Coasters Tutorial- Simple but Sophisticated for only $1.65!

The other day I was thinking that I wanted new monogrammed coasters and then it occured to me that tiles are pretty much coasters and here is what I ended up with.

I am so pleased with how they turned out and it was so simple and cheap to make. My husband even thought they were store bought. Here's a close up.

Now, on to the tutorial. First thing you need is tiles. I got mine from Lowe's and they were only 34 cents each. Next, go into your favorite word editing program and use your initial and figure out which font you like and what size to make it. My font size was 200. Once I figured out the right size I printed it on old scrapbooking paper and cut out the letter using an exacto knife on top of an old picture frame.

Here is my stencil all cut out and ready to go.

For my paint I used some acrylic I had laying around the house.

Then, hold down your stencil and use a paintbrush to paint in the letters. Make it kind of thin so it won't run under the edges of your stencil. You can always do a second coat if you need to. If you get any little imperfections just use a wet q-tip to fix it.  If you accidentally mess up your stenciling you can wash if off in the sink and then dry your tile and start over, not that I am speaking from experience or anything :)

Once your stenciled letter is all dry paint over the top of the whole tile with a clear satin varnish to help protect the paint job. And, if you're feeling extra industrious you can add some little pieces of felt to the back of the tile if you are planning to set it on a surface prone to scratching.

Here are my finished coasters. I am so pleased with how they turned out. There's nothing like a thrifty project that turns out great to make a girl feel good :)