How To Make Patriotic Mini Pallet Drink Coasters

Canada Day and July 4th are coming soon. If you're looking for fun ideas to help celebrate then you'll love these patriotic mini pallet drink coasters made with popsicle sticks. It's a great craft project to do with older kids. How cute would these be on a patriotic outdoor tablescape or set on drink tables on your patio for guests to enjoy?



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

Patriotic Popsicle Stick Drink Coasters

These adorable mini pallet drink coasters are not difficult to make and took about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. Packaged with a favorite beverage, they would make a great hostess gift too for your Canada Day or 4th of July celebrations.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

I didn't reinvent the wheel here as miniature pallet crafts are plentiful on Pinterest. What makes these unique is the patriotic twist. While my drink coasters are decorated for Canada Day, they can easily be adapted to your country's patriotic flag and colors.



Painted to look like Canadian Flags, I incorporated the iconic Canadian maple leaf in four different styles.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

A few years ago we scored five boxes of craft sticks at Goodwill for $1. I've barely made a dent in that stash, perhaps a good excuse to make more mini pallet coasters for other occasions too.



Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make the miniature pallets, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.



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 qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.



What You'll Need To Make Them

Supply List


How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

How To Make Mini Pallet Drink Coasters

Let's get started. Fire up your hot glue gun because who has time to assemble these with regular glue. I mean you can but it'll take so much longer waiting for the glue to dry.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

Step One

You'll need nineteen popsicle sticks (or narrow craft sticks) per coaster.



Step Two

  • Cut just the tips of the popsicle sticks to measure four inches long.
  • Use the cut popsicle stick as a template for cutting the remaining popsicle sticks.
  • You can use sharp scissors, a retractable craft knife, or cutting pliers (which I found worked the best) to cut the popsicle sticks.
  • But did you know there are crafting hand miter cutting tools? They've been added to my wish list!


Step Three

For the base, take twenty-four popsicle sticks and hot glue two together in sets of three for the base of each coaster.



Step Four

Set them upright in groups of three and lay three popsicle sticks on top, two on each end and one in the middle to form the pallets. Just like a real pallet, embrace the imperfections. No need for measuring and being precise, just eyeball it so they are relatively straight.



I found it easier to paint the popsicle sticks at this point before the assembly. For Canadian patriotic colors, you'll need 38 painted holiday red and 38 painted vintage or regular white with acrylic craft paint. You may want to paint a few extra for any potential oops along the way.



You only need one coat of paint per side and the job goes much quicker if you use a blow dryer or heat gun on the lowest setting to help the paint dry faster.



Step Five

  • You'll need ten painted popsicle sticks per coaster, this will allow for a slight overhang on each end.
  • Place two of one color on each end and six of the opposite color in the middle like a Canadian flag.
  • Flip the bases so the three individual popsicle sticks are resting on your work surface.
  • Now we're ready to attach the top boards.
  • Unlike a real pallet, space the top boards closer together so the graphics we'll be stenciling later are not disjointed.
  • As you hot glue the popsicle sticks on the top, line them up on one side to keep them relatively straight.
  • Trim the opposite side with the cutting pliers as necessary before moving onto the next row.


Step Six

In the infographic above you'll notice the tops of each coaster are painted solid colors. I changed my mind and decided to make the tops look like a Canadian flag instead (addressed in step five). 



Now that we have the mini pallets assembled, time to add the Canada Day charm.



How To Stencil Canada Day Coasters

First I went into Cricut Design Space and searched for maple leaf images. I found four subscriber graphics that I liked and uploaded them into my project. I resized them to 2.5" W and welded them into one graphic. Here's a screenshot of the graphics in Design Space.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

Instead of cutting them on permanent vinyl, I cut them on stencil vinyl. I weeded the positive spaces to turn them into stencils (pictured below).



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

I used a foam pouncer to stencil the graphics onto the coasters with the same red and white acrylic craft paint. They are stenciled in the opposite color of the mini pallet tops.



Again, you'll notice in the photo below that the tops are all one color. I changed my mind after stenciling the coasters and painted the last two popsicle sticks the opposite color to emulate a Canadian flag.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

If you don't have a Cricut or Silhouette machine, you could stencil the centers with readymade stencils or transfer maple leaf graphics with this image transfer technique.



We're not quite done yet.



How To Age The Mini Pallet Drink Coasters

This step is completely optional but if you'd like the coasters to look more like authentic timeworn pallets we're going to give them an aged patina.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

To do this dip a wax brush into dark wax and offload some of it onto a paper towel. Lightly swipe the brush across the coasters both inside and out. With an art brush, apply more wax along the edges of the mini pallets.



