June 2016

Happy Monday, friends!
I'm joining my friend Tara for Monday Made It again! This week I made coasters for my husband, dad, and father-in-law for Father's Day. I made these with my students also before school let out but I was too busy to take pictures! One of my teammates has made these in the past with students and I *loved* the idea....they turn out so cute!

I bought some 4x4 white porcelain tiles from Lowes for 16 cents a piece - this project is totally economical for making with your class! I have 22 students and it was just around $8 for my total cost...mostly because I am a craft hoarder and had most of the material on hand.

I took pictures of my students (and then later, my kids) against a solid background - for my kids I used the side of our house and I love how the brick looks in the background! I wrote "My Dad Rocks!" on a little chalkboard that my kids held in the picture. I printed the pictures 4x6 and then cut them down to 4x4. 4x4 tiles are a teeny bit bigger than 4x4 so there will be a perfect little white frame around the pictures.

Put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the tile and then place your picture on top. Wait a second before putting the top layer of Mod Podge on so the picture doesn't slide around. You will want to do 2 coats of Mod Podge on top - make sure each coat is dry before beginning the next!

After the Mod Podge layers are dry, take the coasters outside and spray paint over the tiles with clear acrylic, enamel, or polyurethane. This will prevent the pictures from getting water damaged! After the tiles have dried, you'll want to place them somewhere where the clearcoat can air out for at least a day to harden.

Once they're all dry, place sticky felt dots (like the kind you put under furniture so it doesn't scratch) on each corner of the tiles. (I forgot to take a picture!)

Perfect little gifts for any dad around!