January Craft Project: Tile Coasters

One of my 2013 goals is to complete at least one craft project each month.  My goal is to decide on the craft by the 5th day of the month and to blog about the craft by the 4th day of the following month. 

For my January craft, I had no problem deciding on a particular craft to do.  During our house repairs, we put a new backsplash in our kitchen and had plenty of left-over 4x4 tiles.  I didn't want to let those go to waste, so I decided to make tile coasters.  Somewhere between moving back in to our house, moving out of our apartment, and unpacking... I never even bought the supplies to make coasters.  This past weekend, I decided that I needed a break from unpacking for a little craft time, so I bought the supplies and got to work.

For my coasters, I wanted a simple, stamped-pattern look and a slightly glossy finish.  I also wanted cork backing, so I bought cork squares and some glue that looked awesome.

cheese cloth, cork squares, finishing paste, acrylic block, cleak stamps, StazOn ink pad, 4x4 tiles

Step 1: I started by placing clear stamps on the acrylic block, and I applied StazOn ink to the stamps.  I used a broken tile for a tester.  Since that was the look I was seeking, I applied more ink and make 4 stamped tiles.

  

Step 2: I used cheese cloth to apply finishing paste to the top and sides of the tiles.  The paste had a slight pinkish tint that faded a little while drying for 15 minutes.



Step 3: Cork backing.  The glue I bought said to apply a THIN coat to both surfaces and clamp together for best results.  I applied what thought was a thin layer of glue and using a stack of large tiles to hold the tile and cork together, I was dissappointed that it didn't turn out like I thought.  The glue made a foam that oozed out from the sides and created a mess.  So.. plan B: I used some adhesive furniture pads we had left over from moving back in to our house.

I am really happy with the coasters, and it was a super easy way to get back in to crafting after a long, flood-induced haitus.

 I have two or three 6x6 tiles that are calling my name... I'm thinking trivets??