DIY Tile Coasters Tutorial

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When I was a kid, we spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house.  She is a persnickity type that was always like "Take your shoes off!  Use a coaster! No feet on the table!" 

I mean, I agree with the coasters thing.  No one wants drink rings on their furniture.  Now, you can make your own personalized tile coasters quickly, easily, and inexpensively.

I have made these for gifts, craft shows, wedding favors, and all kinds of events. 

You will need:

Supplies

• 4 ceramic tiles.  I used 4×4 inch tiles, as I think they look the best.  
• Paper.  I used coordinating scrapbook paper.  You can use anything, including photograph prints, maps or book pages. 
• Mod Podge
• Epoxy Varnish (optional)
• Cork or  Felt
• Tacky glue

Tools

• Brush for glue
• Paper Cutter, Xacto knife, or scissors
• Ruler
• Roller for varnish
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Bone folder, credit card, or other instrument for smoothing.  (optional)

 
To make the tile coasters:

1) Clean your tiles really well.  You may want to wash them and let dry, then clean them again with rubbing alcohol. 

2) Measure your tiles.  While I purchased 4×4 tiles, they were really about 4 ¼ x 4 3/8 inches in size.  You’ll want to cut your paper slightly smaller than your tiles.  I cut my paper approximately 4 1/8 x 4 ¼. 

3) Brush Mod Podge on to your tiles and the back of your paper.  Carefully place on your tiles.  Smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles.  This will help to ensure that your edges and corners don’t come up. 

4) Let Dry.  I like to let mine dry for a couple of hours or even overnight. 

5) Check to make sure all the edges and corners are glued down to the tile coaster.  If they’re lifting at all, add some more Mod Podge underneath and glue them down.

5) Add a coat of Mod Podge to the top of your paper/coaster, taking care to get the edges of the paper.  This will help seal the paper.  Let dry for 30-60 minutes.  Repeat 2-3 times. 

6) After the last coat of Mod Podge, let it dry really well.  Again, I like to leave it for a few hours.  Then, if desired, you can finish the tile coasters with a coat of  water-resistant epoxy varnish.  This will help add to the protection of the decorative paper, but is totally optional.   

Once the varnish is dry, you’ll want to add something to finish the tile coasters off and protect your table from scratches.  Cork or felt are both great options. 

7) Measure the bottom of your tile.  Cut your cork or felt backing slightly smaller than those measurements.  If using cork, you can cut it 1/8 to ¼ inch smaller.  If using felt, cut it ¼ to ½ inch smaller. 

8) Adhere the backing to the underneath side of your coaster using tacky glue.  Just squirt glue all over, taking care to get the edges tacked down well.  Let dry. 

Voila!  You now have a customized set of tile coasters. 

Total cost: $1-2 per set of 4, depending on paper used.  If you buy paper, it could be more.  The tiles are about $0.15 each at home improvement stores.

Total time: 4-8 hours, including drying time.  1 hr active time. 

Cost to get started – $33-40 for all supplies including Waterproof varnish, glue + Mod Podge.  You can make probably 20+ sets of tile coasters with these supplies.  You'll just need to buy more coasters!