DIY Decoupaged Tile Coasters

Posted on December 21, 2018 by jewelsathome

I have a lot of craft projects “incubating” – I get excited, I buy supplies, and then… I wait for the perfect moment to create them! We could also call this hoarding of craft supplies, but that’s not in the spirit of the season!

We’ve got an enthusiastic new social committee at work, and they organized a “Secret Snowflake” exchange for the holidays. “Handmade is encouraged,” they instructed. Now that’s my kind of challenge. My gift recipient loves to host dinner parties, so I found her a cute serving bowl, some holiday dish towels, and I am finishing off the package with these DIY coasters!

Here’s what you’ll need:

White 4″ square tiles – very inexpensive at the hardware store, or you can order online
Decorative paper – choose thinner paper that absorbs the adhesive and molds to the tile
Mod Podge
Water-based varnish
Paintbrush
Silicon bumpers

Here’s how to do it:

Cut paper to fit tiles
Paint a thin coat of Mod Podge on tile
Lay down paper and smooth out
Paint a thin coat of Mod Podge over paper
Letting dry between layers, add one or two more coats of Mod Podge
Add three or more coats of varnish, for a more durable finish
Add silicon bumpers to bottom

Here they are in my home and getting ready to go spread cheer in my friend’s home!

Next time, I’d like to try making these coasters, with the paper sandwiched between glass, because I think they’ll hold up even better. Next year’s teacher and coworker gift? Maybe!

Hope you are having fun sharing treats and gifts this season!

Julie aka “Jewels”

Faux Birch Branches

Posted on December 11, 2013 by jewelsathome

They say, there’s a fine line between genius and insanity… I think I got a deeper understanding of this when I took on this faux birch branch project.

I saw these a year or two ago in a department store, and I’m not sure what possessed me, but I decided to make them for our house. It’s the kind of fantastic paper creation you might see at Anthropologie, which always has the best art in their store displays… It makes me want to buy a cute sweater… Now! But I digress.

I’m working on creating outdoorsy and white-themed Christmas decorations this year, like these felt poinsettia ornaments and homemade clay ornaments. I had several large cardboard tubes left over from buying fabric, and I got inspired to transform them into a little homemade forest. I have to say that I was super-excited when I started, and by the end, I was going blind from visions of decoupaged tissue paper, but I think it was worth it in the end.

Materials:

Cardboard tubes. The “trunks” are made from large tubes for rolling fabric. The “branches” are smaller tubes, including toilet paper and paper towel rolls.
Brown paper
White tissue paper
Mod Podge or glue for decoupage
Embroidery floss in black and gray
Patience

To get started, created the shapes of the trees. I used brown paper and Mod Podge to join some long tubes together, so that the lengths would vary. I also used the same technique to add branches to some of the trunks (pictured below).

Next, I started creating the look of birch bark, inspired by instructions on making fake birch bark over at Kitsch Designs. The first step is to cut the tissue paper into strips – I made a variety ranging from about two to four inches wide. Then, paint some Mod Podge on the cardboard and wrap strips of tissue paper around the tube (pictured below). I overlapped the paper in places and left gaps in other places, to give a textured look to the branches.

It looks cool when you tear the wet paper and get a rough edge like this!

Keep adding layers of paper, overlapping them, so the “bark” is textured and natural-looking (right two pictures below). I estimate I used a total of about 4 layers. On the top one or two layers, add some short strips of embroidery floss (left picture below). I cut this into different lengths and also separated some into strands, so there was a lot of variety. The floss stuck well to the paper using the Mod Podge.

I “planted” the finished birch branches in a pot wrapped in fabric in our font hall. I think it would look great with the addition of some greenery and/or ornaments, so I’ll fiddle with that a bit more, but so far, I’m excited with these wintery additions to our foyer.

After the hours that went into this project, I’ll be keeping these faux birch branches around. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep them long for next Christmas or maybe cut them short to display in the fireplace. Let me know what you think!

