I've been trying my hand at some tile coasters. There sure is a LOT of information on both SCS and the web regarding the "best" way to do tile coasters. Some say you must bake, some say you must seal, some say you do nothing.
Here's what I've done:
* tiles from local Home Depot & Lowe's hardware stores (I tried some that are sealed and most that are not) marble tiles. I had to go through a LOT of boxes to find the least "pitted" ones. Still wish they were all SMOOTH!
* I used Staz On ink - some tiles have chalk and some I used Sharpie colored markers
* I did NOT bake
* After drying, I sealed with an acrylic spray - 2 coats
* Instead of the felt feet - which get expensive when you are "mass producing", I ordered Self Adhesive Natural Cork made by Con-Tact Brand. I got from Amazon with free shipping for $13 and it's 18 inches x 4 feet. I figured if I cut all my cork to be 2.5 x 2.5 inch square, I can get at least 120 cork squares out of this - and love that it's self adhesive and naturally resists mold & mildew. Don't think I could get 4 felt feet x 120 coasters for $13 or less!!!
Some of the stamp sets that I used in these tiles (I'm uploading several photos at once):
Stampin Up:
Pines
Nature Silhouettes
Lovely as a Tree
City of David
Miracle of Christmas
The Angel Company:
Love & Laughter
Various snowman stamps
Wiseman stamp is clear and unknown company
Thanks for looking - please let me know what you think! The last photo I am uploading is the bottom of the coasters with the wrapper from the Cork in case you want to find on your own. I've heard that JoAnn's Fabric store carries something similar - but I have not looked.
I have immersed these in water and spilled on them (on purpose) and so far - no bleeding of the colors.
Date: Sunday, September 4, 2011 GMT Views: 1744
Favorited:10
Registered: June 23, 2009 Location: Bakersfield, California Posts: 23
Sun, Oct 23, 2011 @ 8:01 PM
Thank you so much for sharing. I too have been wondering what would be the best way as I've also seen baked, sealed, etc. I'm so glad to hear that you haven't had any problems as I am planning on using Stazon ink, but also wanted to use some of Stampin' Up!'s ink colors too. Hmmm, I wonder if I should modge podge, then seal....any thought?
Registered: June 20, 2006 Location: Colorado Posts: 2886
Mon, Oct 24, 2011 @ 12:25 PM
Regarding using Stampin Up inks... I have baked the coasters that I used it on. AND... you should only use CRAFT inks and not the Classic. I know that if you use a "shiny" or finished tile - then you MUST bake - or else the ink just stays on top "wet". But, with the unfinished tiles... I'm not certain if you have to bake - but I believe with the SU inks it is best to bake and then seal. Not sure about modge podge - I don't feel it's necessary - Acrylic Spray sealer worked great for me. I noticed with SU inks that when I bake them - the color was not as vibrant afterwards - but when I sprayed with the sealer - the color brightened up and stayed that way. Hope this helps. Thanks for your comment.
------------------------------ Karen in Colorado Springs; wife to a wonderful man and mother of 2 sweet young boys My SCS Gallery My Blog