Do It Yourself Photo Coasters

I grew up loving to make my own presents for friends and family. Some years it ends up being a little too difficult to come up with a great idea, but this year I stumbled across a boatload of do it yourself inspiration. After making myself a photo tile, I decided my family members would love photo coasters. My grandmother lives in a gorgeous apartment, but doesn't have much space for "stuff." Instead of making a tile to display, I thought she would enjoy coasters a little more. I kind of made up my own steps for this, and again was surprised by how easy it was!

First up was a trip to Lowes. I found 4x4 tiles in the bathroom section and bought 24 of them. They were only 19 cents a piece! Next I decided to buy cabinet door stoppers to use on the bottom of my coasters. These were a little more expensive than I figured because you need 4 per tile. They were about $2.50 for 12. I think they were a good choice because they stick very well to the tiles and don't slide on a table like felt or cork.

So here are the super easy steps. You can get all you need from Lowes and Walmart - 4x4 bathroom tiles, cabinet stoppers, Mod Podge, a foam brush, and pictures. After buying your supplies, use a wet towel to wipe down the front and back of your tiles. This is to get all of the dust and grit off of them. Next, attach the cabinet stoppers to the back of all of your tiles (they stick right on and seem to stay very well without having to use glue). Cut your pictures down to size. I like a little bit of the tile to show, so I cut my pictures to about 3.5 x 3.5. Using a foam brush, brush on some mod podge to the tiles. Center your pictures and smooth out any bubbles. Let it dry for about 15 to 20 minutes. (Letting it dry is an important step. I'm not usually a very patient person, but it really does need to dry fully in between coats to prevent bubbling of the picture and the Mod Podge.) After it's dry, add a layer of Mod Podge on top of the pictures. I used a paper towel to wipe some of them down before just to make sure there wasn't any dog hair or fuzz on then.

Make sure to let it dry completely. Add another coat of Mod Podge. I went with two thick coats because it seemed like enough to seal it. From what I've read, you should probably let the coasters dry for a few weeks before putting any condensation on top. I think it takes the Mod Podge a little while to completely seal and become waterproof. I also learned to wait a few days to stack them on top of each other - you can stack them using tissue in between, but if you don't the coasters stick together a bit.

They came out even better than I thought they would, and everyone I gave them to absolutely loved them! (Clearly I had to make myself some because I was jealous I wanted to test them out to make sure they didn't have any issues)

Next up in the do it yourself series - homemade hot chocolate and gingerbread man crayons!