These handy decorator items don’t actually have to be “rustic.” Their style depends on the type of tile you can get your hands on. I happened to have a small stack of sample tiles my favorite Mexican tile retailer gave me when we were trying to choose counter and bathroom tiles for m’hijito’s renovation project. Their prices ranged from free to extremely cheap. Even though we didn’t use them, they were too interesting to throw away. So, I made them into coasters.

You can buy single tiles inexpensively at home improvement stores and tile retailers. Often, too, you come across interesting hand-made tiles in tourist souvenir shops, art galleries, and museum shops. To make coasters, you need a small size, about four inches by four inches. Larger tiles, six or eight inches square, can be treated this way and used as trivets to place under hot serving dishes on the dining table.

You need:

1. • One or  more 4-inch-square tiles
   

2. • A scrap of flannel, felt, or fleece fabric
   

3. • Elmer’s or carpenter’s glue
   

4. • A two- or three-inch wide piece of stiff scrap paper or cardboard
   

5. • A pair of scissors
   

6. • A pencil or pen
   

Spread a piece of soft, fluffy fabric (such as fleece, felt, or flannel) on a flat surface. Set the tile on it and trace around the edges with a pencil or pen. Cut out a square, following the traced line but just a little inside the line.

Turn the tile upside down. Lay the square on the tile’s back side. Be sure the fabric comes just to the edge of the tile or a tiny bit inside it. You don’t want the fabric to be visible when the tile is turned rightside up. It’s OK to have the fabric square be slightly smaller than the tile itself. Trim to fit, as needed.

Once the fabric is trimmed to the right size, spread some glue on the back side of the tile, smoothing it out with a scrap of stiff paper or cardboard. Lay the fabric over it, smooth gently, and set the tile aside to dry for 12 to 24 hours.

Now you have a colorful, non-scratch tile to place under glasses and cups on your good furniture. Be sure the glue is completely dry before you set the tile rightside-up on a wooden surface!

frugal crafts