Christmas is around the corner, and I made these vintage looking ceramic bird coasters for some lovely homemade gifts…

The skinny:

This vintage bird coaster tutorial is actually really easy to make and the coasters came out beautifully.  The hardest part was lining up the paper with the tiles and keeping them dust free while allowing the decoupage and acrylic sealer to dry.  I plan on making many more of these for gifts and for personal use!

* 12/2/14 update – This works better with paper covering the entire tile .  So we don’t want smaller sized designs leaving parts of the tile surface clear.  I had issues with the mod podge crackling over the bare tile.  If the entire tile is covered in paper, it works beautifully.

Materials:

• Laser jet paper printouts  (I got my images from the Graphics Fairy who has so many good images to choose from!)
• Ceramic tiles (I used 4¼” x 4¼”)
• Cork Roll
• Decoupage Glue
• Clear Acrylic Sealer with Gloss Luster
• Heavy Duty Glue (not pictured)

Now onto my Vintage Bird Coaster Tutorial

Instructions:

1.  The first step for our vintage bird coaster tutorial is to cut out your laser jet paper printouts to the same dimensions as your ceramic tiles.

2.  Spray the front side of the laser jet paper printouts with the clear acrylic sealer.  Laser jet printouts shouldn’t bleed, but I do this just in case.  If you plan on using images printed on an inkjet printer, you should do this several times and then also apply several coats of decoupage and let this dry before adhering to the tiles.  For ease, I recommend using laser jet printouts.

3.  Wipe down the tops of the tiles to remove any dirt or oils.  You can use water or rubbing alcohol.  Wait for tiles to dry.

4.  Next we will decoupage the paper printouts onto the tiles one at a time.  As per the decoupage instructions, using a paintbrush, first dip the brush into water and then dip the brush into the decoupage and apply to the top of the tile.  Place a paper print out onto the tile.  If you are decoupaging a regular weighted piece of paper, the corners will curl, so be sure to press firmly on all four corners lining up the paper print out with the ceramic tile as best as you can.  Using a squeegee tool, remove any air bubbles or wrinkles from between the paper and the tile.

Be careful not to press too hard, or you may rip your printout, as I did.

Repeat for each tile.  Wait 20 minutes for the tiles to dry.

5.  Apply a layer of decoupage on top of the newly papered ceramic tiles.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat. (You really want this to seal in as well as you can).  Also add several layers of decoupage to all four sides of each coaster.  This will help seal the edges of the paper to the tile and help get rid of the gritty feel that the sides of the ceramic tiles have.

6. Apply two coats of an Acrylic Sealer to the tops of the coasters and let dry (overnight preferably, and in a well-ventilated space).

8.  The next step is to cut out the cork for the bottoms of the coasters.  My tiles were 4¼” x 4¼”, so I made my cork bottoms 4″x4″ to ensure that they wouldn’t peek out from the bottom.  You might need to flatten out your cork roll overnight with something heavy.

Using an L-square ruler, measure and cut out your 4″x4″ squares from the cork roll.

9.  Using heavy duty glue, adhere your cork squares to the bottom of the tile.  I spread mine evenly across with a plastic knife, sort of like buttering toast (not pictured).  Let these set for several hours, preferably with weight on them to really press them together.

And you’re done! I hope you enjoyed my Vintage Bird Coaster Tutorial.  Now show off your brand new coasters!