a new turquoise and red project for my birthday

Happy birthday to me today!

When were were first signing up for BBA Challenges in October, I quickly picked March and chose the turquoise/red theme.  I'm sure that most of you know how much I like this color combination, and I was curious to see what others would do with it.  I originally intended to make some turquoise/red birthday cards in honor of my own birthday for my entry but got interested in some other ideas instead.  When I picked up my canvases and other new supplies a few weeks ago, I got some tiles to make coasters and on a whim, settled on this as my turquoise/red project.

My Own Two Cents on Tile Coasters

There are a number of tile coaster tutorials floating around online.  If you spend any time on Pinterest, you've probably seen at least one or two.  I did not invent this idea.  However, I did a couple unique things for my set so I'll provide a brief step by step here, sans photos.

Supply List

• Four 4x4 ceramic tiles (available at hardware stores)
• Patterns and/or plain card stock and scrapbook papers of your choosing
• Paper cutter for cutting the initial card stock backing and other paper details
• Scrapbook glue (I use a 3M kind that I get at Michael's)
• Any paper punches, embellishments, etc. that you'd like to use.
• All purpose matte or glossy Mod Podge (I used matte)
• Matte or glossy spray acrylic (I used Krylon brand with a matte finish)
• Cork or felt feet (16 total...I used cupboard protectors, but there a number of options for this)
• Tacky glue for attaching the feet
• One small foam brush

Steps

1. Wipe down your tiles with a wet cloth to remove any dust.  Let them dry.
2. Cut the card stock backings for your coasters.  I chose to cut them just under 4"x4" so there would be a little room on each side.  This is entirely up to you.
3. Cut, assemble, and glue the words, shapes, embellishments, etc. for your coasters.  Complete all of this gluing with scrapbook glue, NOT Mod Podge, to reduce warping.  I also glue in layers to reduce warping.  For example, I glued the dots and stamped leaves on the edges of the words after the words layer had dried.  Let the paper dry before proceeding.  The 3M scrapbook glue dries within 10 minutes.
4. With your foam brush, apply an even, thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of each piece of card stock.  Press each one firmly and evenly on the ceramic tiles.  Work out air bubbles and touch up with more glue as needed.  Let dry.
5. The trick I learned for my particular process was to apply a layer of spray acrylic before applying Mod Podge on the top to prevent the words from smearing.  If you use any kind of laser/ink jet printed text or photos, I highly recommend doing this.  Follow the instructions on the spray acrylic and apply this layer.  Let dry.
6. With your foam brush, apply an even layer of Mod Podge over the entire top of each coaster.  It's up to you how thick you want to apply the glue.  I applied two layers.  If you choose to use multiple layers, allow the glue to dry between each one and afterward.
7. When the glue has dried, apply at least one coat of spray acrylic.  I applied two layers.  Again, allow for drying time in between layers and afterward.
8. Use the tacky glue to apply your cork or felt feet to each coaster.  Let dry.

My Finished Coasters

I chose to use a different design and quote for each coaster.  I know that I'll get questions about the quotes so I'm providing a little explanation for each one.
"I know that there is nothing perfect..." is from an Everclear song called Learning How to Smile that Jake and I decided was our song sometime back in 2002 or 2003.  It's about staying together and learning how to make things work through the good times and the bad times.
"It wasn't boring..." is from the movie High Fidelity, when Rob is talking about his relationship with Laura.  I think that this quote is an amazing description of a great relationship.  High Fidelity is also one of my favorite movies.

"If we make it through this..." is from another Everclear song with a similar message to Learning How to Smile.  It's from an album that our best man got autographed for us and gave to us for our wedding.

"Plant palm trees..." is on a total different topic but is still one of my favorite lines.  This quote is from a Fall Out Boy song that was released when we were still living in Iowa.  One of the things that I missed in Iowa was living near Lake Michigan.

I'm sure it's not a surprise that this design is very "me" and that I loved playing around with the different designs for each coaster.  The consistent color scheme still tied everything together nicely.

If you're looking for a relatively simple, inexpensive gift idea, these are a great option.  There are a lot of materials required, but I know that many of you who craft regularly have a lot of these materials on hand.  The more expensive materials on the list such as the spray acrylic will last for many many projects.

Check out the other turquoise/red BBA challenge creations right here.

Do you enjoy this color combination?  If so, have you created anything with it recently?

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I included this post in Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday - 3/30/2012 and Erika's It's a Wrap Link Party - 4/2/2012.