Spring has arrived and summer is not too far. Which means outdoor parties,beach wedding,etc.Are you hosting any party and want to add something different into your table setting ,then I got you covered. I came across agate coasters and agate pendant floating around the internet and pinned them in my pinterest board. Ask me why ? Because they were unique and I liked the look of the agate stone but the price tag was like $60 , $95. I am like no way I will buy them for that much money. So, I thought I can mimic the look with my favorite medium ,polymer clay .I tried it and it worked. Here is how.

Step 1: Materials Required

Premo sculpey Translucent 2oz - 1 block

Premo sculpey White 2 oz - 1 block

Premo sculpey Black 2 oz - 1 block (You can chose any other color instead of black)

Premo sculpey *Gray 2oz - Half block

Premo sculpey *Silver 2oz - Half block

Premo sculpey Gold 2oz - Half block

Rolling pin

knife

A piece of aluminium foil

* I preferred gray and silver as they are lighter shades of black but you can use the base color you selected and mix pearl white or white to get lighter shades of the main color you are choosing and use that color instead of gray and silver.In that case you need 2 blocks of the main color.

* I have mentioned Premo sculpey as I have used it personally and it is the strongest of all the clay that I have used but it is up to you to chose different brand.

Step 2: Conditioning the Clay

Cut a 1/4 block of translucent clay and condition it by kneading the clay using rolling pin.Do the same for the white clay.

Step 3: Creating the Center of Coasters

Take some random pieces of white clay and place them over the rolled sheet of translucent clay and then roll it. This is done to get random white parts in translucent clay. Shape the roll into oval tube for the center. You can also make them circle but again it is up to you.

Step 4: Cover the Center Roll With Clay Sheet and Making Indentations for Creating Designs

Next cover it with white sheet of clay and poke randomly with the back of a pen just to create curves or waves in the coasters.This is a optional step. You can see the effect for this in the final step. If you like that you can do or proceed to the next step.

Step 5: Cover It With More Clay Sheets of Different Colors

Start covering the roll with sheets of clay in shades of the main color. In my case it is black so ,I covered with light gray, dark gray, translucent, translucent mixed with light gray , etc.Add translucent sheet of clay between three to four layers for the prominent layered look.Do this till you get the required size for a coaster.

Step 6: Covering It With Gold Clay Sheet to Get Gold Edged Coasters

Cover the roll of clay with a sheet of gold clay if you want gold edges for your coasters.The second image shows a sliced piece from the roll before adding gold ,So you can decide which one is the best to suit your desire.

Step 7: Slicing the Clay Roll.

Use knife and carefully cut them into slices. I was little impatient to see how it looks and so I got some random agate pieces ;) and four complete coasters. But if you carefully slice it , you can get six to eight coasters.

Step 8: Texturing the Edges

Take the piece of aluminium foil and crush it. Use that to create the crinkled texture on the edges of the coasters.

Step 9: Baking

Bake the coasters at 275F for 30 to 45 minutes in the oven.(Refer to the package) Allow them to cool down. Voila !! You now have a set of unique coasters to add to your table setting for your next outdoor party.

Step 10: Other Things You Can Do With the Agate Slices

How interesting was that instructable?? You can also make these set of coasters and tie it with a ribbon to give as hostess gift. If you have left over pieces of faux agate , you can make them into pendants. To create the pendant , use xacto knife and cut a random shaped oval piece in the center(To make it more interesting but totally optional- refer picture 2) and use aluminium foil to create crinkled effect, attach a eye pin at the top and bake it to create the pendant.It is that easy :). Hope you will give this a try.

As always I will be happy to hear your comments about this faux agate coasters.Also please take a moment to vote for me in the "Crafting 101" contest.Thank you :) For more interesting projects like this, visit my blog !