DIY Photo Coasters and Wood Storage and Display Box

(For detailed step-by-step instructions, please see my blog via the link at the bottom.) I wanted to make gifts for my mother and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day so I searched Pinterest (of course!) to find ideas that were creative yet not too expensive. I found many posts for DIY tile photo coasters and decided that would be perfect! Personal and useful, the best types of DIY gifts. Since I decided to make photo coasters, I also wanted to have a stylish, cute way to display the coasters so the photo on the first coaster would be visible, so I decided to make wooden holders for the coaster sets. For each mom I made four photo coasters and a wood holder to display and store the coasters.

To make the tile coasters, you will need the following materials:

4″ x 4″ tiles

photo paper or cardstock that can be used in a laser printer

Mod Podge

clear acrylic spray

foam brush

small adhesive felt pads

To make my coasters, I purchased a pack of nine 4″x4″ travertine tiles from Home Depot for just under $4. I also purchased photo paper that can be used in a laser printer (photos printed on an inject will likely have the ink smear when the Mod Podge is applied). I purchased a pack of 20 sheets for $6.99 at our local Fry’s, but you can likely purchase laser compatible photo paper at any office supply store.

Using my color laser printer, I printed four 3.75″ square pictures onto a one sheet of photo paper then cut out each picture.

I then applied Mod Podge to the top of the tile using a foam brush, and then applied a picture onto the tile using a credit card to smooth the picture on the tile and remove bubbles. Once the picture was smooth and centered, I used the foam brush to cover the picture in Mod Podge.

Once the Mod Podge has completely dried, spray five coats of Acrylic spray onto the tile, allowing the acrylic to completely dry between each coating. Make sure to spray the acrylic in a very well ventilated area.

Once the acrylic had completely dried, I added four small round felt pads to the bottom of each tile.

I wanted a cute storage and display box for the tiles, so I decided to make one out of scrap 1/4″ plywood that I had laying around. Here are the materials needed for making the box:

scrap piece of 1/4″ plywood

4″ hole saw (or you can use a jig saw or band saw to cut a semi-circle)

wood glue

brad nailer or finish nailer and nails (or you can use finish nails and a hammer)

decorative items for the front

I cut out the pieces of plywood for each side of the display box using my miter saw (exact dimensions to cut are listed on the blog).

To make the circular cut in the front, which allows the front photo coaster to be visible, I used a 4″ hole saw on the drill press. I measured 11/16″ in from each side of the front piece, and then cut a half circle into the wood.

I then assembled my box using my Ryobi Airstrike Brad nailer and 1/2″ finish nails and some wood glue. (If you don’t have the Ryobi Airstrike, I highly recommend it, it makes building SO easy, it’s a great tool!). I first attached the two side pieces to the front, and then attached the back piece to the two side pieces. Once the four sides were all nailed and glued together, I attached the bottom piece using my nailer and wood glue.

I added wooden decorative accent pieces that I purchased from Hobby Lobby and stained the box with Minwax Dark Walnut. I then added some metal lettering stating "family" that purchased at Hobby Lobby. Here is the completed display box:

And here are some more pics of the coasters in the display box.

Stop by the blog for more pics and detailed instructions.