DIY Photo coaster project
Make some for yourself.
Make some for the grandparents.
These fun coasters sit on my coffee table and make me smile whenever I glance at them.
These personalized cuties,
give the average ol’ coaster a run for his money!
Make some for yourself.
Make some for the grandparents.
These fun coasters sit on my coffee table and make me smile whenever I glance at them.
These personalized cuties,
give the average ol’ coaster a run for his money!
Supplies:
4″x4″ tile coasters
white tissue paper
printer
scotch tape
scissors
Mod Podge (Matte or Gloss)
paint brush
Krylon acrylic clear coat
black felt with adhesive backing
Let’s get to work!
white tissue paper
printer
scotch tape
scissors
Mod Podge (Matte or Gloss)
paint brush
Krylon acrylic clear coat
black felt with adhesive backing
Let’s get to work!1. Print out a 4×6 photo onto white tissue paper.
To help the tissue feed thru your printer, Cut out an 8×10 piece of tissue paper and scotch tape it to a piece of 8×10 card stock.2. Cut your tissue print down to 4″x4″
3. Brush a thin coat of Mod Podge over your tile and paste your photo onto the tile. Let dry COMPLETELY!
4. Once dry, put a thin coat of Mod Podge over your photo. Let dry completely.
Repeat 2 more times, making sure each coat is dry before you do another, or else the tissue will rip.
To help the tissue feed thru your printer, Cut out an 8×10 piece of tissue paper and scotch tape it to a piece of 8×10 card stock.2. Cut your tissue print down to 4″x4″
3. Brush a thin coat of Mod Podge over your tile and paste your photo onto the tile. Let dry COMPLETELY!
4. Once dry, put a thin coat of Mod Podge over your photo. Let dry completely.Repeat 2 more times, making sure each coat is dry before you do another, or else the tissue will rip.
5. Once dry, seal with Kylon acrylic clear coat. I did 3 coats of this, making sure the previous coat is dry before you add another.
6. To complete the coaster, cut out a 4″x4″ piece of black felt. and attached it to the back.
7. Project Complete!
Wrap up 4 coasters with some ribbon or twine and you have a wonderful GIFT!
*I’ve done this project with gloss mod podge and matte mod podge.
Although completely different looks, both look fantastic.
I've stamped tile coasters before, but never thought to mod podge…these look great!! I might have to try this soon!
Thanks for sharing!
I need to remember these for mother's day! Adorable. stop by for a super cute giveaway today! thecoolkidsblog.com
This is amazing!!!! Thanks for the best idea.
I just love this idea Lindsay! So cute and creative!
Hugs friend!
Totally freaking cute!!! I hate/love it when people are more crative than me!!!!
Lindsay, what a cool idea! These are adorable!
oh wow this is a great idea~ very cute chick!
Oh they are adorable!
I want to make these right now! Have you tried to do these with color photos or just black and white?
This is really a cute idea! Love the fact that it is so easy to do, well done.
Where do I get the tile coasters at?
You can get coasters at Lowes or Home Depot or other hardware stores.
I love this idea! Where do I gt the coasters from, and how much do they usually run?
Have you ever done this with colored photos?
Thanks sooooo much for this idea. We are having a Christmas Bazaar this year and we are always looking for unique crafts to do – this may perfectly fit the bill!
I'm heading off the HD to gather the rest of my supplies for this project!! I can't wait to get started!!
Sweet! Love these. Did you use an ink jet printer or laser printer? Does it matter? If ink jet, do you have to let the print 'cure' (dry overight/24 hours)? Thanks!
I have never thought to do this… amamzing gift for grandparents (I'm going to try this for my mom for her birthday)… Thank you for sharing this project.
This looks fun.
Is there a reason you have to use tissue paper? could it by done with regular white or cream paper?
thanks
barbara jean
Thanks for the great gift idea!
Do you know where I can get the 4"x4" tile coasters?I cant find them anywhere! Thank you for posting this I love them!
you can find them at lowes or home depot in the tile section they are mosaic i bought a box of nine for about 4 bucks
Yeah, I bought a box of 24 for under $10!
What an adorable idea! Great job!
xoxo laurie
Fantastic idea! I'll have to try this out. I really like how you can see the texture of the tile through the tissue paper. Thanks for the detailed tutorial
Great idea! Thanks for showing me how!
