DIY Comic Coasters

I was at the Habitat of Humanity Restore the other day, and found some great tiles for only .10 cents each. They also had light switch covers for .10 cents each as well, and I have a project in mind for those, but that's for a different day. I got two white tiles, and two ocean blue tiles. Let me tell you just a little bit about myself, I am one of those people that do not commit to something unless I'm absolutely sure of it. I do the whole pros and cons list (in my head or written down depending on the scenario) and ask people their opinions. Lets just say I am not a huge risk taker. Anyway, I have not decided what to do with the ocean blue tiles yet, but I knew with the white tiles I wanted to do a Sunday comics theme. I found this comic online, and because my entire family growing up loved Opus, I just knew this one was perfect.

The tiles I have are 4.25 x 4.25 and as you can tell this comic is not a perfect square, so I printed it out at a 3.5 x 4.25. 

After gaging the size of the comic vs. the size of the tile, I determined how closely to cut the border. Once I cut it to the exact size I wanted it I used my Homemade Mod Podge. I painted it onto the surface of the clean tile, and then stuck the comic onto the area I wanted it. Make sure to smooth out any air bubbles and creases at this time. I let it dry, while smoothly out some bubbles that appeared while drying. 

Now that the tile was dry, I painted the Mod Podge on the tile again. Make sure to paint it all in the direction, so that there are no zig zags, or jagged strokes on the tile. I let it dry and did another coat of Mod Podge. 

After letting the second coat dry, I went outside and sprayed a clear coat of spray paint on it, for an added shine, and to protect the comic a little bit more. Here's the finished product, and I will be sure to share my other tiles once I have decided what to decoupage on them!

Old Album Cover Repurposed.

I found an old album at a thrift store for .50 cents, since I use albums for multiple projects, and I liked the album cover it was a pretty good score! I will post the photos below, after explaining what I did. I cut out the part of the album cover I liked, using scissors for the big cuts and an X-acto knife for the smaller cuts. I then took the back side of the album cover and painted it with acrylic paint. Then I used my Homemade Mod Podge, painted it on the back album cover, laid the cut out down and used the Homemade Mod Podge on top of the cut out. I know it still needs something else, and I have a few ideas, but until I'm certain as to what will make it a "finished product" I'm just going to keep it like this. I think it turned out rather well, and I already have an empty easel to display it on.

Homemade Mod Podge!

I have been wanting  to make Homemade Mod Podge, for a while now, and I finally did! It is so simple, no mess and works great. I made 8 oz for my first trial run. That would normally be $5-$8 in the store, but I only paid $2.

Here's how you do it:

Homemade Mod Podge 

Fill jar half way up with white glue (I used a 4oz bottle of Elmers)

Then fill the jar with the same amount of water as you did the glue.

Shake Well.

This is a 50/50 mixture of glue andwater.

If you would like a Glossy finish, add 1 Tablespoon of clear varnish.

I tried it out today, not for any particular project and it works great. I truly recommend making this at home and saving money by doing so!