Love crafting and DIY projects? Need a personalized gift? If you’re addicted to Instagram like myself, then you’ll love this DIY project. It’s a fun and easy way to make use of your Instagram pictures. While they require some time and patience, they are really easy to make (trust me – looks a lot harder, but so easy!) and very inexpensive, the whole project cost just about $8 for the 10 coasters.
Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not by Lilies and Loafers.
DIY Instagram Coasters
Supplies
- 4in x 4in inch pictures from a printing service like Shutterfly
- 4in x 4in ceramic tiles
- Mod Podge
- Paint Brush
- Circular felt pads
- Water Proof Sealant – We came across Krylon’s Clear Flat Sealant at Home Depot and applied 1 thin layer – we’ve had some comments about it being really sticky and goopy after applying, so it’s important to let the tiles dry thoroughly and apply a thin layer. The Mod Podge is also somewhat water proof, so this sealant is just an added layer of protection.
Directions
- Paint a layer of the Mod Podge on your tile.
- Press a photo firmly onto the tile and let sit for a few minutes.
- Paint a layer of Mod Podge over the photo and let dry for about 20 mins – the mod podge went on white, but dried clear. This scared me at first, so don’t be alarmed if this happens to you!
- Apply 2-5 layers (letting them dry in between each layer) – dry for at least an hour after the last layer. Let them sit overnight or even a few days. We waited about 4 days before adding the sealant. Make sure your tiles are not wet or still drying from the mod podge.
- Again – make sure the tiles are thoroughly dry before applying sealant. Spray them with a thin coat of the sealant after a few days. Let them sit overnight or for a few more days. They should feel dry to the touch – you’ll know when they are ready.
- Apply felt stickers to the bottom of the tiles (optional, but encouraged).
- Repeat these steps for all photos.
- Voila! You now have personalized coasters!
Pick out the photos you want to print. Instagram photos save directly to my phone and they save as large files, so these were easy to use as 4in x 4in photos.
Send the photos to an online printing place like Shutterfly, (or the good ‘ol fashioned 1 hour photo). What we like about Shutterfly, and we use them A LOT, is their 4in x 4in photo option. Make sure your photos are large enough for this size.
Each one of the photos we chose has a story…
hello! holy mole. i just finished my tiles and I noticed some of them have a bubble in the center when you push on it. can they be fixed???? HELPPPPPP PLEASEEEEE
Hi Shaina – thanks for commenting! We had that issue right before we applied the top coat. We pushed them down really hard before applying the top coat. We didn’t have any bubbles in the center at the end of the project, but just a few on the edges. We were able to push them out before touching them up with a final coating of mod podge.
First off, this is a lovely tutorial! Thank you! I’m hoping you can help me save my coasters! As I was adding the gloss finish over the top, I noticed some dust on the surface. I quickly tried to pinch out a spec and because the sealer wasn’t totally dry, it smudged. Without thinking I grabbed a paper towel and it left even more residue! Unsure what to do, I ran it under water, but there is still quite a bit of paper towel residue on my favorite coasters. 🙁 !! Do you know of any tricks to fix this??
Hi Crystal – Sorry this happened :(! When we were painting on the mod podge layer, some of the brush came off and stuck. I used my finger to get it and it made a mess of the tile. Since the mod podge was still wet, I reworked it to fix the smudge. We didn’t run into this when we sprayed on the sealant, so I don’t have a trick that would help! Please let us know if you find a way!
What website/app did you use to print the photos?
Thanks for commenting Morgan! We used a Walmart/CVS upload to 4×6 and cut the excess. Since then other services like Fox Print offer square photo printing. We used Fox Print for our photo collage and they were fantastic!
Made these last weekend for Christmas gifts for my employees. I copied their Facebook pictures. I used Walmart.com and printed them off as 4×4 prints with a black border. They fit perfectly on the tile and I didn’t have to do any cutting. I waited 20 minutes or little longer before applying each layer. I only did 3 layers of Mod Podge as well. I started on Saturday afternoon, around 2 pm, and around 11 pm that night the tiles were completely dry that I went ahead and sprayed the very thin layer of sealant. I then let them sit for almost 48 hours before applying the felt to the back and stacking them. They were soooo cute!! My employees ABSOLUTELY LOVED them!!! I have been asked multiple times how I did it so I am sharing your link with them all.
