Hi friends!
I hope you all had a great weekend! I’m so excited to share my latest project with you! This one is super cheap, easy, and doesn’t require a power tool! Yeah!
I have been wanting some coasters to replace my old ones and finished them up recently! I decided to make these super easy to recreate by giving you guys another free printable to make them… Whoop!
Here are mine all finished…
You only need a few supplies for these cuties…
4×4 tumbled marble tiles – I found mine at Lowe’s for around $4 for a box of 10… Pretty darn cheap!
You will also need some Mod Podge. I used Matte, but you can use glossy also.
You will also need a sealer for your coasters. I used another new favorite of mine…
Rust-Oleum Ultimate Polyurethane with Soft Touch
I love this stuff! It’s my new favorite finish for my furniture and crafting projects. It dries super fast, and protects all my hard work! You can check out more info on it HERE, and you can buy a small can super cheap at Lowe’s!
You will also need some artwork for your coasters. You can search and print your own on your computer, or you can also download my free coaster printables by clicking the picture below!
If you choose to do your own artwork, just print it from your computer at home and you are set to go.
First, I put two coats of Mod Podge on the BACK of my tile like this, and let it dry. You can use the front of the tile, but I found that it seemed to work better with the back.
Once my tiles were dry I added a coat of Mod Podge to my artwork.
Then, I put my tile down on my design like this. You want the side of the tile you have put Mod Podge on to lay face down on your design. The wax paper on the counter is only keeping me from making a mess on my countertop!
I used a credit card (or insurance card ;-)) to push all my air bubbles out.
Time to cook! I put mine in the oven at 170 degrees for 20 minutes.
I let my tiles after cooking. Then, I use my finger and a bit of water to rub the paper off to reveal the design.
A few tips on this part…
You are rubbing the paper off. The design has now been transferred to your layers of Mod Podge. The more you continue rubbing, the lighter your design will be. If you soak it in water rather than rubbing it off the design will come off completely. I did mine, and then I would let them dry up for a few minutes. Then I would see any other places that needed to be rubbed a bit more. Hope this makes sense. It’s kind of like distressing. You decided how worn and weathered you want it.
Once those dried I added my Rust-Oleum sealer. I used 2 coats because we use our coasters lots!
I also added some felt circles to the bottom of my tiles so I wouldn’t scratch the furniture.
Want to see them all finished???
I love the look it gives you! They almost look stamped and aged. Super cute and custom! These would make a great teacher gift, birthday gift, you name it! I made my set for under $5!
Hope you love them! These really are soooo easy to make, and they look like I got them at Anthro or somewhere. Too cute! My kind of DIY!
I would LOVE for you to PIN them like crazy below 😉 Have a great week!
~Whitney
Mine just dried up from last night and they are a crazy green color!!!! Not sure how that happened but I love it! Thanks for a DIY that actually looks like you paid good money for it!
Gorgeous, Whitney. Love how they look like the texture of the transfer cement with patterns!
LOVE these! Will this work for color designs/printed pictures as well or does the black work best? Planning on making these with our baby’s foot prints from the hospital for Father’s Day!
Has anyone tried this with photos printed out on regular copy paper?
That is the kind of paper I used. 🙂
Have you tried this method on wood? Like transferring a picture to wood like this: http://www.photobarn.co/Default.asp . My friends and I have tried several methods and none seem to work. Apart from possibly burning the house down by putting wood in the oven, we think this might work. Thanks for the “how to”. Also, if anyone has tips on image transfers to wood pass them along!
I absolutely LOVE you guys! There isn’t one thing you’ve done that I haven’t fallen in love with! I had a quick question though bc I love the greyish shade of the coasters. Did you print it out in black & white or was it a grey color you chose? I just want to make sure mine look as close to yours as possible 🙂 Thanks!!
I just made these coasters! I absolutely love them. Your instructions were super easy to follow, but instead of printing something off i decided to use scrapbook paper i had. It worked excellent!! My one tip though is to use contrasting colors such as black and white on your designs (like your picture) i tried to use pretty light colored paper and the design wouldn’t show up at all so i had to re-do six of them… I painted those six white so i wouldn’t have yo soak the whole image off from before and it showed up great, a lot brighter but less natural than the other three i didn’t have to fix (i initially used black and white designs on those). Thanks for the idea i love them!!!
Love this idea. I tried it today..the only trouble I had is that the ink would run every time I put the mod podge on my design. I did manage to get one mod podged without too much running, but when I rubbed of the paper, my design was still pretty blurred due to ink running. What settings did you use on your printer (I used every day printing and normal paper setting). Did anyone else have problems with this? THANKS!!!!
Hey, I just wanted to let you ladies know I made these coasters the other day and I love the way they turned out!! Thanks so much for sharing the printable! I appreciate it:) Here is the link to my blog post about them:
http://karismaheartsavannah.blogspot.com/2012/03/shabby-diy-coasters-and-star-redo.html
I tried your transfer technique last Friday after falling in love with your project. The instructions were easy to follow and illustrated perfectly. I loved that the supplies were simple, in other words all the supplies were items I had “in stock” in my creative room! I linked to your site from my blog illustrating my twist on your project! Thank you for the inspired project…. Official Shanty fan!
http://ordinarycreative.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/photo-friday-image-transfer/
I am making these right now! They are coming out good, but I needed to give my finger a break! Can’t wait to see them 100% done!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!!
Agreed! I got tired doing mine too :-)!
Stopping by from the Weekend Wrap UP Party!!! http://queenofsavings.com
This is great! I have never used the rustoleum poly before, and I am excited to try the transfer technique. It is similar to one I do with polymer clay. Love the prints too. Do you mind if I share this at Printable Decor, with one picture and a link to you and your post?
That’s great Johnnie! Don’t mind at all 🙂
what an amazing diy love it so much, can yo please tell me what sort of paper you used to print on. Thanks
Thank you!! Just regular print paper!
I think it would if you ran the drawing through a copy machine and used the copy. Hope that makes sense!