Tile Coasters

I made some tile coasters for my MIL’s birthday, as well as some bigger ones that I was planning to be trivets. (Unfortunately they are now called the non-trivets – I’ll explain at the end.)

There are so many tutorials for tile coasters out there, so there was no point adding another one. I’ll just share my experience with you and share the links for some tutorials I found:

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/30/diy-coasters/

http://www.hostessblog.com/2010/07/diy-tutorial-mod-podge-tile-coasters/

http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/tile-coaster-tutorial.html

http://midwesternmoms.com/2011/10/diy-mod-podge-tile-coaster-tutorial/

http://happytocreate.com/home-for-the-summer/craft-tutorial-how-to-make-tile-coasters/

I did both my 10cm x 10cm coasters and the 20cm x 20cm non-trivets the same way.

For the unfinished edges I used a sponge stenciling brush with white paint – it won’t be a gloss finish like the tile so I figured it would look nice as a textured finish.

I used scrapbooking cardstock cut into 9cm x 9cm pieces for the coasters and 19cm x 19cm for the non-trivets.

I used some watered down PVA to glue the paper to the tile – but did not use it on top of the paper.

To seal the paper and the painted tile edges I use Jo Sonja’s – Gloss Varnish – Polyurethane Water Based. I bought this at Bunnings in the craft section. I did 4 coats of this varnish as per the instructions to create an alcohol resistant finish.

When I am painting anything like these tiles which need the edges sealed as well, I sit the tile on top of something like a jar while painting. Afterwards I either leave it on top of the jar or something like a milk bottle lid to stop it sticking to anything. If it isn’t stable enough, I use a bit of Blu-Tack to hold it in place.

For the bottom of the coasters I just used sticky back felt feet that are normally used for furniture.

As for the whole trivet situation… I made a 20cm x 20cm tile and tested it. I boiled a saucepan of water and straight away sat it on the tile. It stuck to the tile in a couple of spots around the edge which bubbled a little, pulling up the paper when I pulled the saucepan off. It isn't that noticeable, but not what I wanted it to be doing. After this I did notice that my bottle of varnish says to cure for 2 weeks before use… so after 2 weeks I will of course be trying it again to see what happens!

I did another test by putting a mug on the tile and filling it up with boiling water. Which was perfectly fine, obviously it just can’t handle something coming off direct heat!

When my MIL opened her present she thought the non-trivets were placemats, something I never even thought of! I did think it would be handy for jugs or bottles of cold drinks or yummy bowls of ice cream.