DIY Photo Tile Coaster + Gift Tag Poem

Sorry about the lack of posts lately... Things at home in the "real world" are needing my attention these days...

DIY Photo Tile Coasters and Gift Tag Poem

These things were all over the place during the holidays. These are some I made for gifts during the holidays- and still need to mail....oops!  Like I said, other things have needed my attention...Sorry about that. The gift will come ...soon..someday...

HERE is where you can download the gift-tag-poem I wrote to go with these-if you want to make them in the future, or for Valentine's Day. Although-you may need to change a few words on the poem -to make it fit-and you have my permission to do so. ☻

OR you can get the words to the poem here. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY!  Do not publish this or claim it as your own. 

Supplies for Photo Tile Coasters:

Tiles from Home Depo or Lowes- any kind you like

Sandpaper

Modge Podge

Photos

Felt circles (like to go on the bottom of chairs)

Photos

Acrylic Paint

Clear Acrylic Sealer (found at Lowes or Home Depo)

1.If you pick tiles like I did, the porcelain black and white ones, you will need to sand the edges and paint the edges and bottom so they don't look so much like a tile.

2. When it is dry, modge podge your photo to the top. I sanded the edges of my photos to give it a distressed look.

3. When that is completely dry, and you made need to wait a few days, apply a clear acylic sealer. We used a spray and you can buy this at Home Depo. or Lowes. It seals the photo, so when you put a cup on it, the coaster will be protected.

 4. Apply the felt circles to the bottom of the coaster and you are done! Your coaster is ready for use!

As always, if you make some of these, I would love to see them. Leave a comment and I'll take a look. Happy Crafting!

Photo Matching Game {Tutorial}

This is one of those ideas that has been out there in blogland for a while. In fact, I bought the stuff to make this last year and never got around to it until this year. Such is life. ☻ I loved how this turned out, and thought it was a great way to preserve memories from the past year, and make something fun for my boys for Christmas.

I found the perfect size wood rectangles (2 1/2 inches by 31/2 inches) at Hobby Lobby. They came in packages of 4, and I used about 8 of them or so. ($8 total cost if you don't use a coupon) Michael's carries ones that are 2 inches by 3 inches.

I used acrylic paint to paint them. You don't need to paint the entire surface, since it will be covered. It is also helpful to sand the edges a bit- to prevent splinters- my edges were quite rough. Lightly sanding them solved the problem.

I just used some paper I had already. You will want to use the same paper for each one, since it is a matching game.

I printed wallet sized photos from this past year, of different memories, and of all the kids.  You need to print 2 of each photo. I think I have about 20 matches total.

Make a cute drawstring bag to store your game in.

When using modge podge, make sure to let it dry completely, so that the cards won't stick together when stacked.

AND speaking of cute matching games for kids, here is one I found at Oriental Trading. They had free shipping on any order after Thanksgiving, and this game was around $5. It has a ton of cute cookie cards, and it is very sturdy. You could make your own cookie matching game using chipboard. What child doesn't love cookies? ☻ I see many "pretend moments" at our house with this one.

The game doesn't come with a case or bag, so I just made another drawstring bag for it.

Aahhh...a few presents are ready to go under the tree. I think I only have 559 more to do....

Check out some fun projects at The Girl Creative