DIY Coasters

Please check out my new blog at  https://.www.foxintheforest.net for tales of adventure and travel :)
 
Hello and happy new year! I had big plans on some epic new year post, but I'm not really into those sorts of things. The new year is just a reason for me to accidentally back date checks by a year (yes, I still, on occasion, write them). So instead of a nostalgic year end/beginning post I've decided to share with you a gift I made for my parents, handmade coasters with photographs from their travels. They were a HUGE hit and if you put in a little elbow grease they make a really nice gift.

Directions after the break

What You'll Need:

4in tiles. I bought mine at Home Depot. They came in packs of 9 and I bought two of them. They cost around $5 for the pack

Modge Podge

Clear Sealant (optional)

Foam Brush

Exact or Olfa blade. Any size will do, you can use scissors as well

A ruler (for straight edge, if using a blade to cut photos)

Kinkos/printing place or a LASER printer

Regular paper (not needed if you are going to a shop to print)

Elmer's Glue or green sticky felt circles

Water (not pictured)

Rubber Gloves (not pictured)

Credit Card or Insurance Card or any hard plastic card really (not pictured)

Oven (not pictured)

What to do:

1. First, crop your images to 4in x 4in squares. This is really easy in Photoshop (you can even arrange them on the paper). If you don't have photoshop, most photo editing software has a crop tool. About 4 images will fit to a piece of paper. You can add cool filters (or just Instagram pics), change to monotone, sepia, or whatever here as well. You can even just use a design if pictures aren't your thing. Get creative!! NOTE: Keep in mind when you transfer the image will be reversed so go ahead and mirror the image before you print it if this bugs you or if you have any text in your images.

2. Put the images on a USB or email them to yourself if you don't have access to a laser printer. You CANNOT USE INKJET PRINTERS. You need to use a printer that uses the powder based ink so the image will transfer. Kinkos charges about 25 cents a page (I think) for color prints. 

3. Cut out photos

4. Pre-heat oven to 170 deg.

5. Use your foam brush to paint 2 coats of Modge Podge on the BACK side of the tile (for some reason the image transfers better on the back). You will notice that usually one or two tiles in the batch have too many holes in them to be that useful, don't bother with those, or make some clear coasters if you wish. NOTE: Modge Podge will be white when wet; don't worry, it dries clear.

6. Paint one coat of Modge Podge on the printed side of your image. Then place the image on the painted side of the tile with the image facing down. Next, use the edge of the card to scrape any air bubbles out of the image.

7. Bake each tile for about 20 mins. I wrote down times and just put the coasters right on the rack as I finished them. Just make sure you have a system (ie start left to right) so you don't get confused! Also, be careful taking out the coasters, use an oven mitt or cloth.

8. Once the coasters have cooled to a manageable temperature (about 5 mins or so) get some water in a small container and put on your a rubber glove on your dominant hand. (okokok...I know that sounds weird...but the glove is to protect your hand from getting blisters...I learned the hard way).

9. Dip your glove hand in the water and rub the paper off the tiles, revealing the image on the tile! This step takes a little elbow grease to get right. I would start with one coaster, rub what I thought was all the paper off, wait until it dried, then went back and did it again. Most coasters took about three tries to really get the paper off. NOTE: BE CAREFUL WITH HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE!!! The more water you use, the more ink will come off. If you soak the coaster it will get ruined so the idea is to dip a bit and if you need more use more. Also, the more you rub, the lighter your image gets. Hence the reason for doing this process in stages. Play with it, remember it's ok if some of the image rubs off - gives it a nice vintage look - it's part of the fun and the uniqueness of each piece!

rub a dub dub!

Use a dry paper towel to get those pesky last flecks of paper off of your coaster

10. When you've gotten all the paper off let the coasters dry for a few hours (and to give yourself a break, this is surprisingly labor intensive) and then seal images with a clear sealant. I live in a drier climate which means drinks tend not to 'sweat' as much so I just used Modge Podge as a sealant (it's water soluble, but as I found out through cleaning after steps 5 and 6 you have to scrub pretty hard to get the stuff off, so it worked as a sealant in dry climates). However, if you live in a more humid climate it is advisable to use an actual sealant to finish off the coaster.

11. After the sealant dries it's time for the last step! Flip the coasters over and place the felt sticky circles on the back corners so your coaster doesn't damage your table. I didn't have any on hand so I just made beads of Elmer's Glue on the corners and let them dry untouched.

