Counting Pennies

Recently here in Canada we have discontinued the penny. Which alright because now I wont have as much change in my wallet. The only draw back is that we have all of these pennies lying around the house. I could start the tedious task of counting/rolling them  OR I could create something new with them. So I started doing my research and I found really some cool drink-coaster ideas using resin. People not only use pennies for coaster but also candy hearts, sparkles, shells etc. This obviously inspired me to use pennies in my resin coasters.

What I needed:

Disposable cup, disposable spoon, pennies, resin, coaster molds, and Vaseline. I found everything I needed at Michaels.

I started out be coating the coaster molds with Vaseline so that the resin wouln’t stick to them. You can use mold release but Vaseline works just as well. I chose round molds, but when it comes to coaster shapes, the skies the limit. Then in a dixie cup I mixed up the resin, as per the instructions.

I then poured a small amount of resin into the mold and let it sit for a few minutes, so that it would thicken slightly. After that I randomly placed the pennies into the resin and then poured the rest of the resin on top.

Once I let the coasters sit for another 5-10 minutes I took a straw and blew on the resin in order to release the bubbles.

I also heard that “torching” also release the air bubbles, so I took my lighter and tried it out. Both methods seemed to work equally. Just choose whichever you’re more comfortable with.

Once I finished they had to sit for 24-48 hours to cure. This was the most frustrating part of the project. I wanted to use the final project right away!

Here is an example of my very first coaster attempt. Instead of using Vaseline to help remove the resin, I used Pam instead because I read that this could also work. Unfortunately the flour in the Pam created a milky film on the bottom of the coaster, which I did not enjoy. I also didn’t like the way I arranged the  pennies in the resin, it looked too uniform. That’s what DIY projects are all about, learning through trial and error. In the end I decided that haphazardly arranging the pennies would make for a better coaster design.

In the end I think they turned out nicely and I am definitely going to make more for my coffee table. I also found other really cool penny ideas on pinterest, for those Canadians that need ideas how to recycle                 their pennies

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