My Dad: He always had what I needed

Pretty much everything I know about recycling, reducing and re-using, I learned from my dad; not Daddy, always Dad. The not-so-good habits — like stock piling too much stuff that really should GO — I’m working on breaking. I got a hefty dose of reality this afternoon as I was cleaning out the crawl space under the house my parents shared for 50 years; next week is junk pick-up week. Without going into any details, this is what I hauled out to the curb.

This is my first Father’s Day without Dad. I’ll miss him on Father’s Day more than I already do every day. We lost him in October 2012. I go on taking some of his wisdom with me every time I set out to creatively re-purpose whatever it is I can. So, taking a piece of left over bamboo flooring, I decided to craft some coasters.

DIY Coasters to make any Dad happy this Father’s Day

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Scrap wood or any object heavy enough so that it won’t stick to the glass (because that’s annoying)
• Mod-Podge or any spray adhesive
• Felt
• Dad’s favorite pictures or his favorite sports team logos or maps or comic books or what-have-you!

Here’s how-to:

1. Cut your scrap wood into squares. Since I used left-over flooring which is 3½ inches wide, I cut pieces which measures 3½ x 3½ — kind of the perfect size for the bottom of most glasses or bottles. I used my new favorite tool — my chop saw. I’m not sure how I ever lived without one of these babies!

2. Assemble whatever pictures or theme oriented pictures and using either Mod-Podge or spray adhesive, simply place the picture onto a base. Here your see my ever goofy girl being … well, goofy. She was the apple of my father’s eye. I returned to the saw and trimmed this coaster just a bit so that less wood was showing on either side.  Using Mod-Podge or the spray adhesive, glue the picture onto the surface of the base.

3. Mod-Podge over the entire surface of the coaster. Two or three coats will really seal the picture in and make it totally water proof. Make sure you wait until one coat is dry before applying the next.

4. Once the Mod-Podge is completely dry, cut a piece of felt to fit the bottom of each coaster. Glue one piece to the bottom of each piece and you’re pretty much done!

So Dad, thank you … I love you … I miss you. I wish you were still around so that I can re-purpose junk into something you would have enjoyed as much as you did all those handmade gifts you received every year.

He kept just about every one — we found them neatly tucked in a box in his basement workshop. Thanks Dad for never throwing those away!