Set the scene

• Round wooden place mats
• Round wooden coasters, 10cm diameter
• Resene low tack masking tape
• Thin art brushes
• Resene paints and testpot brush. We used:
  • Resene Arthouse, Resene Unwind, Resene Half Silver Chalice, Resene Green Meets Blue, Resene Pale Slate
• A3 thick grey felt, approximately 5mm
• Craft knife
• Scissors
• Template, below.

Coasters

1. Start by painting the entire coaster in one colour. We used three different base colours – Resene Green Meets Blue, Resene Unwind and Resene Half Silver Chalice. Paint two coats and let dry completely.

2. Use Resene low tack masking tape to tape a triangular tree shape in the centre, with the top of the triangle close to the top edge of the coaster (see above). Make sure the tape is firmly pressed down to avoid paint bleeding and keep edges sharp. The coaster trees have a 6cm base with 7cm sides.

3. Paint inside the triangle shape with colour that works with the base colour. For example, if using Resene Unwind for the base, paint the tree shape in Resene Half Silver Chalice. Apply two coats and let dry completely.

4. Once dry, remove the bottom line of masking tape and paint a thin line down the centre of the triangle to make the trunk, using Resene Pale Slate. Paint three angled branches on each side using the same colour. Once dry, remove the remaining tape.