DIY Mod Podge Coasters

A few weeks ago Missy Moo and I had an all-girls weekend.  We're talking Barbie movies, loads of sweet treats, shopping and .... we got our craft on!!  Oh yes we did! Our men folk were busy being all manly and buff at a Cub camp together so we took advantage of the testosterone-free weekend.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a Type A kind of person which means it's hard for me to do something and not feel let down when it doesn't turn out perfectly.  I have the unique ability to pick apart what should be a relaxing and fun endeavour and overthink it within an inch of it's life and make it stressful event.  It's a gift, what can I say?  Do I do this to crafts that other people make?  No.  I'm just hard on myself.  This is perhaps why I don't often get my craft on.

But when I saw these coasters all over the net and read about how simple and cheap they were to make I decided to give it a go.  I'm in desperate need of large coasters for my family room.  The mug I drink tea out of pretty much every evening is not what you'd consider a delicate china tea cup.  Not for this girl!  Go big or go home.  I use a not-so-delicate mug I procured at the very ritzy ... Disney World.  Yup.  Has a big old picture of Goofy (my fav character) on it and can hold enough cups of tea that I have to get up twice during the night.  Nice mental picture, eh?

Not only is this craft pretty easy but it's also really inexpensive.  The four wall tiles that I picked up at Home Depot cost me a whopping .... 28 cents each.   Not exactly going to break the bank.  This in and of itself made me get more brave about doing the craft. If I mess up who cares?? It only cost me 28 cents plus a little Mod Podge and scrapbook paper scraps.

One of the best things about this craft is that Missy Moo (who is only 8 years old) made a prettier coaster than me!! How cool is it that she out crafted her dear old Mom?? She made the coaster with the stripes and the star in the middle.  I loved that she cut out the extra white square, distressed the edges and added the star!  My first coaster was the one with the big green block on it (I thought I'd be 'crafty' and unique by using a free green paint chip card from Home Depot ... but it would have been nice if I had centred it on the tile.  There's that Type A monster peaking it's head out!).  But I digress ....

These coasters were, quite honestly, extremely simple to make and a great way to spend some mother-daughter time.  Here's how you do it ....

Get all of your items together.  You'll need:

• Mod Podge (Matte finish)
• foam brush
• 4 white wall tiles (mine were 4 1/4 inches square)
• coordinating scrapbook papers (I chose papers with brown and asparagus green to go in my family room)
• felt
• scissors
• craft glue
• glue stick
• Distressing Ink (if you want to add a little pow to your coasters) 
• a spray can of Varathane (a clear coat to protect from water damage)
• don't forget to include a really cheap and ugly pink Dollar Store table cloth to catch any Mod Podge or glue drips.  That's essential.

Wipe the wall tiles to remove any dirt.

Cut scrapbook paper to fit the tile.  I cut mine paper a little smaller than the tile so that I'd be left with a nice white edge.  If you'd like to distress the edges of your paper, have at it!  Using the foam brush, brush a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the tile.  Flip the paper over and brush some Mod Podge onto the back of the paper.  Quickly place the paper onto the tile making sure it's centred.  Brush Mod Podge over the entire top of the tile.  The Mod Podge will appear milky but don't worry because it will dry clear.  Allow the Mod Podge to dry for 20 minutes. 

If you'd like to add some paper embellishments (like Missy Moo did) this is where you'd glue them on (we just used a glue stick).  Smoothly brush on one to two more layers of Mod Podge over the top of the tile and allow to dry in between coats.

Repeat with other tiles and paper.  Beware of adding too many layers of paper so that the top of your tile won't be flat.  You don't want a drink getting tipsy on your coaster!

It's at this point in the process where I added two coats of Varathane spray to make sure that sweating glasses didn't ruin my crafty creations.

When the tiles are totally dry from all the Mod Podge and Varathane (wait at least an hour -- I waited 2 days before I had time to get back at it) it's time to put the felt on the back so they don't scratch your tables.  Simply cut out four squares of felt slightly smaller than your tile (you don't want the felt showing, do you?). 

Using craft glue (not the glue stick), glue the felt to the backs of the tiles and lay the tiles face down (the glue may seep up through the felt like mine did and try to adhere to my buffet.  Note: not a good thing).  Allow glue to dry.  Flip over and make yourself a cuppa and enjoy!

I think these would make great teacher gifts.  I'm looking forward to making more using my Silhouette machine to cut out cool shapes.

Linked to:
http://www.momontimeout.com/2011/10/taking-timeout-thursday-link-party-no-1.html