Tile Coaster Tutorial
April 7th, 2010
So my good friend Emily just moved into her completely redone house a few weeks ago, and she asked me to make her some unique coasters. I love the look of these from Target, but $15? Get real.
For this tutorial, you’ll need a set of tiles – I got a handful from Home Depot for $0.20 a piece, some scraps of scrapbooking paper or any kind of paper really, some mod podge, clear acrylic spray, and felt pads for the bottom.
First, cut and measure you paper to the fit your tile. The tiles I purchased were 4.25″ x 4.25″ so I cut my paper to 4″ squares.
Next, clean and dry your tiles – they are much easier to work with if you clean them off thoroughly. After you have dried them off, apply a thin coat of mod podge to your tiles, place your decorative paper on top and smooth out all bubbles. Allow this to dry for about 15 minutes, then apply 2 – 3 more coats allowing each coat to dry adequately.
After you’ve applied your mod podge top coats, take your tiles out to a well ventilated area and apply two coats of your acrylic spray (I sprayed mine outside in the grass). The acrylic needs only a few minutes between coats to dry, then stick your felt pads on the bottom – one to each corner. And if all goes well, you’ll come up with something like this!
Cute right! And best of all CHEAP! They are a great housewarming party, or hostess gift. And they take very little time and effort – my kind of craft!
Today I’m going to finish up Emily’s – so excited to see how they look in her new house!
And, I’ve got a few big projects that I am STILL working on, and I CAN’T wait to show you all! So stay tuned!
This post was featured on Handmade Matters & The Rubber Punkin!
Beth – would love to see the monogram coasters when they are done!
Amber – would love to see pics of the final product!
thanks so much for this tutorial! i was wondering if the mod podge acrylic spray that i bought to seal these would cause the warm coffee mugs to stick to them? i had a can of the heavy duty stuff in my hand at lowes, but decided to get the mod podge acrylic spray instead. then i read the comments here about condensation. has anyone had bad experience with the mod podge brand acrylic sealer? (i’m mostly worried about hot coffee mugs “melting” the layers of mod podge and sealer). thanks! ~liz
[...] fruit can feasibly be steeped.Who Would Want This? : Everyone you didn’t meet at AA.6) Coasters. Tiles, personal photos or art that fits on said tile, and laminate, and bam—a thoughtful and one [...]
Liz – have not tried the mod podge spray – but please let me know how it turns out!
I’ll try that, thanks!
I bought specialty lacquer instead of acrylic for the spray. Will it be okay?
Theresa – it should be ok, just be sure to let each layer of lacquer dry completely before applying another coat! That will prevent any tackiness. And you may be able to speed up the drying process by using a hair dryer. Let me know how it turns out :)
I’m new to crafting and had a bottle of the “matte” modpodge laying around – the layer on top of the pictures I used is quite cloudy. Am I doing something wrong or will it eventually clear up? (I haven’t put the acrylic on yet).
Thank you! Proceeding now …. :-)
Kiira – I think I used the Gloss-Lustre Mod Podge. I would assume that the gloss-lustre would dry much clearer than the matte. Maybe try using a hair dryer to expedite the drying process – it might clear it up a little!
What kind of acrylic sealer did you use? Can you give the name?
Anna – not sure of what brand I bought, but it was a heavy duty water resistant acrylic spray. If you’re unsure what kind to get, just ask one of the workers at your local hardware store!
After I applied the first top coat, I realized I had a bubble in one. I couldn’t get it out… any suggestions? (I haven’t sprayed w/ acrylic yet).
Thank you!!
Meg – that happens, don’t worry! I just pushed down with my finger and applied the next coat. Just keep an eye on it as the second coat is drying to make sure it doesn’t pop back up before it dries :)
I got it, THANK YOU! Now I’m having a 2nd problem… I used 3 different patterns of scrapbook paper… one is a little more “cardboard”y than the others and is sticking up around the edges.. :/
Try holding the corners down while the mod podge is wet, and use a blow dryer to speed up the drying (while holding the corners down). Let me know if that works! Or maybe use a dab of super glue in the corners! Good luck :)
Done! *And again THANK YOU!*(Minus the spray because I forgot to buy it, lol) I would send a photo but I’m not sure how to do it within comments. http://pinterest.com/mcott097 I put them on Pinterest as well (along with the link to your website) Hope that’s okay!
Meg – so cute! Nice job :)
[...] I have a bunch of boards, and a zillion pins – so I’ve tried to narrow it down to a board of things I will ACTUALLY make which is why I called the board “No Really, I’m actually going to make these” and it can be found right here. It’s my short list of projects I want to make. The Actual project came from Blueprint Crafts and the post can be found here. [...]
Love this idea =] I am going to buy supplies this weekend. Can’t wait to give them out as gifts! Thank you for this!
I feel silly for asking this, but just wanted to confirm – you’re spraying the acrylic on the opposite side of the mod podge, right? In order to stick the felt bottoms? Are you using only felt dots? Or completely covering the bottom with felt? Love this idea – thank you!
Hi Meredith! I sprayed the acrylic over the dried modge podge to seal the paper. And I used self adhesive felt dots on the bottoms. Hope that helps! :)
[...] When my sister made the tiles and posted them to Facebook, I just knew I had to share them with you! Her friend got the idea from a Pinterest pin from Blueprint Crafts. From the picture they look like expensive custom-painted tiles, but surprise – it’s scrapbook paper! These are an easy craft that you can make with friends and customize however you want! [How to make tile coasters] [...]
I love this idea. My friend is doing these with tissue paper printed photo’s for gifts to give out at the cheer leading banquet we have coming up. Great gift for all our All Stars.
Do you think I could do this with fabric squares? I’m making some napkins out of scraps and would love to make matching coaster tiles.
Beth – absolutely! What a fun way to personalize your home :) Let me know how they turn out!
[...] are a cheap, easy project and there are endless ways to make them – you can decoupage paper or fabric, paint, draw with markers, or even make photograph tile coasters. Tile coasters are a [...]
Has anyone made thise coaster with photos instead of the scrap book paper? I would love to make a set for my Mom for mothers day. But it would be great to see a pic of some that are already done that way. Plus do I just follow that same steps for photos as with the paper??? Thank you!! Great idea by the way :)
Andrea – if you use photos professionally printed (by CVS for example) they will turn out just perfect! I would be cautious of using home printed photos though. Hope that helps! Jordan
Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!
do u cover the back of tile with felt?? wat do u use to stick it with
Michelle – I used self-adhesive felt pads!
Love this project! I am going to get some supplies this week!!! I have a question about it though. I was wondering if using paper that I printed from a printer would work? For example, if I created something on the computer, and printed it off. Would that still work- or would the mod podge smear the ink? Any suggestions?
Thank you so much for this post! I just made beautiful coasters for my mom and a lot of friends! They love them and it was so inexpensive after the initial cost of the acrylic spray and mod podge. :) I wish I could post a picture for you!
Katrina – if you would like to send me a picture of your coasters I would be happy to post them on my blog! Send them to jordan@blueprintcrafts.com – thanks!!
Kendra – I’m not sure if the ink would smear or not. Maybe you could try spraying the paper with acrylic spray first to sort of top coat them and then trying the mod podge? If you do try that approach, please let me know if it works!!
I am trying this craft, but for a backsplash for my bathroom sink (: I’m very excited!!!
Danielle – would LOVE to see the end result!! Email me pics when it’s done and I’ll share on my site :) jordan@blueprintcrafts.com