“Jewels”

DIY Decorative Trays – Ten Great Ideas

Posted on May 8, 2012 by jewelsathome

The best decorating projects combine form and function – they add beauty to your space, serve a purpose, and when you make your own, they are one of a kind! A decorative serving tray is just this kind of project. You can use them to display or transport items on a coffee table, buffet, desk, kitchen counter, and more.

My friend Ari got me excited about decorating our own trays when we were at the flea market this past weekend. I picked up an older wooden tray there for just $5, and I know I have a couple of my own lying around the house. I want to use some for display in the living and dining room, and one for the desk in my craft room. There are so many great ideas, and here are some I would love to try or adapt for myself.

Silhouette and Silver

The botanical silhouette and silver leaf on this tray are beautiful.

Brenna at Design Sponge has a tutorial for how she made this tray from a thrift store find! You could simplify it for a similar look with silver spray paint, though the silver leaf looks amazing, and the glass makes the tray useable for serving.

Monogram

Lots of options to personalize a monogram tray from A Modern Style on Etsy.

This one is by A Modern Style on Etsy. I love the bright colors and graphic design contrasted against the wood.

Wallpaper and Lacquer

Gorgeous lacquered trays with wallpaper inserts and bold colors from iomoi.

This is from iomoi and hand lacquered, so it would be very durable and stand up to washing and heavy use. The coordinating colors on the body of the tray and the gold trim are gorgeous! I could use some more of the Imperial Trellis wallpaper I have left over from our powder room and lining our bookcases.

Painter’s Tape and Paint

Use painter’s tape to mask a design on a plain tray (or paint the tray a background color first). Follow with spray paint – looks great in metallic for a striking graphic design.

Courtney Kaye of Courtney on the Brink made these trays for holding jewelry. They look bold and elegant! I’ve been using metallic spray paint for a lot of projects recently, and I love it!

Tile Mosaic

A tile mosaic looks beautiful inside this tray.

This beautiful example, as well as instructions for tiling the inside of a tray, are from the Martha Stewart.

Frame and Fabric

This is an idea to make a tray from a frame and cabinet handles. You can put fabric or pretty paper under the glass.

Patrice from Lemon Tree Creations had this creative idea for making a tray from a frame and cabinet handles. The glass protects the decorative fabric or paper.

Stencil

This stenciled tray is so elegant. I love the painted grey exterior with the white and grey graphic design.

The instructions for stenciling this tray are from HGTV. Of course, it looks so much like my Imperial Trellis wallpaper, that I could use that for the same look, but there are other great stencil ideas out there, including stenciling words.

Paper Mache

A sweet little tray made from paper mache and painted different colors inside and out.

Start from scratch! The instructions for making this paper mache tray are at Everything LEB. I love how she used metallic paint inside and the sweet green-blue on the outside.

Decoupage Circles

These cute circles have text from old books on them. You could do the same with all sorts of fabrics, papers, and shapes.

A fun and unique example of decoupage from iHanna. There are so many great ways to build on this idea!

Photographs

This photo in sepia tones looks beautiful mounted inside a tray.

You could print a single large photograph or several small ones and decoupage them to the inside of a tray and/or mount under glass. This lovely example is from Merle Hillary Interiors.

All these projects would be a perfect way to re-use a tray you already have or give new life to a thrift store or garage sale find. There are also new trays that would work well for makeovers. Here are two very different examples:

Glam Base

These lacquered trays from West Elm are already gorgeous. You could dress them up in so many ways!

If you want a tray that is already beautiful on its own, these trays from West Elm are a great option. With a simple design and so many colors to choose from, they would also be easy to customize. Only trick I foresee is that it might be a little tricky to get things to adhere well to the lacquer.

Simple Base

For a simple unfinished wood base, try this Walnut Hollow Unfinished Wood Serving Tray, 15-inch x 11-inch.

Well, that’s my roundup of inspirations for trays to make yourself. I hope Ari and I can find some time soon to work on ours!

“Jewels”

Jewels at Home

Tag Archives: decoupage

DIY Decoupaged Tile Coasters

Faux Birch Branches

DIY Decorative Trays – Ten Great Ideas