Another Mother's Day Craft: Coaster Art Work

**Again, if you are my mother, please stop reading this one now!**

So, I wanted to do one more craft for Mother's Day.  Preferably an easy one.  I thought about doing pictures as coasters, but since I had already done the flower pots, I was trying to think of something different.  Then I thought I should do something with their artwork.  Both the kids are really into coloring right now.  So how about artwork coasters???  Once I got it figured out, they were super easy and really cheap!

Before you start this project, please learn from my mistakes.  Mod Podge will make the following writing utensils run when going over top of it:

Try 1:  Washable Markers
Try 2:  Permanent Markers
Try 3:  Crayons

What finally did work was scanning their art into the computer, printing it out, and leaving it to sit for 24 hours before getting out the Mod Podge. 

The second problem I ran into was that regular old printer paper wrinkled when Mod Podged onto the tile.  Ugh.  The fix for this was to print out the art onto card stock.

As I almost chucked this project in the trash, I suggest you just start with those suggestions, your life will be simpler, I promise.

So, gather all your stuff -- for this, you really don't need a lot.  For phase one, you need the following:

Tiles can be bought at Lowe's or The Home Depot.  I got mine at Lowe's for $0.16 a piece.  I just bought the 4 X 4 white bathroom tiles.  They have a glossy finish, but this did not present any problems.  You will also need Mod Podge, a foam brush, an acrylic spray sealant (can be found at Michaels.  My can was $7.99, but I used the 40% off coupon), and your child artwork.

Phase two requires just a couple more things ... Felt and E-6000 glue.

Step 1:  Mod Podge the artwork to the tile.  Use the foam brush and brush on a thin layer of Mod Podge on the tile.  Carefully place the artwork on top of the tile.  Smooth with your fingers from center to edges.  This will get any air bubbles that may be trapped out.

Leave the tiles to sit for about an hour.

Step 2:  Come back and Mod Podge over the artwork.  Use your foam brush and apply a thin layer.  Allow to dry for aprox. 30 minutes.

Step 3:  Repeat step 2.  I applied 4 coats total.  Letting tiles dry for 30 minutes in between each coat.

Step 4:  Apply acrylic sealer.  I recommend doing this in the garage.  Spray nice and evenly over the tiles.  Allow 1 hour to dry.  I applied 3 coats.

Step 5:  Add felt feet to your coasters.  I cut out "circles" from felt sheets and used the E-6000 glue to stick them on.  You can cover the entire back if you like, but I went with this way because, quite frankly, it seemed easier and I was ready to be done!

Allow to dry for a few hours.  And then you are left with your finished project ...

Hallie