DIY Coasters!

Awhile back I spotted the ever popular “Coaster tutorial” on pinterest, and thought it was clever. At the time, I really had no idea who or what I’d make them for, so I just kept it in the back of my mind. Now I obviously have a reason to make them, so I made a few sets for a few family members, using photos. It’s a little time consuming, kind of – not all at once, it just requires a little patience because you really need to give these time to dry. Overall, it’s a really fabulous, personalized gift and it is not that expensive. Since I know the folks I made these for won't check the blog within the next few days, I can go ahead and post these :)

I made a few little changes to my coasters, so here’s what I did, and what I used. I also changed my process up a little bit.

-Modge Podge (I bought mine at Michael’s for $8 or so, I think)

-Acrylic Sealer  (Michaels, $5)

-Ceramic Tiles  (Home Depot, .16 cents a piece. I got the 4.5x4.5)

-Engine Enamel (Auto Zone, $6)

-White paint (Michaels, $1.99)

-Black Felt (I think they were .29 cents a piece, bought at Michaels, but you can find them at your local Walmart too.)

When I checked out the tutorials, I read through all the comments on every one to see what potential issue people were having so I could try to avoid those issues.

I used this kind, and I used the foam brushes -- I found the small foam brushes were PERFECT for this. 

One thing I noticed is a lot of people didn’t seem to give the coats enough time to DRY. So, I started by cutting my photos down into squares. (And, I cannot cut straight. If you have an exacto knife, this is about when that would be the best invention ever.) I used modge podge on the back of the pictures to adhere them to the tiles. Once I did that, I let them sit overnight. The next morning, I applied the first coat of modge podge. It shows the streaks, obviously, since it’s modge podge, and it applies white, but it dries clear. Now, I don’t know how long it actually takes the one coat to dry, but I left mine sitting for 6-12 hours before I would apply the next coat. I put 4 coats of modge podge on each. (See why I said it took a little time – I really let mine dry as best as I could)

Drying after a coat of Modge Podge - they really look cute!

I let the final coat of Modge Podge dry for a little bit longer before I applied the acrylic spray. You do NOT want to apply acrylic spray in the house --- take these outside, in the basement, in the garage – anywhere  but in your living area. I applied four coats of acrylic spray, and I let each coat take a full day to dry.

After they fully dried, I decided to take one and test it. I noticed online a lot of people mentioned hot beverages left a ring or would stick, and that you should wait 30 days before putting a hot beverage on it to let the Modge Podge clear. I wasn’t so convinced. The coaster tested perfect for the cold, but as soon as I put a hot cup of water on it – it started to stick and leaving a little ring. I did some googling and decided a trip to Auto Zone for clear engine enamel was the way to go. The enamel is built for withstanding the hot temperatures. I applied two coats of the clear enamel, and I let them sit for 3 days before touching them again – so that they would be 100% fully dry.

You could probably just do the engine enamel if you really wanted to, but I liked having both the sealer and the enamel.

I tested them again after that, and SUCCESS! Hot and Cold Beverages are perfect on them. No extra 30 days needed, and no telling my recipients that they couldn’t put a hot cup on it!

The edge of the ceramic tiles are kind of unfinished, and  you could leave them like that if you wish. But I wanted it to be white, and I hated the feel of the unfinished side – I don’t know what it was, but it felt weird and I didn’t like it.

Some sides look worse than others -- which is why I do suggest finishing them.

I know some folks painted the edges first and used spray paint, but since I waited late to do mine, I had to use different paint. I picked this paint up at Michaels, which was only $2, and it applied flawlessly with a small brush. I suppose it is just as easy do that first, but I didn’t have any issues waiting so late to add the side paint, although I did had to take my finger and make sure there was no excess paint on the finished parts.

This is the paint I wound up using. It works perfect, and if I make more, I'd do this again over using spray paint. I let the paint dry overnight.

I used a black felt square and applied it on the bottom with a hot glue gun. I put some of the glue on the bottom of the tile, and then put the felt on – and then I went around the edges and put a little bit of glue under any area that was coming up.

I couldn't cut the felt straight either, but whatever. This seemed a lot easier than cutting four circles for the corners. Plus, it covers all the unfinished look on the bottom.

And they’re done!  Instead of tying them together with ribbon I found these adorable boxes at Michaels  and they fit perfectly, and look adorable!

I LOVE them in the little boxes. I put a little tissue on the bottom and on the top to protect them a little bit, because I made different numbers of coasters for different people so some filled to the brim. I think the box ended up fitting 7 or 8 coasters total. That's my super duper cute Granny, isn't that the cutest picture ever?! I made these ones for my Mom :) We miss Granny so much, I thought these would be great for mom to have.

And since I'm posting Christmas....

I have officially finished Christmas shopping -- AND have everything wrapped! Success! I got a lot more for the kids than I planned, but that's my job, right?! It doesn't help that my nephew is so crazy easy to buy for -- between the WWE stuff, Legos, and Star Wars -- I just kept buying him more! 

I put my tree up in November, and I'm going to be so sad to take it down. Next year I might swap out the pink ornaments for blue. I really love having the coordinated looking tree and not random ornaments everywhere, this sister ornament is the only non coordinated ornament I put on it. And of course, I did that because it was A) a gift from my sister, and B) Silver, and it looked cute!