A Project Involving No Spray Paint! Shocker!!

Today's project involved absolutely no spray paint and required zero trips to Goodwill. I know. I am shocked too. I have actually posted a little about this project before, but decided that this time I would give the step-by-steps.

I am by no means the first to discover this project and given my general lateness to all kinds of bandwagons, this has probably been seen in various forms all over the web. But I know it is new to some people, so if you've seen it, bear with me; if not, then let's jump in!

I came across this project in a DIY column in my local newspaper. I have also seen it on curbly. As I've said before, I don't always originate ideas, but I darn sure am good at copying. And if I copy and can give credit, then I will. So there. Disclaimer done.

Also? This is a photo-heavy post, but I wanted to make sure that the necessary steps were illustrated.

First, you'll want to get your materials together. In this case you'll need:

ceramic tiles (I found mine for 16 cents a piece, but if you are lucky, you'll have some left over from a previous project)
Mod Podge
cocktail napkins (These can be costly, so I try to pick mine up on clearance.)
sponge brushes
clear water based polyurethane
cork
sanding block
adhesive--like E-6000
scissors
**optional--children who run up to you every 2.7 seconds and require snacks, water, or some other urgent need.

Next, you'll separate the ply of your napkins. If you are lucky, it will come apart easily. It also helps if your eyesight is that of an 18 year old rather than that of a 41 year old.

If you are unlucky, the napkin will tear and tear and tear, causing you to pout and claim that you didn't want to use those stupid napkins anyway, so there, Stupid Napkins! Take that! You have been banished to regular ol' use and you will be thrown away. You might even get used to wipe a snotty nose.

Yes. I am tough. Don't mess with me, y'all...

Once you have separated the regular old white ply from the decorated ply you will be left with a pile (or in my case three piles. One was my daughter's scarf from her dress up box that she helpfully left right where I was working.) of plain white paper. You can throw these out. Or if you are super-frugal, carry them with you for emergency face wiping.

Cut the napkins so that they are slightly larger than your tile. This allows you to have a nice edge without having to do precise cutting.

See? It's smaller. Because I cut it.

Then spread a thin coat of Mod Podge on the tile.

Gently smooth out he napkin. There will be bubbles and small wrinkles. It's just sort of the nature of this particular beast. Don't stress about it. I think it ends up making the tiles look hand-crafted versus manufactured. Which, um, is kinda the point, right?

You will have some Mod Podge left over. This is okay too. You can throw this out. Or if you are super-frugal, you can carry it with you for emergency Mod Podging. What you've never had a Mod Podge emergency?

Now your tile looks like this and is ready to have the left-over napkin sanded off.

Hold your sanding block at an angle and gently sand the edge. This will take the napkin that is hanging over the edges off and leave a nice neat edge on the tile. I do this while the Mod Podge is still wet, but if you don't live on the edge like I do, then you can wait until the Mod Podge dries.

See? Covered tiles. Now you can go paint your nails, fix dinner, or come back and peruse my archives. (Shameless!!) What I'm saying is, give these babies a chance to dry.

If you really wanted to, you could use some of the drying time to cut your cork. It will be the backing on the tile that prevents the tiles/coasters from scratching precious surfaces--like the head of whatever person you are setting your beverage on.

I have 12 squares because I made 12 coasters. Who said I wasn't a math genius?

After the Mod Podge has dried, apply a thin coat of poly and let it dry. Then apply one more.

When it's dry, apply adhesive to the cork and place it on the back of the tile. Wipe off any excess adhesive.

You're done! To paraphrase my high school chemistry teacher, "Isn't crafting easy?" Yeah, he didn't say crafting. He said chemistry. Because it would be weird if my chemistry teacher was talking about crafting wouldn't it?

I like to wrap these up with ribbon and use them as teacher and hostess gifts. They are easy enough that a scout or brownie or church group could work on these with some adult help. (Just because I tell my kids to back off when I'm working on something doesn't mean you have to.) They would also make a great little gift for newlyweds using napkins from the wedding reception. Sometimes I write a little note on the back with Sharpie encouraging the recipient to relax and enjoy.

In fact, all this step-by-stepping has left me tuckered out. I believe I'll go grab one of my coasters and enjoy an ice cold beverage. Cheers! Salud! Slainte! To your health! And other things you say before taking a drink...! What are some other toasts anyway? I seem to have exhausted my supply. Oh well. It's more fun to make up my own anyway.

Interested in more projects you can do yourself? Head over to Kimba's and check it out.