Hi! Great tutorial! I am excited to try it out and make some coasters as Christmas gifts. I have all the materials needed except for Krylon Clear Flat Sealant. Can’t seem to find it here where I live. Can I use Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer instead? Also, is it better to print the photos on glossy or matte paper since I will be using Mod Podge Matte-Mat-Mate? Thanks!
Hi Becky, thanks for commenting! I don’t see an issue if you use the mid lodge brand sealant – we haven’t used it, but if we saw it, we might have gone with that. Our photos were glossy because we knew the mid lodge would dry matte.
Start these asap! You want to give them a few days/a week to be able to dry before applying the sealant, and then that should have plenty of time to dry! Good luck!
I love this idea and decided to try it. After applying Mod Podge to the photos I got air bubbles under them. Any tips?
Hi Sara – thanks for commenting! That happened to us too, while the mod lodge is still tacky on the photo-tile layer, you can still push them down.
I’m so excited to try this!! One question though, are they dishwasher safe? Or am I able to wash them with soapy water and it won’t ruin them?
Hi Rebecca, thanks for commenting! That’s a good question – I would hesitate to throw them in the dishwasher and use soap. Mine get wet all the time and I just wipe them down with a wet paper towel to clean them off.
Hi! I recently did this project and had almost a perfect success! My problem is when I go to use the coasters now after letting them dry for a few days, any hot beverage I place on them gets stuck! Doesn’t do that with a cold drink, any suggestion to fix this? Thank you!!
Hi Jenn, thanks for commenting! We haven’t had that issue yet. Maybe the time between mod podge and spraying them was too short? I recently came across a more durable spray, “Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Matte Clear” which also has a heat resistance of 200 degrees. Maybe that may work?
If anyone else is having this issue, please let us know! We’ll try to mimic and find an alternative!
Do the tiles have to be ceramic? Or can I use stone
Hi Chelsea, Thanks for commenting! To be honest, I’m not sure. If you’re using mod podge or whatever adhesive, check the label. The same for the sealant. I would imagine stone would be similar and ok, but stone is more porous, so I don’t know if that affects anything.
Hello,
Thanks for sharing, but I was hoping you could help me with one part of the puzzle I cannot figure out. How are you resizing your photo’s? Signed, PleaseHelp
Thanks
Thanks for commenting Leelou! But if you look towards the bottom half of the post we talk about how we resized the photos. When they were uploaded to fit on 4X6, they auto fit to the 4in width on the photo paper.
Thank you so much for the tutorial!!! I am also doing this project for wedding attendant gifts! I am super excited to see how they turn out!!!
Thanks for commenting Julie! I hope they come out great! When you’re done, we’d love to add some of your photos to our post! Let us know –
Hi! I found this & thought maybe it’d be a good idea as wedding favors. My fiancé & I experimented yesterday. We bought ceramic tiles & free wood swatches from Home Depot but couldn’t find the Krylon there, so we stuck with the mod podge for now since you mentioned it’s waterproof anyway. I was wondering, have you ever tried using your coasters with just mod podge alone? I feel that if we were to put a cup on it, it’d leave an indentation… I read in your comments that you wait a couple days for the mod podge to dry so I’m leaving it be for now. Please let me know, thanks!
Hi Breanne, congrats on your upcoming wedding – what a great gift! I know I’ve seen the krylon stuff at Michaels recently. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried just using the mod podge alone. If you are going to do that, make sure you let them dry for a few days, if not a week or so – and don’t stack them. How close are you to the wedding?
Will do. The wedding is this October! If this project doesn’t work out as expected, please let me know of any other ideas =)
Will do – remember, not too many layers of mod podge and let them sit for a while – if you can (let them sit at lease a week)! Let us know how they turn out – and we’d love to add pics of your project to the post – just let us know!
Hi. I know you said 2-5 layers of mod podge but I was wondering how many layers did you find made an optimal coaster? Also, how long should we wait between each layer/coat. I know for the 1st layer, you said wait 20 minutes. What about for the layers after that?
Hi Sohpie – on our experimental tiles – anything over 5 was way too many, the mod podge started to dry white. 3 layers were sufficient enough for us because we sprayed the tiles with a sealant at the end. We applied mod podge to the tiles all at once, so as soon as we finished a layer with the last tile, the first one we started with was dry. We applied the layers as soon as they dried. Once the 3 layers were applied, we let them dry a few more days before applying sealant. Thanks for commenting!
