Shortly before Christmas I was searching for something that Blythe could make to give all the special people in her life. This girl has touched a lot of people's hearts and, likewise, we have been oh-so-wonderfully-blessed by these friends and family. I found this tutorial on how to make some really cool coasters with Sharpies, ceramic tile, and rubbing alcohol.
It was perfect because I had everything necessary to make them except a little felt for the bottom. Brent and I redid our bathroom a year or so ago, and Brent carefully removed and cleaned off a ba-gillion tiles knowing that I would one day find a use for them. And I love Sharpies. A lot. So much so that if I ever gave my students a task/project that required the use of my Sharpie stash, I made them all raise their right hands and repeat after me: I _____ hereby acknowledge that these Sharpies are not mine, nor will they ever be mine. These Sharpies belong to Mrs. I. and if she find me at my locker with one she has the right to steal all of my belongings. I will not leave the classroom with them. I will not get anywhere near the door with them making it appear I may leave the classroom with them. I will securely return the caps. I will not press too hard. I will treat them with respect. When I am done using Mrs. I's Sharpies, I will return them carefully to the designated container.
Or something like that. I seriously would go on for that long and make them repeat ludicrous things so that they go the point. I never had one stolen [I counted. I know.].
Minus the dry time, it was really pretty simple and Blythe LOVED it.
[Here is where I must say this: Blythe is ridiculously good with colors and markers and pens etc. I knew she could use Sharpies without getting them everywhere. This may not be the best craft for your 2 year old if they normally get marker on themselves :) ]
To make them all you have to do is gather up your supplies:
Rubbing alcohol
A syringe or straw
Sharpies
Ceramic tiles
Modge Podge
Paint brush/foam brush
Felt
Hot glue gun
Clean the surface of your tiles well. I made the mistake to soak them in water and I was shocked to find out that they hold water like crazy! Like…days and days of letting them dry on drying racks before they didn't leave a water mark! So I would suggest just gently cleaning the top.
Then just turn your kid loose and let them design and draw to their heart's content!
*I apologize but I just snapped all of these with my phone camera instead of taking the time to get out my big girl camera*
Once the "design" is in place, use the syringe or a straw to place drops of rubbing alcohol on the surface. It very easily "pools up" so you don't want too much. I learned that if I put the alcohol near the edge of the color it gave me more of the bleed effect I was going for.
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| you can see in this picture that some of the colors "bled" better than others |
Once the tiles are completely dry, bust out your Modge Podge. What?! You don't have Modge Podge stocked away? Okay. Go buy some, or use some kind of spray sealer. I simply brushed a layer of Modge Podge on top of each tile to seal them, assuming that some people we would give these to would actually use them to set their coffee or sweaty water glasses on.
One the Modge Podge was dry, I cut squares of felt to fit the bottom and hot glued them. Voila! Coasters!
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| Joanie, if you are reading this I obviously need to deliver yours! |
We had a lot of fun giving them to people, and Blythe would tell each special recipient, "It's for you to set your coffee on!" She was quite proud of them. We made almost 30 total!
I was a little disappointed that the results weren't as great as the ones in the tutorial. I even tried some myself and couldn't get the results. However, I think they worked perfectly as a gift from Blythe! And I have a million ba-gillion tiles left. If you didn't get a coaster, you may get one soon!
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