Picture coasters

I decided to make coasters and after reading some how to's on Pinterest it looked like I could tackle the project. It was the perfect Christmas gift on a budget and I was lucky to have a lot of supplies on hand. I did a lot of research on Pinterest and asked my crafty friends for advice and then changed my mind from pictures to scrap paper to pictures again so of course I was doing this project the night before every gift exchange. I am SO glad my boyfriend convinced me to do pictures because it is kind of my thing and it ended up looking a lot better than the scrap paper that wrinkles some. He even helped me quite a bit which he isn't the crafty type so he must have been in the Christmas spirit!

What you will need:


 

Tiles  (Home Depot - 13 cents a piece)

Cork board (Hobby Lobby - $3.00 )

Permanent glue stick (Walmart - $2.00)

Modge Podge ( I had this but you can find it at any craft store or Walmart)

Scissors or paper cutter ( I borrowed one from a friend)

Spray Gloss - (Home Depot - $3.50)

Your favorite pictures (Walmart - 29 cents)

Ribbon ( Walmart - $1.00)

Glue gun ( Hobby Lobby - $3.00)

& glue sticks ( i had some)





First cut your all your pictures to size. I was lucky enough that my friend had a sliding paper cutter so with 4 X 6 pictures I only need to cut a little from each side.


With this one I cut some out of the middle too since I wanted pretty much the whole picture! I didn't leave a space just made sure to line it up just right and it turned out great! I did space some for a little artsy affect and they were cute too :)



Use the glue stick to cover the back of the pictures and try to center it best you can. Just smooth it out with your fingers pressing in the middle and towards the edge.





Use a foam brush or paintbrush to put modge podge on. Try to do even strokes, just once per swipe. This is kind of a bad example because as I did more I learned to put less on :) Just know it comes on white and will dry clear! Do this to all your coasters and once it dries, do it 2 or 3 more times drying in between.



This is the kind of gloss I used! I just asked the guy at Home Depot and it worked great!



Do this part outside or in the garage. My boyfriend set me up a little work station in the garage with an old door and even did the first layer for me! Put it on thin and as even as you can!




Do as many coats as you want! I ended up doing 3 or 4 on my coasters. Looking pretty already!





These ones are a different batch I made for my mom, the in laws, and my niece! For my mom I used pictures a cousin had uploaded on facebook and they were of my mom when she was toddler age and of my grandparents. My grandma had 13 kids so I'm amazed she had any pictures of last child who was born in 53.


 

Next cut your cork board into squares. I bought the roll of it so just cut them into strips and then into squares. Use your glue gun to glue the square to each corner. It dries fast and has stringies but otherwise pretty painless.




Finished product! The first batch I was able to ribbon up all pretty but I forgot to take a picture. The next two I did, I didn't want to smash them because per the can instructions they should dry for 24 hours first. So glad I made them :)