How to make the easiest embossed leather drink coasters in just two easy steps. They are so easy that you'll have a set of drink coasters made in less than ten minutes! This is a great DIY project for recycling old and worn leather or pleather jackets, skirts, purses, or pants. Thrift stores are a great resource for inexpensive recycling potential.

With wedding season upon us, these unique leather coasters paired with a bottle of wine and a set of wine glasses add a wonderful handmade touch to a bridal shower gift. For someone moving into their first place, package these with a set of coffee mugs, a bag of coffee beans, and if you're really generous, a coffeemaker for a thoughtful housewarming gift.

DIY Embossed Leather Drink Coasters In Two Easy Steps

It's time for another monthly International Bloggers Club Challenge. We are a group of bloggers from South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada who come together on the third Monday of every month to share a DIY project with a common theme.

I was so excited when I learned that our challenge this month is pleatherable leather. Just the motivation I needed to finally do something with a leather remnant leftover from my upholstered headboard bench and embossed leather footstool.

I had just enough to make a set of six leather drink coasters for our home and another set for a friend. All twelve coasters were made in less than ten minutes - my kind of DIY!

Last month our challenge was cardboard creations and I made a set of pretty recycled cardboard tube napkin rings for Spring/Easter. You'll find our talented group's pleatherable leather projects at the bottom of the post. Please be sure to check them out before you go.

So if you are looking for an easy handmade gift idea or your home could use a new set of coasters, then this craft project is for you!

What You'll Need To Make It

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from any qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

What makes these coasters with intricate designs so easy? Make them with embossed leather or faux embossed leather remnant.

The other thing that makes these coasters so quick to assemble is using self-adhesive 4-inch cork circles for the base - no glue required!

Supply List

Embossed Leather, Pleather, or Vinyl
4-inch Self-Adhesive Cork Rounds
Brayer Roller
Cricut Maker Machine (optional)
Cricut Rotary Blade (optional)

How To Make Embossed Leather Coasters The Easy Way

And yet another reason the coasters are so quick to make is by cutting the leather circles with a cutting machine like a Cricut Maker. But no worries if you don't have one because I've included instructions on how to make them without as well.

Option 1: How To Cut Leather Circles With Cricut Maker

1. Open a new project in the Cricut design space.
2. Click the shapes icon for a circle template.
3. Resize the circle to four inches.
4. Duplicate the circle shape for a set of coasters. Note that the cutting mat only fits four four-inch circles so you will need two mats or reload the mat for a larger set of coasters.
5. Also, note that I used a standard grip cutting mat rather than the recommended strong grip mat and had no problems. But if your mat has lost some of its stickiness, then tape the leather onto the cutting mat first.

Before cutting them, select the heavy fabrics (like denim) in the materials list setting and change the pressure setting from default to more. I used a rotary blade to cut the leather and it worked like a charm!

If you are not using embossed leather or pleather you can add an embossed design to the leather circles with a Cricut Maker before cutting out the circles. I found this instructional leather engraving video on YouTube that you might find helpful.

How To Clean Your Cutting Mat

You can see in the photo below how dirty my cutting mat was after cutting the leather. Here's an easy tip for cleaning the mat so it's as good as new again.

Wipe the mat in a circular motion with baby wipes. It's important that you apply gentle pressure to avoid removing the sticky adhesive on the mat. Let the mat dry about 5-10 minutes before using it.

Option 2: How To Cut Leather Circles Manually

If you don't have a cutting machine, trace four-inch circles with a pencil on the wrong side of the leather. Cut the circles with a sharp craft knife, rotary cutter, or scissors.

Next, we'll add the cork to the bottom of the leather circles to make them more rigid and flat so they don't curl. You can do this one of two ways as outlined below.

Option 1: Self-Adhesive Cork Circles

The easiest and quickest way to do this is by using four-inch self-adhesive cork circles found on Amazon (see supply list). I was surprised by how strong the adhesive is - no glue required!

1. Simply peel off the paper backing from the self-adhesive cork circles.
2. Carefully line up the wrong side of the leather to the cork. There is an instant bond so you want to get it right on the first try.
3. Use a brayer or the back of your hand to press the leather firmly onto the adhesive cork.

Option 2: DIY Cork Circles

Alternatively, you can use thin sheets of dense cork from the dollar store to cut bases for the coasters like I did for these wood tile mosaic coasters.

1. Trace four-inch circles with a pencil on a sheet of dense cork.
2. Cut the circles out with a sharp craft knife or scissors.
3. Glue the cork circles to the wrong side of the leather with contact cement.

And that my friends are how easy these DIY drink coasters are to make! What I also love about these leather/pleather coasters is that they are so easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this DIY embossed leather drink coaster idea.

Almost all of our DIY ideas have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also find us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this easy leather coaster craft, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

I invite you to click on the links below to visit our talented group members' pleatherable leather projects. If you don't have time today, you can bookmark the page by clicking the pink heart icon on the right to come back later.

Boho Leather Tillandsia Planter | A Crafty Mix
DIY Remote Control Holder | Birdz Of A Feather
Geometric Lion Wall Hanging | Unique Creations By Anita
Succulent Planters | Kippi At Home
Easy DIY Embossed Leather Drink Coasters  | Interior Frugalista (that's me)

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.