Insulated Coasters & Upcycling

First and foremost, I just want to say, I'm not too proud of these. I was a little bummed with the bias tape and how cruddy it handled (eh, "I" handled) the corners. I'm sure all it boils down to is that I put it on wrong - I'll have to search that.

But, what I am happy about, is that we had a small problem, and I was able to fix it for free, using materials we already had around the house. I get sooo excited about doing things like that.

We recently purchased a lava lamp for my 2 year old daughter. She has been having trouble sleeping at night, and I thought the slowly flowing globs of color might soothe her a bit. If you have ever owned a lava lamp, you know that the bottom gets very, very hot. So hot, that it made me nervous to leave it on at night for her (which was the reason we bought it).

My solution?

Insulated tiny hot pads!
I made six, even though we only have one lava lamp. I just can't help myself sometimes. But we have found other uses for them. They fit perfectly under my coffee and tea mugs - yea! And if you ask my children, well, they are quite possibly the very best flying saucers they have ever owned.

It was really simple to do. I used one of Hannah's old flannel baby blankets for the outer material. Then, as batting, I took a stained old towel and sandwiched it in between the flannel fabric, pinned it down and quilted the three pieces together following the pattern on the flannel fabric. You could also just do straight lines every inch or so. Using a compass, I drew circles directly onto the quilted piece and then cut them out. I pinned on some thrifted bias tape, sewed it on, and wah-la!

What have you thrown together in a pinch lately? Please share in the comments section!

Take care!