Create Imagine Dream: Handmade Coasters

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a great time last night counting down to 2013!

I am so excited for this year because I have many things to look forward too! I am graduating college, getting married, going on my honeymoon, finding a place to live, starting a new job, and lastly beginning my masters program. So many exciting things that I can't wait.

Have you made any New Year resolutions? I normally don't make any but I hope you are all able to accomplish your own!

Even though it is the New Year, I still have more Christmas presents to show you!

Today, I want to share how to make coasters. They are probably my favorite gift that I made this season! They are extremely cute, customizable, inexpensive, and easy.

Last night my mother actually hinted that she needs new coasters because hers are old so I will definitely be doing this again.

I got the idea from Pinterest of course! The actual tutorial is at Blueprint Crafts. It is a great tutorial but I show you how to make them as well.

I want to point out that I made 8 coasters for less than $20. Besides the actual tiles which were 16 cents each, I have supplies to make 28 more tiles!! In total, I could have made 36 coasters for less than $20...amazing!

Items you need to make a set of 4 coasters:

4 - 4" x 4" pictures, pieces of paper, and/or fabric
4 - 4.25" x 4.25" tiles
Modge Podge Gloss
Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel
Foam Brush
Felt pads / felt sticker sheet

I also suggest:

White paint pen

When I bought the tiles, I noticed that some of the edges were not painted white or at least completely white which was really upsetting for me (yes I am a little anal about stuff like that). I took my white paint pen and painted all of the edges so that the entire tile was white.

After letting the paint dry, spread a moderate amount of Modge Podge onto the tile and press the paper onto the tile being sure to get all of the corners and edges. Be sure to get out all of the air bubbles. You may not see them all but pretend like they are everywhere just to make sure you got them all. They won't show up until the next layer.

I did find that with the solid color sheets, the bubbles were noticeable. Also, the music notes sheet was thicker and it actually worked better because it is harder to get bubbles. Therefore for paper with less going on, do your best to not have bubbles.

Wait 15 mins to let it dry.

Next put three layers of Modge Podge over the entire tile and paper waiting 15 mins between each layer. Make sure you get the corners and edges very well. After a few minutes, you will notice if there are bubbles. They are difficult to eliminate buy you can try your best to press them out and recovering your finger marks.

Finally, take the tiles outside and spray them twice with the Rustoleum but only wait a minute or two between each layer.

Make sure you let them dry, I suggest at least overnight. I got to excited so I brought them in after 2 hours and I sort of ruined the spray so I had to respray them.

Lastly, cut up your felt sticker sheet and put four corners on the tiles. If you really want to do them well, you can layer the entire bottom with felt.

When I do this again, I will cover the entire bottom with felt.