Tile Coasters Tutorial

Here is another way you can make coasters for Christmas gifts.  This is a super simple project and makes a great gift.  I've come up with a gift box for them, too, to give the presentation a 'wow' factor.
Go to your local store that sells tiles (I got these at Lowe's.) and choose tumbled marble --- 4" square tiles.  Pick through the box and find the smoothest ones possible.
I make these gifts up in sets of 4.

Stamp images onto the tiles with Craft Ink.  I used Chocolate Chip.  The super great thing about this project is that if you make a mistake, you can wipe off the wet ink with a baby wipe and stamp it again when it dries.

The Craft Ink will not absorb into the tiles.  It will just sit on top, so they will stay wet.  We need to seal them.  Carefully lay the wet tiles onto a cookie sheet.  Place in oven and 'bake' at 300 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  My oven is a little lower in temperature settings than it should be, so I baked them for 45 minutes.

Place adhesive-backed felt pads onto the back of the tiles after baking, to protect furniture.  (I got these at Lowe's, too.)  I used 1" circles.

I wanted to make these look really nice for giving as gifts, so I designed a box for them.
Cut a 10" square of CS.  I used Cherry Cobbler.  Score at 3" and 7."  Cut slits up to first fold line on opposite sides, as shown.

Glue 2 flaps together, using Liquid Tombow and then pull up outside flap and attach it to the side.

Hold in place a few seconds, as it dries.

Glue opposite side the same way.

Make a lid for your box with a window sheet.  Cut an 8" square from a window sheet.  Score at 2" and 6."  Fold.  Cut and fold in, just as the CS pieces for the bottom of the box.  To hold it together, I just used 1 piece of tape on each side.  This will not show because it will be under the ribbon.

Attach a cute tag and you've got a great gift.  Notice that I put the window sheet on the inside of the box on the left.  To make it this way, just score at 2 1/8" and 5 7/8" instead of 2" and 6."  I think I prefer the lid on the outside, but it's nice to try it both ways.

Tip:
For stamping on the tiles, I used 3 stamp sets --- 1 for each of the 3 sets of coasters:
Delicate Doilies
Winter Post
Sweet Floral (background stamp)
Many of our stamp sets would look great for a project like this one.  Explore the catalog and see what you'd like to try on your project.
Tip:
The Simply Scored tool is perfect for this project.  I don't know how I lived without it!!!

Now you can see how easy it is to make the tile coasters --- and super fun!  Before you go out to shop for your tiles, I want you to add another item to your shopping list.  Get a few of the 1" tiles, too.  They come with a mesh backing in about 12" square sheets so if you buy just 1 sheet, you'll have quite a few tiles to use for your projects.  Just pull a square off the mesh backing when you're ready to use it in your project.
Try this for an idea:

These are recipe card holders and a magnet.  Once you start thinking about your projects, I'm sure you can come up with lots of ideas.  I stamped these and baked them with my coaster tiles. I used my hot glue gun to attach the clothespins and the magnet.  (My clothespins are about 2" long.)  My magnet was already on the metal rimmed tag, so I just used it as is.  You can glue your magnet directly to the tile.
Tip:  Be sure to attach the clothespin with the side up that will hold your recipe card.  The open end at the bottom acts as a 'stand' to stand up your cute little tile.

OK, now you can go shop for your tiles.
Have fun with this project and let me know how yours turns out.