Hi again. I wanted to know if instead of a flat sealant, do you think could I use a glossy one? I also came across mod podge with a gloss finish. Do you think that would’ve worked too?
I tried to do this and I’ve just finished applying the mod lodge. I can see streak lines from the mod podge. Spwill that go away after applying the sealant? Does the flat sealant you used give it a shiny, glossy finish? I couldn’t be sure by the coaster look glossy in come of your pictures, but matte in others.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Sophie – I think it you want glossy you should use a glossy sealant, but we haven’t done that yet so you’d have to let us know 😉 Our pictures were pretty glossy after using the flat finish sealant, so if you’re looking for a glossier finish use a glossy sealant. As for the mod podge, I recommended painting it on in different directions, alternating horizontal/vertical with every coat. They were a little streaky when they were completely dried, but the sealant did a good job of hiding the streaks. They are not perfect, but we love the touch of handmade. Thanks for commenting!
Love the tutorial! Did you use glossy or matte photopaper?
Hi Hope! We used glossy paper.
I’m curious as to what finish of sealant you used.. flat, gloss or satin??
Hi Taryne, thank you for your comments. We used the flat clear coat finish (as we stated in our comment above) – thanks!
Sorry to bug you again, haha! I’ve seen a couple types of the Krylon acrylic sealant and I’m not sure which one to buy. Do you happen to have the exact name from the can? Thanks so much!
Hi Gina, it was the flat clear coat acrylic krylon sealant.
What kind of tiles did you use? Were they ceramic or stone or another kind?
Hi EmmaLee, We used the ceramic bathroom tiles from Home Depot – they were so cheap! I’m sure you could use other kinds of tiles if you’d like.
What were the photos printed on? Was it just normal photo paper?
Hi Eleisha, we ordered some through shutterfly and used Walmart’s printing kiosk. so yes, regular photo paper.
Do you have to use instagram pictures? Or will any type of picture work?
Hi Kelsy. Any photo would work, we just used Instagram photos because of the size. They fit the tiles really well, but we printed in the photo kiosk – so any pic is totally ok!
i went to Home Depot and the first sealant they recommended me ended up really greasy and would not dry. The next time I went, I spoke with the spray specialist and I told her what craft I was doing and I asked for something waterproof, she recommended me “RUST-OLEUM” Triple Thick Glaze (Clear Glass-Like Coating). It says ideal for crafts, art and decorative projects, I let it dry overnight and tested it out by putting a glass on it, but the glass stuck to it and left a ring. I’m hoping if I let it dry a couple days instead, that this won’t happen because I made other sets for other ppl and I don’t want them to have this problem. Any insight? Thank yoU!
Hi Mace, thanks for commenting. After we mod podged the tiles, we let them dry for a few days and then sprayed with the sealant, then let dry for a few more days. Unfortunately it’s not a quick process once you have to wait for them to dry. Ours have been fine ever since. Did you do this during the nasty humidity last week?
So you used the ” Krylon acrylic clear sealant” an glasses haven’t stuck to the tiles at all or anythin?
Yup. We haven’t had any issue yet. Just make sure they dry completely before using them.
Hi there! Brian, how many coats of Krylon sealant did you use? If more than one, how long did you let them dry between coats?
Thanks!!
Hi Gina, we only used 1 layer of the krylon sealant. didn’t want to overdo it seeing as the mod podge it water proof as well. The modge podge dries pretty fast, but we waited a few days before using a layer of the sealant and then let that dry a few more days in the open air before using them. We love them! Thanks for commenting!
I really like your site. I’ve tried making Instagram coasters in the past and have had trouble waterproofing them. What kind of sealant did you use from Home Depot? Did it hold up for hot/cold beverages? I used an acrylic sealer from Michael’s and they ended up smudged and runny. Any advice would be great! Lauren
After the mod podge dried for a day or two, we applied Krylon acrylic clear sealant. You can’t apply a lot at a time because it will get runny and goopey. Just a light coating. We let that sit for a few days before using. No issues yet!
Thank you for your response! I bought the Krylon sealer you suggested. As soon as the weather clears up, I’ll try it out. I appreciate the follow-up.
Best,
Lauren
what a great idea. Wish I had thought of it. Would be perfect for old family and friend photos and as conversation starters.