This weekend a project struck me like a lightning bolt and I dashed off to the hardware store. After staring down at our broken coasters I had a mission:

Decoupage coasters! So easy...

Materials used:

Ceramic tiles (only 16 cents each, oh my!)
Printer paper
White glue
Acrylic sealer
Cork shelf paper

Tools used:

Paper cutter
Printer
Ruler
Scissors
Glue gun
Sponge brush

I printed my photos straight onto printer paper, thinking it would react and bond more easily than glossy photo paper. I then trimmed the images with my paper-cutter and prepared my decoupage glue. You can buy pre-made mixtures, like Modge Podge, but I used what I had on-hand and simply mixed warm water with white glue at a 1:3 ratio.

Next I used a sponge brush to lightly mount, then coat each image onto the tile. I did 2 coats total. This is what they looked like while they were drying:

After the glue dried I sealed and glossed them up with a water-based polycrylic. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I used printer paper or the wrong kind of sealer (future experiments with materials will tell), but the images started to crackle. The good thing is that I actually liked the end product:

After everything was nice and dry, I sliced and diced some cork shelving paper and glued it to the bottom of each tile. I didn't even know that cork board shelving paper existed until I approached the craftiest looking employee in Home Depot and she showed me just the thing I needed. I'm sensing this epiphany will lead to many more projects.

I L.O.V.E. this project and can't wait to make more. I'm crazy about the personal touch that has been added to my coffee table and I think future sets will make amazing gifts.

xo Becky

UPDATE: Since writing this post I've made many more sets of coasters. I've had the best results using Mod Podge decoupage glue, followed by a final gloss seal. All the photos I've used have been on printer paper, but I'd love to hear your results from using photo prints!