Tile “Stone” Coasters

In the past I have made Altered Coasters.  If you would like to see them please click here. 
Before I start this blog I would like to thank my sister-in-law Denise Lingerfelt for allowing me to use her awesome b&w photos.  The gentleman next to the motorcycle is my brother Zachariah Lingerfelt and their dog Suki is on the other coaster.  If you would like to see more of Denise’s work please visit her at Wayward Cat Photography
Today when I started this craft I was hoping to go to Lowe’s to get white tiles so that I could make b&w photo coaster.  But… a very cold snowy and windy Texas storm decided to come barreling through and with the wind-chill factor it should be around -7 degrees outside.  A long shot from what we are use to. 
So I went with plan B.  The tiles that I had on hand were 4x4 Agora Noce tiles from Lowe’s.  They have a tan marbled looking top, very smooth edges and nice rounded corners.

Here are a few supplies that you will need:

• 4 tiles of your choice
• Mod Podge with a matt finish
• Clear Polyurethane or Clear Acyclic spray from Krylon
• scissors
• sponge brush
• 1 piece of card stock
• I piece of white tissue paper
• your printer, here I used an inkjet to print the photos with a sepia tone to match the tan in the tile.  You can use a laser jet if you like to do b&w’s.

To make the coaster you will have to print your photos onto tissue paper.  I can save you a lot of time and paper by telling how to do this.  I thought it would be as simple as taping my tissue paper to another sheet of regular paper and sending it through the printer.  Not so! I found that repositionable adhesive is the best way to go.

If you use Easy-Tack or any other type of spray repositionable adhesive make sure to only use a little sprits all other the page.  You do not want the adhesive to soak through the tissue paper otherwise you will never be able to separate the two pieces without tearing it.
If you use a repositionable adhesive tape, tape all four sides of the paper, down the middle up & down and side to side.  Attach the tissue paper and run through your printer. 
Once you have printed your pictures make sure you give them about 20 minutes to dry especially if you are using an ink jet.  This will give them time to set and will not smear or smug when the Mod Podge is applied.  

To attach the tissue paper photo to the tile coaster apply a nice amount of Mod Podge to the coaster.  It will appear white but will dry clear.  Lay the tissue paper photo onto the Mod Podge and carefully smooth out any wrinkles. 

Let dry for 10 minutes.

Apply 2 more coasts allowing to dry between each coat. 
Lastly, apply 2 to 3 coats of Clear Polyurethane or Clear Acyclic spray from Krylon making sure to wait about 10 minutes between coats.  This will seal and help make the coasters water resistant.

Oh, I also attached cork to the back to protect any furniture that the coasters might be laying on.
Coasters would make great office gift for your co-workers, neighbors, family and friends!  Enjoy!