A Holiday DIY: Tile Coasters
A little bit ago, I wrote about making holiday ornaments as gifts for B’s coworkers. Now I’m back with the second part of their gift: tile coasters.
I learned about this project a few years ago when I attended a Stampin’ Up party. I got really into stamping at that time, and this was always a project I loved to do—we have a few sets of these around the house and I have definitely given them out for gifts before. Once you make the initial investment of stamps and ink pads, these are pretty inexpensive to put together!
Alright, so here’s what you’ll need:
White tiles, which can be found at any home improvement store. Pick whatever kind of tiles you like! Stamps, permanent markers, sheets of sticky felt, a glaze spray, and a permanent ink pad. The permanent ink is key, y’all—otherwise no matter how much glaze you use, your coasters still won’t last.
So the first step is to lay out your tiles and get them ready to stamp. I like to do it assembly line style. Don’t worry if you screw up while stamping and get messy lines or a smudged print—just keep a damp paper towel near you and you can easily wipe off the ink before it dries, then re-stamp!
Here we are about halfway through. I went with a snowman theme with these coasters, so that the ladies could use them beyond the Christmas season if they’d like.
And here they are completely stamped—as you can see, I used three stamps total. One big snowman stamp, a stamp with mittens on it, and a “Happy Holidays!” stamp.
Next, you’re going to use your permanent markers to color the stamps. This is where you can get really creative—make each one different, free hand on to the background, whatever!
Here’s what my stamps looked like once I had them colored to my liking:
And then comes the big wait. You’re going to want to let these babies sit overnight, so the ink has time to properly cure. Alternatively, some people like to bake them in a 350* oven for like 20 minutes or so, but I always go the overnight route. One, because it’s foolproof, and two, because when I put something in my oven, I’d like to be able to eat it when it comes out. HA!
After you’ve let them dry overnight, you’re going to spray them with a glaze. Shiny, matte, whatever you like. And then you’re going to wait again—another 24 hours. These coasters are easy, yes, but they do take a few days to complete!
FINALLY, you’re ready to put on the felt backing and wrap them up. I bought some sticky felt pages to back my coasters, but I have also seen people use those small felt circles to protect the surfaces you’ll use the coasters on. The felt backing was by FAR the easiest method I’ve ever used!
Trace your coasters, then cut your backing up.
Peel away, and slap it on the back of a coaster. Easy peasy!
And here’s what they look like all completed. So cute and versatile, no?
Add a pretty bow and you’ve got a lovely—and useful!—gift to give!
Enjoy!
How cute!! I made coasters for my family last year and they loved them. They’re a super easy and inexpensive gift. Plus yours look fantastic wrapped up in that pretty bow.
These are just adorable! I had no idea you could stamp on tiles. Such a great idea!
Awesome Amy! Starred and excited to use this!
Holy crap, that *IS* easy! Great gift idea.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this gift idea. ((RRUUNNNNING TO MICHAELS))
Love love love them Amy!
WOW! Those look great! I could imagine doing those for different events, baby showers, birthday, wedding, other holidays! Such a neat and easy idea!
Wow – these are super cute and totally easy, but look like they would have taken a lot of time to make (aka the perfect gift for hard-to-buy-for people!). Great tutorial!
Love ‘em! Turned out great
This is one of the best DIY things I’ve seen all winter! Mostly because this can be used for ANY holiday or occasion! Love it
Thank you so much for the tip on letting the ink set overnight (or in the oven)!
I’m letting my children decorate tiles as coaster gifts. Earlier today, I let them color on card stock with marker. Then I tried adhering the paper with Mod Podge, but the art smeared.
Then I decorated a tile this afternoon with permanent marker, but it bled when I sprayed it. After finding and reading this, I know it’s because I sprayed the permanent marker tile too soon, not because permanent marker won’t work. I felt like I was running out of options, so this is a relief.
We’ll be using colored permanent markers directly on the tile for art and letting the tiles set overnight instead before spraying.
I appreciate this post!
Make sure you spray from a good distance away, too! At least a foot away from the coasters. There might be a LITTLE bleed on some of them, but if you let the ink dry the full 24 hours, you shouldn’t have a problem. Good luck!
Hi Amy!
As one of the recipients of your holiday coasters, I want to say Thank You so much! Not only were they wrapped up really cute, but the coasters are adorable! I am a crafter in whatever spare time I can find, and I also like to share crafts with my 11 year old granddaughter…these will be perfect for a project for the two of us to work on together! I’m not a stamping novice (I make stamp embossed cards) so these will be just another way to use my many stamps!
Thanks again for the great gift! Merry Christmas to you and B!
Wendy
Thanks Wendy! Glad you enjoyed them! They are a really fun thing to make.