Hello, Kenarry: Ideas for the Home friends! I’m Pam from The Birch Cottage and I’m so grateful to be back again this month to share with you how to make coasters from ceramic tiles. As I was planning what to share with you this month, I had a few ideas, but finally decided to share this DIY project on how to make coasters from ceramic tiles. This is a project that you can easily customize to fit your personal taste and it’s a great handmade gift idea, too.
Spring and summer are busy times for families. Between Easter, weddings, birthdays, family reunions, Independence Day – well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how busy we get during the spring and summer months with all the different family activities. So, I wanted to share a project with you this month that might help you with your gift giving ideas. These DIY Coasters would make for a great gift for just about any occasion.
There are a lot of different materials that you could use to decorate your coasters and a lot of different themes. Here are a few ideas and themes I put together for you:
DIY Coaster Ideas
- Scrapbook Paper
- Wrapping Paper
- Comic Books
- Adult Coloring Book Pages
- Pages from Old Books
- Pages from Favorite Books (Harry Potter comes to mind)
- Family Photos
- Printed Graphics
- Wallpaper
- Maps
- Monograms
- Paper Doilies
- Cricut or Silhouette Designs
- Favorite Soda, Wine or Beverage Labels
- Seasonal
- Important Dates
DIY Coaster Themes
- Super Hero – Use clippings from comic books or from images you find online.
- House Warming – Use modern chevron scrapbook paper and pair the coasters with a gift basket of goodies.
- Wedding – Use monograms or wedding date.
- Wine – Use wine bottle labels and pair with a bottle of wine.
- Travel – Use old map images from old maps or map images online.
- Family Reunion – Use old family photographs.
- Independence Day – Use red, white and blue themed paper or old images of Uncle Sam.
- Christmas – Print out your favorite scriptures or pictures of holly, poinsettia, snowflakes or wreaths.
Again, the ideas could go on and on. But, hopefully, these ideas will help to get you thinking about putting your creativity to work on your DIY Coaster projects. And here’s a great hint: it really is easier to make up a bunch of these coasters at a time. You’ll save time and be way ahead of the game for your gift giving! So, without further ado, here’s how to make coasters from ceramic tiles.
How to Make Coasters from Ceramic Tiles
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Supplies:
- 4″x4″ ceramic tiles
- Scrapbook paper, cut into 4″x4″ squares (one for each coaster)
- Felt
- Mod Podge or Craft Glue
- Small paint brush
- Craft Glue
- Scissors
- Sealant (I used EnviroTex Lite’s Pour-On High Gloss Finish)
Instructions:
- Gather your supplies.
- Make sure your tile is free of dust and dirt. (I gave mine a quick wipe-down with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol dries super fast.)
- Cut scrapbook paper (book pages, wrapping paper – whatever you’re using to decorate your tile coasters) into 4″ x 4″ squares.
- Cut felt into 4″x4″ squares.
- Apply Mod Podge to ceramic tile using a small paint brush or sponge brush.
- Place scrapbook paper on center of tile and smooth in place using your fingers. (Allow time for the Mod Podge to dry before applying the sealant.)
- Apply sealant according to package instructions.
- Once the sealant is completely dry, apply glue to the back of the tile along the raised lines and press felt square onto back of tile. Place a book or something somewhat heavy on top of the tile and allow the glued felt to dry. Be sure not to use so much glue that it seeps through the felt or oozes out the edges.
Here are a few tips on how to make coasters from ceramic tiles:
- Here’s a little secret that you may not already know. You know those 4″x4″ tiles? They aren’t really 4″x4″. Kind of like when you by 2″x4″ lumber. It’s not really 2″ by 4″. It’s really more reliably 1-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. So, what size are 4″x4″ tiles really? Honestly, it varies, but my 4×4 tiles were actually 4-1/4″ x 4-1/4″.
- So, it’s a really good idea to measure your tiles and then cut your paper and felt accordingly. By accordingly, I mean you’ll probably want your paper and the felt to be a little bit smaller than the actual tiles.
You’ll also want to make your coasters waterproof. I chose to use the EnviroTex Lite because it has such a beautiful, professional and almost glass-like finish. (The finish is so glass-like, that I had a hard time photographing the finished coasters without capturing the glass glare!) It can actually be used on almost any type of surface: glass, ceramic and wood. The finish is heat and alcohol resistant and completely waterproof. Although there are also spray sealants, the EnviroTex works so well, I haven’t even tried the spray sealants. If you try or have tried a spray sealant to make your coasters from ceramic tiles, I’d love to hear how it worked for you.
