Tile Photo Coasters = Gift Idea

 

I bought this bottle of Mod Podge several weeks ago, determined to finally give this whole craze a try.  People that love the stuff swear it is AMAZING!  Evidently you can use it to glue/seal almost anything to anything! I really want to try fabric on a dresser or inside drawers.. but I'm starting with "baby steps"!  So I decided to try what looked like a relatively simple gift idea... the photo coaster.  To my surprise it was really easy and I think I'm a Mod Podge convert :)  This is how I did it.

These rough tiles come in a pack of 9.. not really sure why 9 but that's how they come and you can find them at your local home improvement store for under $4.  Home Depot, which is where I got mine also had smooth, glossy colored tiles.  I liked these the best for my project, but the other options are out there :)

First off I traced the tile onto a piece of scrapbook paper and then cut out four of those about a 1/4 inch inside the line.

I wanted to have a layered look, so you could see a little tile a little pattern and then the photo. So I then cut my photos out a little bit smaller than the paper.  Isn't my little man the cutest??? 

OK back to work :)

 Now you get to gluing!  I used a small disposable foam painting brush to put down a layer of Mod Podge then put down the paper and another layer of glue.  I let that set for about 15 minutes.

Then some more glue and the picture.  Let it set and more glue over it all.

Then another coat!  It sounds tedious, but it's really not bad I did this while doing about 7 billion other things and they turned out great.  The directions say to do 5-6 coats to seal something.  I did 6 and once the final coat was completely dry I did wet down a piece of fine sand paper and smooth out the ridges that form just to make it smooth.  Now since these are coaster I did give all four one coat of clear spray paint to seal everything.  I guess Mod Podge does not like wet or heat so drinks on top could be a problem if you left off this step.

Finally I used these dollar store self adhesive felt pads.

Stuck one in each corner and you're done.  I really is as easy as everyone says :)

A set of four is a nice personal gift for anyone on your list this holiday.

Good Luck, Lindsey :)