Lately I've had to put my dolls to the side because of other projects ,one of which I'm doing as a commission. Three years ago I moved to Oregon and it was three weeks before Christmas. We had to come up with an idea for family gifts in a hurry. Being low on money but having some time I decided to make coasters using tile. I had seen a set of four tiles selling for forty dollars in a local boutique and thought I could do the same much cheaper. I did some research online and only found expensive kits to make photo tiles.Having majored in photography and worked at an art store I remembered a transfer image process using acetone on a xerox copy and transferring it to paper so I decided to experiment with it on tile.
They were a hit and pretty much everyone who received a set called to let us know what a great gift it was. We has used images of family members from the past and present which included those still alive and those who had passed. Many were brought to tears because of the memories the coasters has elicited and because some of the photos they had never seen. We were happy that such a simple practical gift could be meaningful as well. After many, many,(many) mistakes and hours of frustration my husband and I finally perfected the technique and I'll share with you how to make the coasters.
The nice thing about this project is that the materials are relatively inexpensive but it does take a big chunk(s) of time. If you're going to make them for others (not as a gift) you'll need to charge accordingly. They take time and you WILL mess up and have to redo a few..but the results are worth it!
Here's what you'll need to begin :
* 4" Tile (uncoated). I picked mine up at Home Depot. I don't know the exact name but the package says "Botticino" by Jeffery Court Inc. There are 9 in a pack but I figure for every two that I do I should have an extra in case I drop one or it doesn't come out good.
* Inexpensive fingernail polish remover (contains acetone and works better than straight acetone which we've tried). The one I get from Safeway works great..avoid any that say 100% acetone. The ink will transfer but looks flat and lacks detail.
* a Bone folder (that thing in between the brush and polish remover). If you don't have one the back of a spoon, the blunt edge of a butter knife or anything like that works just fine.( A bone folder is great if you ever make your own cards and need to create a crease down the middle without the paper getting seriously creased especially if the paper is thick. It has many uses..worth getting..Michaels has it)
* a foam brush (get 2 or three if you're doing alot).
* colored copies from Kinkos**. I've tried ink jet prints from my computer and it doesn't work. Don't waste your time and money trying it. If you have a laser printer I don't know if it works or not. I'd make at least 3 copies of the same image as you may mess up and the last thing you'll want to do is make another trip to the print shop this time of the year! Also if your image is faint,up the contrast and saturation on the copier. Also make sure you push the reverse image button on the copier. I cannot tell you how many times I've forgotten to and people wearing shirts with words look strange when the type is backwards.
**10/2011~ Ink must be toner ink (ink jet or laser printer ink will not work)
*** Someone asked if you use regular or photo paper and all I can say is if you go to Kinkos use their color copier and use the paper they have in there. I never specify a paper but I think its their photo paper that is light like regular paper but smoother.
* a sheet of clear acetate (not pictured). You can pick one up at the print shop while you're making your copies. This is one of those items you really need and will make your project easier to do.
* Cheap latex gloves. It's a good idea to use these as acetone will get on your hands.
Now you can begin~
A. Take two or three coasters and heat them in the microwave for a minute. Heating up coasters helps the ink stick to the tile. (This is one of those tricks we learned after many frustrating attempts).
B. After cutting your images down to fit a 4" x 4" tile place image face down on warm tile.
C. Pour some nail polish remover onto the brush and/or the color copy and coat the entire back of the image. Hold image in place while applying the polish remover.
D. Put the sheet of acetate over that and take your bone folder or back of a spoon and rub the entire image. This is the hard part as it takes patience and some elbow grease! You will have to take off the acetate and add some more polish remover as it dries quick. You can slowly lift the corners of the color copy to see if the ink is transferring.
Don't worry if paper sticks, it can be washed off and rubbed entirely of later. I spend lots of time on the faces as you don't want a big chunk of their face missing. It's up to you if you want the image to come out perfect or like me if you like some of the tile to come through and look aged. Once your image has transferred you can remove the leftover paper from the color copy and wash it off. I use a tile sealer (available at any hardware store) and apply a coat or two to the tile. When it dries you cant even see it and it allows the tiles to be machine washed.
The bottom of this tile is pretty smooth but if you want you can add felt stoppers. I buy a sheet of sticky back felt (at Michaels or any craft store for about a dollar) and use a hole puncher to punch out tiny stoppers for the bottom of the tiles. Works great! I suppose you could cut out squares to cover the entire bottom. If you do that I wouldn't machine wash the coasters but obviously you can wipe them clean.
And that's it:) I like to make sets of five coasters and when they're finished I wrap them with a raffia cord or ribbon with a little tag attached. They really do look nice in a set and for all of you artists I know they'd look great with your artwork on there! Also my favorite images are old B&W photos and polaroids from the 60's. Experiment with all sorts of images.
Here are some I'm working on. I haven't finished them and so I'll be getting back to them after this post! Hope you try this sometime! In my next life when I have more time I'd love to make a table out of these tiles..how cool would that be. Let me know what you come up with :)
Oh yes...use a well ventilated room. The acetone from the nail polish remover is obnoxious.