12. Sip and enjoy!

Hope you liked this one! Feel free to comment with any questions

-M

Please check out my new blog at  https://.www.foxintheforest.net for tales of adventure and travel :)
 
Hello and happy new year! I had big plans on some epic new year post, but I'm not really into those sorts of things. The new year is just a reason for me to accidentally back date checks by a year (yes, I still, on occasion, write them). So instead of a nostalgic year end/beginning post I've decided to share with you a gift I made for my parents, handmade coasters with photographs from their travels. They were a HUGE hit and if you put in a little elbow grease they make a really nice gift.

Directions after the break

What You'll Need:

4in tiles. I bought mine at Home Depot. They came in packs of 9 and I bought two of them. They cost around $5 for the pack

Modge Podge

Clear Sealant (optional)

Foam Brush

Exact or Olfa blade. Any size will do, you can use scissors as well

A ruler (for straight edge, if using a blade to cut photos)

Kinkos/printing place or a LASER printer

Regular paper (not needed if you are going to a shop to print)

Elmer's Glue or green sticky felt circles

Water (not pictured)

Rubber Gloves (not pictured)

Credit Card or Insurance Card or any hard plastic card really (not pictured)

Oven (not pictured)

What to do:

1. First, crop your images to 4in x 4in squares. This is really easy in Photoshop (you can even arrange them on the paper). If you don't have photoshop, most photo editing software has a crop tool. About 4 images will fit to a piece of paper. You can add cool filters (or just Instagram pics), change to monotone, sepia, or whatever here as well. You can even just use a design if pictures aren't your thing. Get creative!! NOTE: Keep in mind when you transfer the image will be reversed so go ahead and mirror the image before you print it if this bugs you or if you have any text in your images.

2. Put the images on a USB or email them to yourself if you don't have access to a laser printer. You CANNOT USE INKJET PRINTERS. You need to use a printer that uses the powder based ink so the image will transfer. Kinkos charges about 25 cents a page (I think) for color prints. 

3. Cut out photos

4. Pre-heat oven to 170 deg.

5. Use your foam brush to paint 2 coats of Modge Podge on the BACK side of the tile (for some reason the image transfers better on the back). You will notice that usually one or two tiles in the batch have too many holes in them to be that useful, don't bother with those, or make some clear coasters if you wish. NOTE: Modge Podge will be white when wet; don't worry, it dries clear.

6. Paint one coat of Modge Podge on the printed side of your image. Then place the image on the painted side of the tile with the image facing down. Next, use the edge of the card to scrape any air bubbles out of the image.

7. Bake each tile for about 20 mins. I wrote down times and just put the coasters right on the rack as I finished them. Just make sure you have a system (ie start left to right) so you don't get confused! Also, be careful taking out the coasters, use an oven mitt or cloth.

8. Once the coasters have cooled to a manageable temperature (about 5 mins or so) get some water in a small container and put on your a rubber glove on your dominant hand. (okokok...I know that sounds weird...but the glove is to protect your hand from getting blisters...I learned the hard way).

9. Dip your glove hand in the water and rub the paper off the tiles, revealing the image on the tile! This step takes a little elbow grease to get right. I would start with one coaster, rub what I thought was all the paper off, wait until it dried, then went back and did it again. Most coasters took about three tries to really get the paper off. NOTE: BE CAREFUL WITH HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE!!! The more water you use, the more ink will come off. If you soak the coaster it will get ruined so the idea is to dip a bit and if you need more use more. Also, the more you rub, the lighter your image gets. Hence the reason for doing this process in stages. Play with it, remember it's ok if some of the image rubs off - gives it a nice vintage look - it's part of the fun and the uniqueness of each piece!

rub a dub dub!

Use a dry paper towel to get those pesky last flecks of paper off of your coaster

10. When you've gotten all the paper off let the coasters dry for a few hours (and to give yourself a break, this is surprisingly labor intensive) and then seal images with a clear sealant. I live in a drier climate which means drinks tend not to 'sweat' as much so I just used Modge Podge as a sealant (it's water soluble, but as I found out through cleaning after steps 5 and 6 you have to scrub pretty hard to get the stuff off, so it worked as a sealant in dry climates). However, if you live in a more humid climate it is advisable to use an actual sealant to finish off the coaster.

11. After the sealant dries it's time for the last step! Flip the coasters over and place the felt sticky circles on the back corners so your coaster doesn't damage your table. I didn't have any on hand so I just made beads of Elmer's Glue on the corners and let them dry untouched.

