I’ve been seeing Agate coasters everyone – gilded, plain, in all sorts of colors, but all expensive for a mere set of four (or even for just one!). I set out to find my own, and ended up adding gold to their edges to create my own glam agate coaster set (of six) for under $30!
To source the coasters, I searched for wholesale agate slices and found 3”-4” non-drilled slices from Crystal River Gems for just $4.25 each (for a set of six). The great thing about wholesale is that the more you buy, the lower the unit price for each slice is, so if you want to buy more for gifts or just to have extras, the unit price could be as low as $2.00. I picked blue coasters, but there were also red, pink, teal, black and natural available.
The project itself is super easy – all you need are some coasters and gold nail polish (or a gilding kit, and in that case just follow the directions that come with the kit). Make sure the nail polish you choose is a nice warm gold, as close as possible to the color of gold leaf, and avoid glittery polish. The nail polish we had is actually not very warm so I may re-paint these coasters at a later time. The sides of the coasters are very rough, so make sure to dab the polish and get it into all the cracks and crannies. The great thing about nail polish is that you can go back with nail polish remover and wipe away any extra polish that got onto the front or back of the coaster. It’s very simple, just paint the edges and enjoy your new gilded coasters!
I looked on the site and can’t see any round slices that come out to $4.25/6, Can you let us know which ones you chose? I see they sell actual coasters with cork bottoms but those are more expensive. Did you use the cherry picking option?
Thanks for your help, love the blog!
Which nail Polish did you use? I can’t seem to find it.