This might be my favorite Christmas project. These look so professional- my husband was impressed. These are going to make one grandparent very happy and the other jealous!
Here is the supplies you'll need along with cardstock, tissue paper and Mod Podge. The tiles are at Lowe's or Home Depot and are in the flooring section, not kitchen backsplash tiles. I found the cork at Hobby Lobby. The tutorial I saw also used felt. The spray paint is clear finishing spray from Lowe's.
You'll want to cut white tissue paper just smaller than 8.5 x 11 and tape it to a piece of cardstock. I lined up two sides of tissue and taped them down and then cut the other two. It made it much easier.
Next, print your photos out onto the tissue/cardstock sheet you created. Cut out your 4x4 picture. It was much easier to cut both the paper and the tissue and then throw away the paper. A white photo background works best rather than a busy picture. I took mine at Picture People and just bought the CD of the photos to be able to edit them and reprint on tissue.
Using mod podge, place a thin layer across the top of your tile and then adhere your tissue paper printout. Carefully rub it flat pushing any bubbles out.
Using mod podge, place a thin layer across the top of your tile and then adhere your tissue paper printout. Carefully rub it flat pushing any bubbles out.
You will then do 3 separate layers of mod podge on top of the photo allowing it to dry in between. This serves as a glue and a coating so that the coaster can get wet.Next, spray a couple of coats of finishing spray over the coasters, again allowing it to dry.
Finally, add your cork or felt backing to each coaster.
I used hot glue to attach the cork. These pictures of my daughter had a white background and they allowed the detail and texture of the tile to come through. The second set I did had more detailed photos and the tile is more subdued.
These are easy to package with a wide ribbon and bow!
This project is more reasonable than you'd expect- the set of 9 tiles was $3.98 and the cork backs were $2.77 for 7. I had to buy acrylic for $4.50 and had the tissue, cardstock and mod podge on hand. So, they were around $7 per set of 4.
With social media, it is easy to lift candid pictures and you could surprise someone with pictures of them from their blog, Facebook, Flicker, etc. If you'd rather not do personal pictures, you could do celebrities, scripture, landscapes, favorite football team, quotes, landmarks from past vacations, etc. Lots of ideas!
