Two-tone vase and coaster

I saw a purple and white wrapped vase at Someday Crafts and I just had to make one. I made it in blue and tan, and used a square vase to make it a little more unique. I looked for some branches to put in it, but they were so expensive, so I'm going to try to make something myself sometime.

Here is my vase:

I have a lot of yarn left over, so I decided to make over some Christmas coasters. I don't really have a use for ones with a Christmas design, so I wanted to make something I could use year round.

Here is one before:

I used hot glue on the corners to wrap the yarn and create this:

I'm not 100% happy with using hot glue, there has to be a better way. I still have one left to do, so I'm open to suggestions!