12. Sip and enjoy!

Hope you liked this one! Feel free to comment with any questions

-M

Please check out my new blog at  https://.www.foxintheforest.net for tales of adventure and travel :)
 
Hello and happy new year! I had big plans on some epic new year post, but I'm not really into those sorts of things. The new year is just a reason for me to accidentally back date checks by a year (yes, I still, on occasion, write them). So instead of a nostalgic year end/beginning post I've decided to share with you a gift I made for my parents, handmade coasters with photographs from their travels. They were a HUGE hit and if you put in a little elbow grease they make a really nice gift.

Directions after the break

What You'll Need:

4in tiles. I bought mine at Home Depot. They came in packs of 9 and I bought two of them. They cost around $5 for the pack

Modge Podge

Clear Sealant (optional)

Foam Brush

Exact or Olfa blade. Any size will do, you can use scissors as well

A ruler (for straight edge, if using a blade to cut photos)

Kinkos/printing place or a LASER printer

Regular paper (not needed if you are going to a shop to print)

Elmer's Glue or green sticky felt circles

Water (not pictured)

Rubber Gloves (not pictured)

Credit Card or Insurance Card or any hard plastic card really (not pictured)

Oven (not pictured)

What to do:

1. First, crop your images to 4in x 4in squares. This is really easy in Photoshop (you can even arrange them on the paper). If you don't have photoshop, most photo editing software has a crop tool. About 4 images will fit to a piece of paper. You can add cool filters (or just Instagram pics), change to monotone, sepia, or whatever here as well. You can even just use a design if pictures aren't your thing. Get creative!! NOTE: Keep in mind when you transfer the image will be reversed so go ahead and mirror the image before you print it if this bugs you or if you have any text in your images.

2. Put the images on a USB or email them to yourself if you don't have access to a laser printer. You CANNOT USE INKJET PRINTERS. You need to use a printer that uses the powder based ink so the image will transfer. Kinkos charges about 25 cents a page (I think) for color prints. 

3. Cut out photos

4. Pre-heat oven to 170 deg.

5. Use your foam brush to paint 2 coats of Modge Podge on the BACK side of the tile (for some reason the image transfers better on the back). You will notice that usually one or two tiles in the batch have too many holes in them to be that useful, don't bother with those, or make some clear coasters if you wish. NOTE: Modge Podge will be white when wet; don't worry, it dries clear.

6. Paint one coat of Modge Podge on the printed side of your image. Then place the image on the painted side of the tile with the image facing down. Next, use the edge of the card to scrape any air bubbles out of the image.

7. Bake each tile for about 20 mins. I wrote down times and just put the coasters right on the rack as I finished them. Just make sure you have a system (ie start left to right) so you don't get confused! Also, be careful taking out the coasters, use an oven mitt or cloth.

8. Once the coasters have cooled to a manageable temperature (about 5 mins or so) get some water in a small container and put on your a rubber glove on your dominant hand. (okokok...I know that sounds weird...but the glove is to protect your hand from getting blisters...I learned the hard way).

9. Dip your glove hand in the water and rub the paper off the tiles, revealing the image on the tile! This step takes a little elbow grease to get right. I would start with one coaster, rub what I thought was all the paper off, wait until it dried, then went back and did it again. Most coasters took about three tries to really get the paper off. NOTE: BE CAREFUL WITH HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE!!! The more water you use, the more ink will come off. If you soak the coaster it will get ruined so the idea is to dip a bit and if you need more use more. Also, the more you rub, the lighter your image gets. Hence the reason for doing this process in stages. Play with it, remember it's ok if some of the image rubs off - gives it a nice vintage look - it's part of the fun and the uniqueness of each piece!

rub a dub dub!

Use a dry paper towel to get those pesky last flecks of paper off of your coaster

10. When you've gotten all the paper off let the coasters dry for a few hours (and to give yourself a break, this is surprisingly labor intensive) and then seal images with a clear sealant. I live in a drier climate which means drinks tend not to 'sweat' as much so I just used Modge Podge as a sealant (it's water soluble, but as I found out through cleaning after steps 5 and 6 you have to scrub pretty hard to get the stuff off, so it worked as a sealant in dry climates). However, if you live in a more humid climate it is advisable to use an actual sealant to finish off the coaster.

11. After the sealant dries it's time for the last step! Flip the coasters over and place the felt sticky circles on the back corners so your coaster doesn't damage your table. I didn't have any on hand so I just made beads of Elmer's Glue on the corners and let them dry untouched.

