DIY Coasters & Magnets

I have decided that these handmade coasters and magnets are my most favorite project to date!  They would make great teachers' gifts or hostess gifts and they are definitely going to be a part of the gift I'm putting together for my mom for Mother's Day!  I was inspired by Creekside Creations' beautiful monogramed tiles and thought I'd try my hand at some.

I purchased a sheet of backsplash tile at Home Depot for about $12.  I chose the sheet with the different sized tiles:

From this one sheet I was able to make:

• one set of 4 square 4" coasters
• two sets of 4 square 2" magnets
• two sets of 3 rectangular 2" x 4" magnets

If you break down the cost by set, that is roughly $2.40/set (give or take) which is pretty awesome! I stamped them with ordinary black stamping ink using basic rubber stamps.

This is what the sheet looked like after the stamping:

















My sister Heather loved it whole like this and wants me to make her one to sit in the middle of her Shaker style table as a hot mat.  So, yet another idea for just $12!

After the stamped tiles were dry I applied two coats of Mod Podge (in Satin finish) to seal them.  When the Mod Podge was dry, I peeled off the cardboard AND the webbing underneath each tile.

These are the coasters:

















And these are the magnet sets:

















(PS I still have to pick up the super strong magnets from Lee Valley before the tile magnets are finished - these little guys are heavy and need the right strength magnets to do the job well).






















For the coasters I applied cork protectors that I picked up at the local hardware store for less than $2.  You could also use felt or felt pads.  I used the cork because I liked the look of it better, not than anyone else would EVER look under there but I have some idiosyncrasies that need to be indulged sometimes :o)

















I tied the coasters together using white Rafia String to keep the wrapping simple.

















In very little time, for very little effort these coasters and magnets are BY FAR the best project I have done in a while (I think I said that already didn't I?!?)  Anyways I'm off to make more (and more) only I might run out of people before I run out of energy on this project ... anyone else for some?

I 

stamping tile!

Along the way I learned a few things that I thought I'd pass along:

1) Know your stamps.  As you can see below my dragonfly stamp has two weak spots in the wings - pushing down harder doesn't make it better so if you don't like the way it stamps on paper, you won't like the way it stamps on the tile.















2) Match your stamp to the tile.  In the heart stamped tile below I really should have chosen a smaller stamp - one that would not have called such attention to the big chunk missing from the tile - or at least tried to position the heart stamp differently.















Oh, and remember you only get ONE shot with your stamp on the tile.  Don't bother trying to re-stamp because your eyes will go all screwy trying to decipher the blurry image you've just created (I know, I did it).

Happy stamping!

- Kristin -

Linking to some of these awesome parties this week:
madincraft.blogspot.com, simpsonizedcrafteandthensome.blogspot.com, craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com, thegirlcreative.blogspot.com, thecreativeichboutique.blogspot.com, sumosweetstuff.blogspot.com, craftomaniac.blogspot.com, skiptomylou.org, momsbyheart.net, creatingawesomefreethings.blogspot.com, betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com, cottageinstincts.blogspot.com, craftedition.blogspot.com, todayscreativeblog.net, imtopsyturvy.com, sillylittlesparrow.com, my uncommonsliceofsuburbia.com, athomewithk.blogspot.com, itsoverycheri.com, creatingahouse of grace.blogspot.com, bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com, bluecricketdesign.net, somedaycrafts.blogspot.com, somewhatsimple.blogspot.com, firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com, funtocraft.blogspot.com, justagirl.blogspot.com, dittledattle.blogspot.com, diyhshp.blogspot.com and funkyjunkinteriors!