Allow the wax to cure enough that it's no longer tacky before spraying them with a protective exterior clear coat.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

That's it, now we're done!



Here's a close-up of each maple leaf style. With this one, I used a script liner art brush to paint the gaps between the A's, N, and D.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

What do you think of this one, eh?



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

I think this heart design with little tiny maple leaves is my favorite.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

And last but not least, this one has a large maple leaf encircled with tiny ones.



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children.

For more DIY patriotic decorating ideas, here's a DIY Patriotic Ribbon Wreath that I made with dollar store finds that is easy peasy. To decorate our front steps I painted a Canadian flag on our Adirondack Foot Stool and made a simple sign to hang above it.



Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by the mini pallet drink coaster tutorial. 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!



How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children. #canadadaydecor #canadadaycraft #diycoasters

If you enjoyed these patriotic mini pallet drink coasters, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Patriotic Craft Ideas or DIY Drink Coasters board on Pinterest.




How to make fun patriotic miniature pallet drink coasters with popsicle sticks. A fun Canada Day or 4th of July craft idea to do with older children. #canadadaycoasters #patrioticcrafts #minipalletideas #popsiclestickcoasters

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.



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Comments

  1. Your coasters are so cool, Marie! What a great idea! Perfect for just about any occasion, holiday and celebration! The possibilities are unlimited on to how to decorate them, too!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Gail! I have so many ideas flooding around in my head to decorate more. LOL

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  2. Tooooooo cute Marie. Would you believe, with all the teeny tiny fairy garden stuff we've made, I have never tried making a pallet. That is so going to change now ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Well there ya go, Michelle, another miniature idea to add to your amazing collection. That I can't wait to see!

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  3. These are so adorable! And miniature pallets how cute! Pinned! :)

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    1. Thanks Christina, I'm glad you like them and thanks for the pin! 🤗

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  4. How did I not know, or remember, you are Canadian!! My Mum and Dad were born and raised in New Brunswick! I spent every Summer back home. These are adorable. Happy Summer, Marie. Thanks for sharing at the TFT party! ❤️

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    1. Oh wow, I did not know that about you, Theresa. Would you believe I've never been to the maritimes? It's on my bucket list. How fun to spend your summers there. Happy summer to you as well! ♥️

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  5. These are so fun! I have a couple bags of popsicle sticks that I've been trying to think of how to use them. My favorite is the heart of little leaves!

    Alexandra
    EyeLoveKnots.com

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    Replies
    1. Awesome, so glad you found inspiration for your popsicle sticks, Alexandra! You'll have a lot of fun making your mini pallets. I plan on making more for other seasons too.

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  6. Oh Marie, these are ADORABLE! I need these in my life! Pallet style yet... hmmm... this could be fun!

    I've featured you in this weekend's DIY Salvaged Junk Projects 533. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Hi Donna, I'm glad you like my mini pallets for Canada Day! They were just too much fun to make. I'm thrilled to have them featured this weekend - thank you so much. xo

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  7. Okay... these are the cutest dang things I have seen in a LONG time! And you could make these for any country or state you are from! Maybe even sports affiliated? Or dance! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Of course, I've pinned these to two boards, and I get to feature you on Tuesday Turn About tomorrow! Yay me! (though I noticed, I'm not the first to feature you!)

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    1. You made me laugh, Julie! Yessss, the possibilities for embellishing the mini pallets are endless. I've got several boxes of popsicles sticks left so the ole noggin is spinning with ideas. Thanks so much for the feature, I so appreciate the Canadian patriotic love! xo

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  8. Your coasters are absolutely adorable! The possibilities are endless! Pinned!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Pamela, I'm glad you like them! My head is spinning with ideas for more mini pallet designs.

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  9. Great idea, will add to my list of things to make and create.

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  10. Marie,
    OMG, these are just too cute. Love them. Congratulations, you are being featured on Thursday Favorite Things. I hope you stop by. https://www.eclecticredbarn.com/2020/07/thursday-favorite-things.html
    Hugs,
    Bev

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you like these mini pallets, Bev, and a big hug sent your way for featuring them. See you at the party!

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  11. This is a great project. You had fun making these. Thanks for sharing the idea. #HomeMattersParty

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  12. So cute and so adaptable! I need to make some of these for us! Thanks for sharing them on Farmhouse Friday! pinned

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes, these Canadian patriotic drink coasters are easily adaptable for the USA. Thanks for the pin Cindy!

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  13. Woot woot! Thanks a bunch, Tarahlynn for featuring these coasters! xo

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