Map Coasters

Recently I have jumped on the bandwagon known as Pinterest. I don't think I've reached the point of it sucking my life away, but it is fun to use to get inspiration. Last week I was looking for an idea for my husband for our first anniversary and kept coming up short. I kept having to remind myself that just because I think something is cute and fun to make, it doesn't mean that my husband will enjoy it. Because, you know, he's a guy. A Scrabble tile mosaic of our love is not going to have the same impact. :) Especially since my hubby doesn't really like Scrabble. He's a math person.  But he does love maps, and has been talking for awhile about how we need coasters...ah ha!

Romantic and practical!

So I decided to come up with my own thing inspired by many different Pinterest users, and customized for my own needs. For this reason (and because my FB friends told me to), I am posting a "how-to" for this project.

SKILL LEVEL: Easy

TIME: About an hour, but because of cold weather, I waited several hours to do each coat of sealant. In warmer weather it would be much faster.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

-Tile with two flat sides. I used stone tile from Lowes. DO NOT get the glazed kind.

Make sure there are no major flaws in the tile. The one on top is okay, the one below is not.

-Map of special places to you and your significant other.  Local maps can be gotten for free from your Chamber of Commerce for free. Mine was just sitting in my desk from new employee orientation two years ago.

-Mod Podge and sponge brush

-X-acto knife

-1 sheet of vellum

-Sharpie/ paint pen. DO NOT use a washable marker!

-Acrylic waterproofing sealer. I got mine from Hobby Lobby in the decoupage section.

-Velcro or felt dots.

Flowery tablecloth optional.

Step One: Figure out what places are significant to you. I decided on where we met (church), where we got engaged (a local park), where we got married (his parents' house), and where our first house is being built (which was really fun because it is just a blank spot on the map right now).

Place the tile on the map and cut around it with an x-acto knife.  Try to get as close as you can to the edges, but you will have a chance to really clean it up after you start the gluing/sealing process.

The places don't have to be centered, I tried to include water features, major roads, city names, etc.

Mark the place with a Sharpie or paint pen and let dry.

Step Two: Using Mod Podge or spray adhesive, glue the picture to the tiles. You will need to squeeze out bubbles as they form.  Once the glue starts drying, the map will get bubbly no matter what you do. Don't stress, just keep pushing on the bubbles, getting it as flat as you can. As you add the layers of sealant, the bumps will flatten on their own.

Step Three: Print labels on the vellum using your computer. I suppose you can hand write it, or you can print it on colored paper, but I liked the vellum look. Also, use a cool font- NOT Comic Sans! 
DISCLAIMER: I used a laser printer, I'm not sure what an inkjet will do when it comes to ink bleed.

Mod Podge these labels to your tile. Again, watch for bubbles and wrinkling.  Let dry.


Step Four: Seal the mess out of it.  Using the spray sealer, spray the tiles and let the first coat dry.  Do not get too close on this first coat because the Sharpie will start to bleed. If that happens, don't freak out, just quickly and gently wipe up the bleeding part with a q-tip. After the first coat sets, this won't be an issue.  I did three coats of sealer over 2 days. Then I went back and trimmed up the little bit of excess map and did a fourth coat.

It'll look really shiny when you are done.

Step Five: Velcro dots.  You don't want your coasters to stick together or scratch anything, so you'll need to put something on the bottom to protect it. I used the soft side of Velcro, but you can also use sticky felt dots, or cut felt squares.

Felt would probably be cheaper, but I didn't think about that until I was finished.

Wait at least 24 hours before using. 

That's it! Pretty easy, huh?  They were a huge hit, by the way. :)