Custom Coasters

Sometimes, when I'm walking the aisles of a hardware store, inspiration strikes! I actually love hardware stores for that reason. With all of the metal fixings, textural floorings, pvc piping, etc, it's rare that I don't leave Lowes or Home Depot with a new project in mind.

These coasters were immediately designed (in my mind, that is), as soon as I spotted these FREE 4x4 flooring samples. I sorted through the ample grain options and landed on a white-washed tile (which I planned as the bottom of my coaster). 

FYI for DIYers: Paint stores give away their old wallpaper books. These decorative pages are great for wrapping paper, scrapbooking, book covers, cards (the list can go on)......and for custom coasters. I flipped through my book and was drawn to this image of a flower. 

CUSTOM COASTERS (cost = free)

4-4x4 flooring samples from Home Depot (possibly Lowes offers these as well)

decorative paper (wrapping paper, wall paper, kids pages of art, etc)

glue

sealant (I happened to have polyurethane, so I used that)

ONE: Place your tiles on top of your paper (making sure you have the design you want on each tile).

TWO: With a sharp razor (or you can outline the tiles and use scissors), cut around the edges of the tile, creating 4 squares, exact in size, to the tiles.

THREE: Spread some tacky glue with a foam brush on the side of the tile that you do not want seen. Mount one paper square on the tile, and press down firmly to adhere the two. Continue with the remaining squares.

FOUR: Once dried, paint two layers of sealant (or polyurethane) over each decorative tile. Allow to dry for an hour.

Given the size of your tiles, this same project can be used for trivets, as a backing to a framed photo, the base to a potted plant, plate chargers, etc.