That is such a great idea! Thank you for sharing. I saw your link at Shabby Nest & I'm now a follower!
Fun DIY, thanks for sharing.:D
***** Marie *****
allthingsmarie.com
I am linking your blog to a post I wrote about making these tile coasters. While not exactly the same I used your tutorial as a guide.
Thanks so much!
http://mcaulayfamily.blogspot.com
These are adorable. Thank you for sharing info on printing on tissue paper. Following.
LOVE it! This would make a great teacher's gift!
Yes I agree about it being a great teacher’s gift i’m thinking of making a bunch of crafts this year since I have 2 daughters that are special needs and they each have 3 teachers that work with them so this would be great to put into there end of the year bags with some other things if you have any other ideas that are simple please let me know i’m just starting out with with the crafting this year.
Thank you,
Love the use of the pictures!! Thanks for auditioning for OMTWI!!
Super cute! What a fun project and great gift idea!
Roeshel
what a great gift idea- these would be awesome for grandparents!
Love it! Putting it on my list of things to try.
You are so creative! I am bookmarking this idea. Love it!
-following you! Love your blog
Delighted Momma
Great project !!!
I'm curious to read the answer to the questions asked especially the one about the use of paper rather than tissue …
Thank you for sharing.
Can not wait to try these, thanks for posting this.
You can get 4X4 tiles at Lowes. Less than a dollar each!
I bought tiles at Habitat for Humanity Restore — 12 for $1! Lots of colors, sized and styles
I did it with regular paper and it worked great!! I was afraid my tissue paper would get stuck in the printer so i did it on reg paper. I also found my tiles at Home Depot for 16 cents each, I bought the cheapest ones I could find.
Did you buy the tiles that are kind of shiny?
Hey Everyone, the coaster tiles can be found at Home Depot or Lowes in the tile aisle. They're super cheap!
Fabulous! These will make great gifts…Thank you.
Those are beautiful! Looks like a great grandparents gift. I must make some!
Thanks for sharing!
wonderful idea and by the way I am madly in love with the pink typewriter on your home page.
Ooh, this looks so adorable and I can imagine someone would be so excited to get a homemade gift like this. I wish I had time to do it! (You should be scared of having no "me" time when you have two, because that is the reality. I have a two and three year old and my "me" time is when I go to the doctor's office or take a bath at night.)
so clever….love it
Happy Sits Day! Love this! They look so professional!
Thanks for sharing this looks so easy I think even I can do it without any emergency room visits. More important I now have a kid project for all the kiddos in my life. Happy SITS DAY!!!!
Amazing idea! Thanks for sharing, now I have a fun project for the holidays and general gift giving. I can't wait to get started!
Beautiful!
What a great personalized idea! First time on your site and I love your projects. Saw these on In the Looop and I knew I had to visit the link
Thanks for the tutorial! I've done a similar project myself and through trial and error have a couple of suggestions. I recommend spraying one layer of acrylic sealer spray onto your printed tissue paper image before modge podging. This prevents the printer ink from bleeding, which can be tricky if there is a lot of blue ink in your image. Also, the small felt self-adhesive pads you can buy to prevent furniture scratching your floor work really well on the bottom of the coasters – one on each corner.
Love these suggestions. Thanks!
These are adorable!
I just shared them on my FB page!
Hey. I have always wondered how this was done. Where do you get the tile coasters you used?
Those are awesome! Great gift idea!!
Oh my gosh! I love these! I’ve seen these around, but not using tissue paper. BRILLIANT! I have to pin these! I also am having a lnk party right now, and would love you to link these up if you want! Thanks and have a great day!
Kirsten
http://www.mushkiloves.blogspot.com
Very cute! I, like others, am wondering about tissue paper. Does it feed okay in the printer? Any tips?
If you have a tile outlet store nearby they have some really uniqu tiles cheap. 25 cents to 1:00 . Sometimes they have a free bin too. Love this idea and got me thinking of other ideas .
Love the way these look! I am wondering if you actually
use them??? And, if so, do they not get “milky” from
condensation???
Just wondering…
Ok so I have made these twice and I can’t get past the smell of the arcylic spray! It is so strong! Has anyone else noticed it!?! Is there anything else you can use it seal it instead of that? Thanks for the help!
Just an FYI…..I tried this with vellum and it does NOT work! Stick to the tissue paper!
