CrAfTiNg for ChRiStMaS!!!

Here is it...just a few days before Christmas. And I have finally completed a Christmas craft project!!! It's just been one of those years when time has gotten away from me. But, I saw this great gift idea on a couple of different blogs and just had to give it a try.

First off, I couldn't find any tiles here in our little town, so I asked Eddie to pick some up at Lowe's when he went over to Amarillo. I specifically asked for 'matte finish' tiles and these were the only ones he could find that he considered 'matte finish'. Uh, they weren't smooth...more like tumbled stone, kinda uneven...and I wasn't sure how they would work.



But, I forged on. A trip to Dollar General yielded some pretty tissue paper. The instructions I had seen called for cocktail napkins with a design that would fit on the tiles, so I was 'making do' again when I went with the tissue paper. But, at this point, I was beginning to get a vision in my head of how my project might turn out, even though it would be somewhat different from what I originally planned.



Next, I got some little felt pads in the hardward department of WalMart and a fresh bottle of ModPodge and spray polyurethane. The original directions called for cork to cover the bottom of the tiles, but, alas, I couldn't find any cork in this town either!



After covering the work surface of my dining room table (my most favorite crafting surface), I was ready to get busy!



I just cut squares of tissue paper and used the ModPodge to cover the tiles, top and sides. Once that was dry, I gave it two more coats of ModPodge, brushing the surface in one direction on the first coat, and across the other way on the second coat. See how it gives the finish the look of canvas??



After these dried overnight, I took them out to the garage for a couple of thin coats of spray polyurethane. After letting that dry overnight, I used hot glue to set the little felt pads on the corners of coaster bottoms. There's no way those little suckers are coming off!



Finally, on the third day, I put sets of four coasters together and tied them with pretty wired ribbon. I even used those little dollar store bells on some of the bows.



Voila! A perfect little gift for someone special at Christmas-time.



I was pleased with how these turned out. They aren't quite like the ones I had seen online, but I still like them. Just goes to show ya that you can use what you have (or what you can find) to modify a craft project and make it your very own!

Wishing you and yours a season filled with love and wonderful new memories!!

Jane