How to Make Tile Coasters

Here is a fun project that will make a great gift for the upcoming holiday season! Follow this easy tutorial and in one afternoon, you will have a wonderful gift for neighbors, co-workers, teachers, etc! Or pair with a bottle of liquor or 6-pack of beer for the guy in your life - they are always so hard to buy for :)

Here are my supplies, as seen in the picture: 

• Tiles - any size, any style (the ones I used are 1x1 inch, already spaced - from Home Depot $4.99, in blue & brown)

• Tile setting mat - sticky plastic to hold the tile in place

• Cork board - this should be sturdy, as it will be the base of the coaster

• Grout - any color, feel free to experiment

• Float - to spread the grout (these can be found at Home Depot)

• Sponge - to clean off groat after is has dried 

Not shown:

• Scissors 
• Table covering
• Plastic gloves 

The first step is to determine how big you want your coasters to be. I decided on 4 x 4 rows, cut that and then cut the tile placement mat and cork backing to match. 

Then, with the cork on the bottom, line up the tile sticky mat and place that on top to match, finish by securing the tiles to the top, like this: 

Because we are using the tile placement mat, there is no need to wait between setting the tile and applying grout. For this project, I used a sandstone colored grout. With your gloves on to protect your skin, use your float to start filing in the grids of your coasters. 

After finishing the top, you'll need to go back and carefully fill in the sides with grout as well. This will require some light sanding after you are done.

When I was finished with both sets of 4, it was time to let them dry and rest up!

I made the rookie mistake of leaving the grout on too long but the good news is that it will still come off. The bad news is that the scrubbing required some extra time and elbow grease. 

Here is one of each of the finished coasters.

And finally - the finished product! Replace the pink and blue ribbon that I used with a fun holiday ribbon and stick in a few small ornaments decorations or Christmas flowers instead.