I love these! I just made them in color (I was a little worried but couldn’t figure out black and white on my computer) and I’m pleased as punch how they turned out! I actually look like I’m a talented crafter! Thanks for sharing this!!!
Does anyone know how they hold up after being used and getting wet a few times? I am thinking about doing these for Christmas gifts and want them to last.
I was wondering where can I find the tile coasters so I can being this awesome craft!
Hi! Used your tutorial- the coasters turned out great. Blogged about it today! Thanks for sharing!
http://bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-we-did-this-weekend-diy-photo.html
Melanie
Sew Rugged @ bear rabbit bear
bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com
I am going to make some of these for Christmas gifts. Do you remove the tissue paper from the printer paper before putting it on the coaster? Also, the tiles I bought have sort of a shiny finish to them. Will those work? Or should I get the ones you have? Also, my last question is how well they hold up with moisture?
Hopefully I have helpful advice! I have read elsewhere that if you spray a printed image using your home computer image with a sealant (poly urethane, acrylic sealer, etc) and let that dry for 24 hours, you can then mod podge your print! I have not tried it yet but I have seen many responses on blogs stating it works, and I will be trying it soon!
@ Carrie
Yes, the glossy finish will work
Will Clear Glaze from Krylon work? It’s not water-proof?
I’ve done these two different ways. The first time I used the enviro-tex resin tutorial and have found that very difficult because it will harden to the surface you let it dry on. It also takes a long time to cure, and can have several imperfections.
I just tried this way with the Mod Podge and have a question. I used actual photographs, and when I would Mod Podge over the top of the photo, I was left with streak marks from the brush. I thought these would dry and disappear, but that did not happen. I used the Krylon on top, but the streaks could still be seen. Are there any suggestions to get rid of the brush streaks?
Hi Ashley,
Try using a softer brush. I didn’t come across problems with brush streaks.
I am going to work on this project today for Christmas presents!
I got the 4×4 tile for 33 cents at Lowes. I could only find the 6×6 at first but I kept looking 
I got the 6×6 ones just to put a bow on and put on a stand. I can’t wait to try this project! This is the easiest and best tutorial I have seen.
Love this idea! How did you attach the felt?
Hi Suzi! I hot glued the felt on
I just made my first set of these, and they are so cute!
I bought my tiles at Lowes for 33 cents each. I got the matted kind of tiles, and the cheapest ones I could find. I did black and white photos.
Yes the smell from the mod podge and lacquer is potent!! If there are any other options for that, I’d be interested as well.
I was super concerned about using tissue paper, but I taped the paper to card stock and it printed fine.
Just be careful when you lay down the tissue paper not to get any ripples. One of my tiles has ripples, but hopefully it won’t be too noticeable to the gift recipient!
LOVED THIS PROJECT THOUGH!
Well! I bookmarked this w-w-w-a-a-a-a-y-y-y back in February knowing I wanted to try it. I finally have! Making a set for some dear friends who are visiting from England. I can’t believe how easy and how sweet they have turned out! The printing on tissue paper was interesting, but I learned from it. Thank you SO very much for this wonderful idea!
I just did these last night and love them. I first tried with regular paper and found the paper bubbled. It’s probably why the project called for tissue paper. I then did the tissue paper, much better! I also learned not to use too many brush strokes because the ink started to smudge. I like the above comment about spraying the sealer after the first coat of modge podge before the last two coats. I will try to do that next time. These really are great gifts and so easy and inexpensive!
I just did this for my sister-in-law as a Christmas present and it came out perfect! It makes a great gift. Such a great idea!!
Are these decoration only or can they be used with out getting ruined?
They turned out awesome! Need to make some for my in-laws with the kids pics!
Thanks for sharing. Visiting from TT&J
So, I tried a sample of this project and my printer doesn’t like the tissue paper. I tried taping it down, but the tissue paper got jammed. Luckily, I got the tissue paper out. I ended up using a landscape picture w/ standard printer paper. I was pretty pleased w/ the reults. ;o)
Love these coasters-I’m your newewst follower-stop by for a visit!
There was no way I was going to attempt cutting and taping tissue paper. Am using velum. Can be found in the scrapbook section of your craft store or at office supply stores.
How do you get the picture to not bubble or get ripples? Help
Wendy, I am getting this problem too. I hope someone can help us! Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I am making these for that occasion!
Mine keep bubbling up, am I using too much mod podge? if the modpodge looks white does it dry clear?