Popsicle Sticks and Washi Tape Coaster

Popsicle sticks were covered with washi tape then glued together for this DIY project. The hardest part was measuring the distances for a uniform look.

I have officially caught the washi tape bug. I, who have always loathed attaching my phone to a case, have agreed to get a clear one that I can decorate with washi tape. Last night, while keeping Alex company as she baked a batch of tres leches cake that was going to be picked up around midnight, I made a coaster.

Popsicle sticks were covered with washi tape then glued together for this DIY project. Saw something similar on Pinterest a few weeks back but I didn’t know I was going to make one until Speedy discovered two bags of popsicle sticks among Alex’s old art supplies.

Apparently, we have A LOT of craft materials in the house. When the girls were younger, they were always making something and there was often an excess of materials. When Speedy brought down the popsicle sticks (with a still-working glue gun, glue sticks and several rolls of crepe paper) and handed them to me, my eyes grew wide with excitement. Oh, the possibilities!

This popsicle stick and washi tape coaster was supposed to be an easy project. How can wrapping popsicle sticks with washi tape be difficult? But then I realized that working with curves could be a challenge. Here’s a guide for making the coaster.

1. Choose the ten most uniformly sized popsicle sticks. Trust me, even if they all come from the same bag, some will not be as smooth as the rest. Worse, some are not perfectly straight and flat. Some are slightly curved and you have to get rid of those because you want ten completely straight and flat popsicle sticks for the coaster. Again, you need ten popsicle sticks.

2. Unroll the washi tape on the table with the sticky side facing up. Place a popsicle stick on the tape. Cut the tape; make sure that there is a 1/2 centimeter overhang on the long ends.

3. Using a small pair of scissors, make several snips on both long ends of the washi tape. These snips will help you cover the round edges of the popsicle sticks.

4. Cover three popsicle sticks with one color (or pattern) of washi tape. These will be the base of the coaster. Let’s call these Set A.

5. Cover seven popsicle sticks with a different color or pattern of washi tape. Let’s call these Set B.

6. Now, comes the hard part. The hardest part was measuring the distances for a uniform look. Use a ruler! Don’t eyeball it. You’ll have to use a glue gun to put everything together and, if you’re eyeballing, you won’t be able to remove what you have already glued in case of a screw up. I used a ruler and, still, the popsicle sticks weren’t perfectly aligned.

7. Cut a square piece of paper. The length of the side of the square should be equal to the length of a popsicle stick EXCLUDING the curved edges. Mine was a 9-cm square. Draw a straight line in the middle of the square.

8. Take the three popsicle sticks and place them right side up. With a ruler and pencil, draw a line on the middle of each stick.

9. Place one popsicle stick, right side up, on the line in the middle of the paper. Position the the other two on the two edges of the paper parallel to the one in the middle.

10. Get your glue gun and apply glue on the center of each stick where you drew the lines.

11. Take a popsicle stick from Set B and press where you applied the glue.

12. You will glue the six remaining sticks on the left and right of that first stick from Set B. The best strategy is to measure and mark where you will glue them. I eyeballed everything from this point and my sticks were not perfectly aligned. If you want a perfect popsicle sticks and washi coaster, measure and mark before gluing the remaining sticks in place.