My husband is a coaster
freak. Even if a glass doesn’t have condensation
on it, he will still insist that a coaster be used. And when we have family over, he
subtly puts coasters near everyone’s drinks, so our guest will know that we
use coasters in our house. In my
husband’s eyes a coaster is a practical home item, but in my eyes coasters are
not always pretty home items…..and that’s where this project comes in.
I think that most things in my
home should be somewhat appealing to the eye, and there is just nothing
attractive about the set of coasters that my husband used in his bachelor
pad. They’re not ugly – they’re just
plain, boring-looking coasters, and because we only have six
of these boring-looking coasters, we are always carrying
coasters around the house and forgetting where we put them.
Since the coasters are always out
and always being used, I felt the need to address this problem. Awhile ago, I saw someone use $.16 tiles from
Lowe’s to make beautiful, practical coasters, and I thought…..Problem Solved! I'm not sure who originally thought of this idea, but whoever thought of it is a genious.
The first thing I did for this project was to go to Lowe’s and buy several 4x4 tiles. The
great thing about this project is that each individual tile is only $.16 a
piece, making each coaster less than $.35 when finished!!! Because Mod Podge and hot glue are two of my crafting staples, this project cost me less than $8, and I made 24 coasters with that $8.
After I bought my tiles, I began
selecting pieces of scrapbook paper to go with each set of coasters, and then I
cut the paper to fit each piece of tile.
One piece of paper will be enough for several coasters. FIY: One sheet of paper is $.59 at local craft
stores, but I usually stock up when it goes on sale 6 for $1.
Once the paper is cut, decoupage the
paper to the tile using Mod Podge. To do
this, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the tile, and firmly press the paper to the
tile. Then, coat the tile and paper with
a second layer of Mod Podge.
Once all of the tiles have dried,
hot glue cut pieces felt to the bottom of the tiles. I cut the felt the same way I cut the
paper. One sheet will make the bottoms
of eight coasters.
I used12x18 firm felt that I
purchased from my local craft store for $.79 a piece. Make sure that it is firm felt if cutting it with a
paper trimmer. If using scissors, it
doesn’t matter what kind of felt is used.
Adhesive felt is also sufficient for this step, but it is more expensive
per sheet.
At the end of this project, I had
made 5 sets of coasters: 6 for the living room, 4 for our bedroom, 4 for the
guest room, 5 for the dining room/sitting room and 5 for the loft, giving me a
total of 24 coasters. Now my coaster dillema is solved, and the best part is that it took less than a ten dollar bill to pay for this entire projectJ
Whether you’re in need of coasters
for your own home, or wanting to give them as a gift to someone else, the above
method is a cost-effective way to personalize a practical item for anyone’s
home.
I love this idea and have my tiles. I just need to make them! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea:)
ReplyDeleteLove this!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea, but I do have 1 question.... Can you use photographs on the tiles? I don't want to ruin a picture with mod podge if it can't be used on photographs. Thanks!
ReplyDelete