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| decoupaged cabinet: before |
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| decoupaged cabinet: after |
I still need to glue down the edges a little but this was an easy project which took a few hours of work (a lot of it was spent cutting and measuring, which as you know I really dislike) and a couple days in total because I had to wait for the glue to dry. I used the same decoupage technique as I did for my coasters, for which I'm writing a tutorial if you would like to know how to make your own.
I used these fiberboard squares I found in my local Daiso. Perfect size: 10 cm squares and 0.6 cm thick (3.9 inch square x 0.25 inch).
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| fiberboard squares from Daiso |
Daiso is this great Japanese discount chain store where you can get nearly everything for about $1.50. They sell all kinds of useful stuff: household, kitchenware, DIY and craft supplies, food, stationery... you name it, they probably got it. They have several stores overseas, including in the US. Here're the links to Daiso Japan and addresses for Daiso stores overseas including 11 in the USA.
This is what you'll need for the project:
1. tiles or strong backing of some sort, in whatever shape you like.
2. decoupage glue like Mod Podge. I used white craft glue, diluted with water at 1:1 ratio.
3. paper to decorate your coaster: scrapbook, wrapping paper, recycled paper from newspaper, magazines, books... whatever you can get your hands on! You could also use photos or fabric - that's what I used for the cabinet.
4. Brush: foam or regular. I used a 5cm (2inch) wide brush. I know some people prefer foam brushes but I've never had problems with a regular brush.
5. Squares, circles or sheets of felt, cork, rubber or foam for the back of the coaster.
6. Other tools: paper cutter, cutting board, glue, waterproof acrylic sealant
I used paper printed with images found on the Internet, some of them came from The Graphics Fairy. If you like to craft, you probably know of Graphics Fairy. If not, you may want to check out the website, where you'll find plenty of free downloadable vintage prints, mostly with no copyright issues as they're from so long ago. Great stuff to use for your blogging, DIY, craft, scrapbooking projects.
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| paper cut to size |
I cut my paper a little bigger than the wood tile so the sides would be covered with paper as well. If I were using ceramic tiles, I'd probably leave the sides alone, I like the stone look. You can trace the shape of your tile onto the back of your paper if you want to be more exact in cutting.
I folded the paper over the side of each tile and cut off the excess paper at the corners.
Next, I brushed a layer of glue (or Mod Podge) over the wooden tile and smoothed the piece of paper over it, making sure to get any bubbles out. Once that was in place, I glued the paper down the sides. Then I painted a layer of craft glue over the paper, doing so in one direction only.
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| decoupaged square coasters |
This was how my tiles looked at that point. It had started raining and gone dark so I had to take the photo with a flash, which got a bit reflected off the wet glue.
Once the glue was dry (20-30 minutes), I added another layer, then a few more later. I usually do 4-5 layers of craft glue when I'm decoupaging. You could finish off with an acrylic sealant to make it longer lasting if you like. For alternative decorations, you could rubber stamp your tiles, ink stencil patterns onto a piece of paper or directly onto tile, cut out letters or do collage designs, like I did with the Renault in one of the coasters.
To make sure your coasters won't scratch the surface of the table, add some squares of cork, felt, foam or rubber backing to the bottom.
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| cork backing for |
An optional step is to seal the coasters with acrylic sealant to make them more long-lasting. I used a spraying kind. All done :)
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| decoupaged coasters |
[ check out my handmade stuff ]
Links to some coaster tutorials I like
Scrabble tile coasters (DIY Life)
Recycled woven magazine coasters (How About Orange)
Decoupage tips from theartfulcrafter
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by liberal sprinkles
