Hi everyone!
Do you need a set of coasters at home but can’t find ones you like? Or want to make a special homemade gift for a friend? Well, today let’s learn how to make your own tile coasters! These are easy and super fun to make!
Supplies:
- 4 Single Wall Tiles (You can use square or hexagon or whatever shape you want!) – Mine are bought from Home Depot, and are the Enigma Mosaic 4″ White Hexagon Matte Tiles
- Blowdryer
- Alcohol Inks
- Isopropyl alcohol 99%
- Painters Tape
- Cork (I bought a sheet from Home Depot)
- Glue (I am using Gorilla Glue)
- Sealer (I recommend using two sealers: an acrylic/painting sealer and then Duplicolor Engine Enamel for a waterproof and heat resistant top)
If you’re unsure of how to use alcohol inks, read up on my previous post! Otherwise, let’s move onto painting on the tiles (which is the funnest part!)
Step 1: Paint your tile!
This is the best part. Use your imagination and pick whatever colors you want! I actually taped off half of my tile to add some white space to the finished product. Below is a process video of how I made mine. (Tip: Use a q-tip with some isopropyl alcohol to clean up your lines!)
NOTE: this exercise can definitely be done with acrylic paints. I am just using alcohol ink as an example.
Step 2: Spray your tiles!
Now that you’ve painted the tiles the way you want, you’ll want to protect all your hard work! I like to use two different sealers. One to protect my alcohol ink, and another to add some heat resistance and water resistance! I found that DupliColor’s Engine Enamel works really well. It is heat resistance up to 500F (not that anyone should be placing 500F coffee mugs on these…)
Step 3: Add your cork backing!
Some people like to use felt, but I like to use cork. I bought a big sheet of cork from Home Depot and then traced and cut out my hexagon tiles. I ended up using Gorilla Glue to stick the backing on the tiles because I wanted to make sure they were on good.
TIP: Don’t overapply the gorilla glue! Or else you will get lots of glue coming out of the edges. The glue expands over the next 3-4 hours so a little goes a long way!
Then I stack all my tiles on top of each other with some extra ones on top for good measure.
Wait a few hours – overnight for the glue to dry…
And that’s it! Now you have your own beautiful DIY coasters!
Below are some of the different ones I made:
Hope you enjoyed and had fun!
❤ Agnes
Paintings by Agnes 
Hi, these are gorgeous! Could you tell me the color combinations you used in both the video and the main photos? Thanks so much!
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Thanks Tracy!
Of course, in the video I used Tim Holtz Ranger Inks in Eggplant, Pool and Pink Sherbet. The main photo (grey and pink) is done with Slate and Salmon. Hope that helps!
P.S. If you want to see some swatches of these colors, they are available here: http://paintingsbyagnes.com/2018/04/07/ranger-ink-swatches/
Have fun!
Agnes
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Sorry, I forgot to mention, I also used some Cool Peri in the grey and pink ones 🙂
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Hi! I just came across these and think they are gorgeous! I think this post was make awhile ago because I went to Home Depot and Lowe’s in search of hexagon tiles and neither place had them:( so do you know where else I could get the tiles? I’m super excited to try this!
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Thanks Emily! Are you in Canada? I just checked the home depot website and they still have these tiles in stock (https://www.homedepot.ca/product/enigma-4-inch-metro-white-matte-hexagon-porcelain-mosaics/1001072124) Perhaps they are only available in certain stores but I also found similar tiles on Wayfair or Rona. If not, you can also try checking your local tile or hardware stores, hope that helps!
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That’s a great help, thanks so much!
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These are lovely and they actually run out and get supplies to try it. But I think the green painters tape is a problem it keeps lifting on me and making a mess 🙁
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Oh no! Maybe try a stronger tape.. I have heard great things about frog tape painters tape. Or you can try taping multiple layers to catch all the paint drips. Sometimes if the tape is older too it will not hold as well.. so make sure you have a sticky one! Good luck!
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Oh my goodness! I am so stupid. I was searching for hexagonal individual tiles sold separately lol Thank you so much for that information! I’m so excited to make these!
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You should sell these on Etsy!! They’re beautiful!
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Thank you so much! I had been selling these on Etsy throughout this past year but am taking a short break now due to recently becoming a mommy ☺️. Hope to come back soon and start making more art!
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this is amazing!!!! I’m planning to make coasters as my wedding favours and these are fantastic! will try soon and hopefully they won’t be a mess hahaha
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Thank you so much! Congratulations on your wedding! Best of luck and hope they turn out amazing!
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Hello,
I have noticed a lot alcohol ink tiles have resin covering in it. Is it necessary, can I just spray varnish and uv spray or no varnish just uv spray?
Thank you
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Hi! You can definitely just use a spray to seal the tiles. Although it doesn’t give as strong of a seal as resin, it will still work. I think it would depend on what you are using the tiles for. If using as coasters I would recommend resin as it gives a much stronger scratch proof seal. But if you’re using the tiles more as an art piece or decor the a spray definitely works too! There are sprays that include both varnish and uv protection, those would be the best. The varnish helps protect your work and the UV will help prevent fading. Good luck!
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I love your work!
For your sealants, is the acrylic spray necessary before the enamel spray? I want to try the enamel on larger tiles for trivets.
Thanks
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Thank you so much! The acrylic spray is not necessary, just another layer of protection. Plus sometimes certain inks will react with the various sprays but most of the time you should be okay to just go ahead with one final coat! Test it out on a smaller tile before spraying on your large tile just to be safe!
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Hi, This may be a dumb question… but can you tell me what you’re putting down first before the colored alcohol ink? It looks like something white? I’ve never done this before but would like to make some as Christmas gifts.
Thank you so much.
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Hi there! No dumb question! I put down some isopropyl alcohol first before adding my alcohol inks because I find that it helps move and spread out the colors better so that the whole surface gets covered. Good luck and I’m sure your friends and family will love your handmade gifts!
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Hi! I’ve seen other posts about alcohol inks on coasters using fire to set the ink in I guess. Have you done that? I love the yours process here for only doing half of the coaster, but I’m not sure how the fire method would work with tape on them.
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Thank you! It is definitely a very interesting technique. I have not tried it myself and agree, I’m not sure the tape would stand up to the heat! But I wonder if you would be able to just paint and use heat on the whole coaster and then just wipe off half afterwards to create a similar effect?
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[…] for a fun project to add a little pizaz to your home? We found a great tutorial over at Paintings By Agnes. There she shows you how to use alcohol ink to make beautiful tile coasters. Alcohol […]
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Absolutely beautiful coasters! I was so excited to make these as a gift for a friend, I bought all the supplies at Michaels, headed to Home Depot for the enamel and tiles and now I’m stuck. I’m in the U.S. and NO ONE has any 4 inch hexagon tiles in store, my husband found one place online and we ordered them weeks ago (and it’s a pay upon delivery which is strange) but they haven’t emailed us back or sent our order. The only place I see with them are two stores in Canada that won’t ship to the U.S. 😦 Do you know of anywhere I can find them?
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Hi there! Unfortunately I am in Canada so am not entirely sure which stores would have them in stock in the states. I tried looking online and may have found some on flooranddecor, home Depot in the states has a brand called abolos that has some 4″ matte hex tiles – I think I also saw some ivy hill tiles that were slightly bigger 6″. Unfortunately I have not used any of these brands so am not sure if they are the same but maybe try searching up some local tile or home reno stores and see if they might have some? Good luck!
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