagine how cute a set with lemons, oranges, and limes would be.  But I want to make a set of dragon fruit coasters next.  These birch slice projects are addictive, I cannot stop myself.