Hand-made Coasters Tutorial

Long long ago in the depths of winter, I published this picture on my Facebook Page of these coasters that I'd made:

and at the time promised to write a tutorial on how to make them.  Well, finally here it is - just in time for a bit of Easter Holiday crafting. It's a bit brief so if you need any more detail, then please just get in touch and ask away, and apologies if the photos are a bit dull - they were taken in deepest darkest winter too!  It's a nice project to do with older children, but does require quite a bit of patience and accuracy (Good Luck!)

What you'll need:

- Basic 10x10cm plain tiles (I got mine in Homebase - end of line so really cheap)

- Mod Podge or similar water-based sealer glue with a matt finish.

- Plasti-kote Acrylic Sealer Spray (or similar) I went for matt finish but you could go glossy!

- Decorative Papers - I've tried free decorative/designer paper samples from craft magazines, wrapping paper and thin wallpaper (wallpaper can be a bit thick, something normal paper-weight is fine though) The paper here is a Habitat wallpaper (free sample piece from DIY store!)

- Black felt roll or squares

- Scissors, Pencil, Ruler, Foam Glue Brush.




What you do:

Lay your tiles out onto the paper, centering the part of the design where you want it on the tiles.

Allowing for a 3mm border around each tile, carefully cut out your paper pieces

 Using the foam brush, spread Mod Podge onto wrong-side of paper,

 and firmly press tile to centre, leaving that border around each edge:

 Using sharp scissors, snip off the paper corners at each corner of the tile:

and carefully fold over the edges, pressing down firmly to cover the sides of the tiles:

 Complete process for all 4 tiles (or more if you're making a larger set)

Then, going back to the Modge Podge, paint on a layer of glue over the surface and edges of each tile and leave to dry:

They will look like this when drying.  The drying process can take anything from 30 minutes to a good few hours depending on how thick the glue is, and how warm your room is. It's really important to let the layer really dry fully so some patience is required!

When dry, the glue will be clear - like this:

Repeat the process 2 more times, allowing each layer of glue to properly dry. If you don't, you will get unsightly bubbles on the surface of the coasters.

Once the 3 layers are fully dry, take your set of coasters outside to seal with an acrylic spray.  This spray is pretty potent - full of stinky solvents, so don't let kids do this bit and work outside or with LOADS of ventilation.

Spray each tile with sealer, including the edges, and leave to dry. Repeat with another coat or 2 to ensure the coasters are fully wipe-able.

Once coasters are dry (the smell will soon go!), you need to finish off with the felt backing.
Simply draw around your tile onto the felt sheets and cut out.

 Then apply glue to the underside of each tile either using Modge Podge or if you have a fancy glue gun - use that! Wait to dry (again!)  Sorry - lots of 'waiting to dry' in this project......

 Finally, trim off any excess felt sticking out around the edges to make the coasters nice and neat....

 ...and tah dah! You're done. if you're giving them as a gift, you can tie with ribbon or make some binding as I've done here with kraft paper:

Give it a go. Let me know if my instructions are or aren't any good and enjoy making lots of lovely coasters....you could even print off family photos and use those - great gifts for Grandparents.....makes a change from an Easter Egg.

Bye for now,

Emma xx