Tile Coasters

I am a coaster person. I have tons of coasters placed in different drawers throughout my family room and formal living room. My furniture is nice and fairly new and I don't want to get rings on my furniture. I'm also not opposed to asking my guests to use a coaster when they come over. In fact, some of my friends know exactly where I keep my coasters and just automatically grab one for their drink. Thank you friends!

Then, I saw this great tutorial on Pinterest on how to make your own coasters. Brilliant!!! It's so easy and inexpensive, that I made some as gifts for Christmas.

Source: thecottagehome.blogspot.com via Desiree on Pinterest

First, you need to pick out your tile. There are so many choices that you can pick from at your local hardware store. I chose a plain, white ceramic tile for $.16 at Home Depot. In fact, I stocked up on tiles so I can always quickly whip up a set of coasters.
Paper. So many options. I'm sure you already have some cute paper in your scrapbooking stash. Craft stores usually have their paper on sale for 4/$1. Again, I like to really think about the gift recipient and really personalize their gift. For example, I used the Disney paper for some friends that just came back from a trip to Disneyworld and they love all the characters. You can also monogram the paper with a die cut letter or sticker.
Now you have to decide if you want your paper to cover the entire tile or if you want to leave a little border. I like to leave a border. So for my 4.25" x 4.25" tile, I cut the paper into a 3.75" square.

Gather your Mod Podge (purchased with a 40% off coupon), foam brush ($.10), and a old card. Why do you need a card? It's to push the bubbles out of the Mod Podge. I've never used Mod Podge before so this was all very new to me. Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge onto your tile. Place your paper on top of the wet Mod Podge. As you are placing the paper on the tile, start to gently scrape along the top with the card. This will immediately get all the little air bubbles out that get trapped under the paper. Follow the instructions on the bottle to repeat layers of Mod Podge over the paper. Keep using your card as a scraper, but use gentle pressure so you don't tear the paper.

By the way, don't panic. There was not a balance left on that Starbucks card.

After you brush the final layer of Mod Podge on your paper, let it dry. Then spray on a coat of clear acrylic spray (less than $2 at Wal-Mart) to seal everything and prevent water from ruining your pretty coaster. Be sure to spray it outside.

Once that dries, you can place the felt on the back of the tile. You can either cut a felt square and glue it on or use felt circles. I prefer the circles. You can find a package of 84 circles at any retail, craft, or hardware store.

That's all there is to it. Since I had several supplies at home, the biggest expense was the purchase of the tiles. For a set of 4 coasters, it only cost $.64!!!

Be creative with your coasters, personalize, and make a very thoughtful gift.