12. Sip and enjoy!

Hope you liked this one! Feel free to comment with any questions

-M

Please check out my new blog at  https://.www.foxintheforest.net for tales of adventure and travel :)
 
Hello and happy new year! I had big plans on some epic new year post, but I'm not really into those sorts of things. The new year is just a reason for me to accidentally back date checks by a year (yes, I still, on occasion, write them). So instead of a nostalgic year end/beginning post I've decided to share with you a gift I made for my parents, handmade coasters with photographs from their travels. They were a HUGE hit and if you put in a little elbow grease they make a really nice gift.

Directions after the break

What You'll Need:

4in tiles. I bought mine at Home Depot. They came in packs of 9 and I bought two of them. They cost around $5 for the pack

Modge Podge

Clear Sealant (optional)

Foam Brush

Exact or Olfa blade. Any size will do, you can use scissors as well

A ruler (for straight edge, if using a blade to cut photos)

Kinkos/printing place or a LASER printer

Regular paper (not needed if you are going to a shop to print)

Elmer's Glue or green sticky felt circles

Water (not pictured)

Rubber Gloves (not pictured)

Credit Card or Insurance Card or any hard plastic card really (not pictured)

Oven (not pictured)

What to do:

1. First, crop your images to 4in x 4in squares. This is really easy in Photoshop (you can even arrange them on the paper). If you don't have photoshop, most photo editing software has a crop tool. About 4 images will fit to a piece of paper. You can add cool filters (or just Instagram pics), change to monotone, sepia, or whatever here as well. You can even just use a design if pictures aren't your thing. Get creative!! NOTE: Keep in mind when you transfer the image will be reversed so go ahead and mirror the image before you print it if this bugs you or if you have any text in your images.

2. Put the images on a USB or email them to yourself if you don't have access to a laser printer. You CANNOT USE INKJET PRINTERS. You need to use a printer that uses the powder based ink so the image will transfer. Kinkos charges about 25 cents a page (I think) for color prints. 

3. Cut out photos

4. Pre-heat oven to 170 deg.

5. Use your foam brush to paint 2 coats of Modge Podge on the BACK side of the tile (for some reason the image transfers better on the back). You will notice that usually one or two tiles in the batch have too many holes in them to be that useful, don't bother with those, or make some clear coasters if you wish. NOTE: Modge Podge will be white when wet; don't worry, it dries clear.

6. Paint one coat of Modge Podge on the printed side of your image. Then place the image on the painted side of the tile with the image facing down. Next, use the edge of the card to scrape any air bubbles out of the image.

7. Bake each tile for about 20 mins. I wrote down times and just put the coasters right on the rack as I finished them. Just make sure you have a system (ie start left to right) so you don't get confused! Also, be careful taking out the coasters, use an oven mitt or cloth.

8. Once the coasters have cooled to a manageable temperature (about 5 mins or so) get some water in a small container and put on your a rubber glove on your dominant hand. (okokok...I know that sounds weird...but the glove is to protect your hand from getting blisters...I learned the hard way).

9. Dip your glove hand in the water and rub the paper off the tiles, revealing the image on the tile! This step takes a little elbow grease to get right. I would start with one coaster, rub what I thought was all the paper off, wait until it dried, then went back and did it again. Most coasters took about three tries to really get the paper off. NOTE: BE CAREFUL WITH HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE!!! The more water you use, the more ink will come off. If you soak the coaster it will get ruined so the idea is to dip a bit and if you need more use more. Also, the more you rub, the lighter your image gets. Hence the reason for doing this process in stages. Play with it, remember it's ok if some of the image rubs off - gives it a nice vintage look - it's part of the fun and the uniqueness of each piece!

rub a dub dub!

Use a dry paper towel to get those pesky last flecks of paper off of your coaster

10. When you've gotten all the paper off let the coasters dry for a few hours (and to give yourself a break, this is surprisingly labor intensive) and then seal images with a clear sealant. I live in a drier climate which means drinks tend not to 'sweat' as much so I just used Modge Podge as a sealant (it's water soluble, but as I found out through cleaning after steps 5 and 6 you have to scrub pretty hard to get the stuff off, so it worked as a sealant in dry climates). However, if you live in a more humid climate it is advisable to use an actual sealant to finish off the coaster.

11. After the sealant dries it's time for the last step! Flip the coasters over and place the felt sticky circles on the back corners so your coaster doesn't damage your table. I didn't have any on hand so I just made beads of Elmer's Glue on the corners and let them dry untouched.

12. Sip and enjoy!

Hope you liked this one! Feel free to comment with any questions

-M