I enjoy making coasters. They are also a complicated, multiple-step process and take me a lot of work to make. Sometimes I discount my work by acting like it’s no big deal, but it’s actually taken me a lot of trial and error, research and work to figure out how to make …you know, The Coasters I Want To See In The World. Here’s how I make them!

The base is a glossy white ceramic tile. Hexagon tiles are my favorite, I buy Daltile brand 4 inch ceramic tiles from the local giant hardware store. They cost me a little under $0.50 each - I buy a case of 30 and have them delivered to my local store. Square ceramic tiles are a bit cheaper - I buy those in cases of 100 for less than $10.

The base layer of color on the coasters is alcohol ink. I use a variety of different brands, my favorite is Jacquard Pinata inks, but I also use Ranger inks, Brea Reese, and Copic Various inks. I dilute colors with either 93% isopropyl alcohol or blending solution, depending on the look I want to achieve.

When I want to create a more watery, fluid look, with smoother transitions between colors, I use blending solution and a blow dryer to move the ink around the tile.

For pieces where I want the colors to stay more distinct, like rainbow coasters— I apply one color at a time, starting on each corner of a hexagon tile, and use a squeeze bulb tool (Amazon link to demonstrate the type of product: squeeze bulb) to blow the ink into the center. It took me a while to get the technique down and not end up with a big blob of mixed color in the center.

Mostly it’s patience, and knowing the inks.. Some colors stretch a lot further than others, and some need a bit of blending solution to apply nicely.

Once I’m happy with the base layer of color, I seal the tiles with at least two layers of Krylon Kamar Varnish. This fixes the alcohol ink, so that it won’t lift or move when I put acrylic or resin on top of it.

I paint the edges with fluid acrylic. It’s easiest to use opaque colors, otherwise I find I might need to put 4-5 layers of paint on to actually cover any alcohol ink that has stained the edges. I prefer to do solid black edges for most of the hexagon tiles I make. For square tiles, I often leave negative white space on the surface of the tile, and then I like to finish the edges with white. My favorite white to use is Golden fluid titanium white - it’s expensive, but it is very opaque (it usually only takes 2 layers to cover ink spillover) and dries quickly, so I can get the edges done in a reasonable amount of time.

I often outline the edges of the tile in a metallic or contrasting color. My favorite tool for this is Krylon leafing pens - I really like the look, especially to match any metallic inks that are in the design. The pens make it relatively easy to apply a clean line to the edges.

For a long time, I had a vision of an alcohol ink coaster sealed with resin with added metallic or foil accent images on top of the design. It took me a long time and many wrecked messy tiles to figure out the best way to make my vision happen.

To add foiled hexagon insets to tiles, I use toner-reactive foil, and print the images I want on a laser printer. To get a good foil design, the image needs to be primarily black and white with heavy lines and not a lot of shading. I often use public domain images and illustrations from old books, and sometimes I create my own designs digitally. I manipulate images using Inkscape, a free and open-source vector graphics editor. With Inkscape, I can take images of any size and format and convert them into vector images that I can scale and adjust to print nicely for foiling.

I print the images with a laser printer on a heavy smooth cardstock. The foil reacts with the toner on the paper, and can be applied by running the cardstock with the foil applied on top through a home laminating machine. It is very satisfying to peel off the foil and see the design underneath.

To adhere the inset images to the tiles, I use acrylic gloss medium. Resin will soak into paper and make it translucent, so to protect it, I also apply at least two layers of gloss medium on top of the cardstock, especially making sure to seal around the edges. Any brush strokes from the gloss medium will disappear once the resin is applied.

To prep for applying resin, I gently wipe off the tops and edges of each tile with baby wipes and a paper towel. The point is to try to clean off any fingerprints or skin oils because those can repel the resin and create defects. Recently I have been using DIY Counterculture’s art primer to prep surfaces before applying resin. It’s supposed to help reduce dimples and divots in the resin and I think it helps but you don’t NEED to do the priming step.

I used to tape off the bottoms of tiles before applying resin, but I found it was very time-intensive and a kinda dreary task to do. I switched the way I’ve been applying resin and now skip the tape. If I do end up with a drop or two of resin on the bottoms of the tiles, the drips can be cut off with a heated knife.

Resin application is a big job, especially because I don’t have a lot of space to work with. I apply a thin coat of resin with a silicone stir stick, and push it over the entire surface of the tile. I also do a very light coat on the edges and along the outside edge on the bottom. I use a handheld culinary torch to pop bubbles. Applying resin this way saves on the amount of resin I use, and means less mess to clean up, although I sometimes need to apply a second coat . I typically use Art Resin. I mix up about 40ml total and can usually cover about six tiles that way.

I set the tiles on plastic cups (I reuse them) to apply the resin and let it cure until they are touch dry (about eight hours for Art Resin brand.) If there are any drips on the bottoms, I remove them with a knife (heated up with the torch) within 24 hours. Then I let the resin cure fully for 72 hours.

After the resin is fully cured, the final step is to put cork on the bottoms. I buy a large roll of cork and use a template to cut out hexagon and square shapes. Then I apply the cork with Elmer’s Glue-All, and make sure it adheres by stacking the tiles (with a piece of wax paper in between each tile) and resting a few heavy books on top for 24 hours. Most of the tiles I use have textured ridges on the bottom (which is useful for installing them as…you know, tiles on the wall) and so I use plenty of glue and weight to make sure the cork adheres.

As a final step, I clean off the tops of each tile and package them up with a ribbon or twine! That’s it - my extraordinarily simple coaster making process!