Our daughter Morgan is a huge Harry Potter fan. In fact, she recently got a kitten and has named him Sirius. I found a really cool Harry Potter-ish font online and made her a customized food dish for Sirius with my Cricut (you can read about it here). I’m also thinking about making her some coasters using pages from an old Harry Potter book as an Easter present (her birthday is just too far away). Our son Brandon is a superhero fan, so I’m thinking about making him a set of coasters with Flash, Green Lantern, Batman and Supergirl (for his wife). Our daughter Heather loves Elvis, so I think I’ll make her some coasters with an Elvis theme. You see, once you start, the ideas just keep rolling.
I hope I have inspired you to do-it-yourself and make coasters from ceramic tiles and if you do, be sure to share your project right here on Kenarry! In case you didn’t know (and how could you not?), Kenarry now offers an avenue for you to share your fabulous projects and recipes with Kenarry readers. You simply share one square photo, a brief description of your project/recipe and a link back to your blog/website. Kenarry will then publish the info you submit as a standalone feature post and promote it across social media to drive traffic and interest your way. It’s as easy as that! Don’t you just love how sharing and caring Carrie and Kent are?
Well, I’ve certainly enjoyed our little time together this month! If you’ve enjoyed this tutorial on how to make coasters from ceramic tiles, you might like to browse some of these other DIY projects from The Birch Cottage blog:
How to Make Gift Bags from Wrapping Paper
Til next time…
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Pam is the creative behind The Birch Cottage, a lifestyle blog with an emphasis on family-friendly DIY projects, recipes, tutorials and family. An accounting clerk by day and a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict by night, you are sure to find creative ideas and meal inspirations at The Birch Cottage.
Follow Pam on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Instagram.
Thanks for sharing this. Coasters are essentially a necessity for any wooden surface it seems, so personalizing some small tiles to be coasters would make a great gift for nearly anyone. Worst case, it could potentially promote better homecare habits in whomever you gift them too.
John, we wholeheartedly agree. Coasters are a definitely necessity!
Approximately how many coasters can you make with one container of Mod Podge? Thanks for all the tips!
That’s a great question, Emily! I’m not sure, but I’ll ask Pam from The Birch Cottage to see if she knows. A little Mod Podge goes along way though so I bet you can make quite a number of them from one container.
Oh my! You could probably make 100 coasters from one container of Mod Podge!
Thanks, Carrie, I’m so glad I stumbled onto your site! It looks like it will be great creative fun for me…I’m interested in making tile coasters that I first paint, then next add a quote I like. I thought I would have to find small vinyl stick on letters but that has presented quite a challenge! ( I don’t have a machine to cut my own…) So I’m thinking that writing on the tile is the best idea, but how do I keep the ink from ‘running’ when I apply a sealer over the top of the tile? Can you give me some guidance?
Hi Peggy,
That’s a great question! I passed it along to Pam from The Birch Cottage who wrote this post to see if she has any insight. Personally, I’d try using a oil based paint pen for the lettering rather than a marker or ink pen to do the lettering. This ought to prevent the bleeding when you apply the sealant. Or I’d use acrylic craft paint and do the lettering with a brush. I’d do just one first and make sure I liked the how it turned out before making the rest of the coasters.
Let us know how your coasters turn out! I’d love to see a photo when you’re done.
Happy crafting,
Carrie
Hi, Peggy. Boy, you ask tough questions! I actually have no experience writing or painting on the tiles. I did a quick search online and came across this great blog post that discusses this exact issue: https://dsmartin.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/sharpies-on-ceramics-part-ii-good-news/
EnviroTex also has a blog called “Resin Crafts Blog”. I’m actually friends with the fantastic young lady who runs the blog and I know she’d be glad to answer your questions or help you find the answers to your questions.
I have seen people use acrylic paint and even nail polish to create some fun coasters. I have to admit, you’ve got me curious! I may have to purchase a few tiles and do some testing of my own. I’d really recommend you read that article I mention above and then, like Carrie said, do some testing. I’d love to hear about your results, so be sure to let us know how it goes!
Hi Peggy,
We were so intrigued by your project we shared the dilemma with our Kenarry Creative team to see if anyone else had ideas for you.
Meaghan from Cook. Craft. Love. suggested “She can print a photo of the image and quote she wants and do it that way with some mod podge. I made coasters like this for my grandparents a few years ago. Mod podge the back of the photo and stick it to the clean tile, pressing firmly with a cloth. Then mod podge the front and sides. And I used homemade mod podge too! 50/50 ratio of white glue and water!”
Hope these ideas help! We can’t wait to see how your coasters turn out!
Best wishes,
Carrie from Kenarry: Ideas for the Home
Fun idea, Peggy! Have you tried Sharpies? They work well on ceramic mugs and should work great on tiles. Then you can spray them with acrylic sealer. We’d love to hear how they turn out!
J&K
Edit: We just clicked on Pam’s link above and it’s all about Sharpies on ceramic! Great find Pam!