Beginner's Guide: How to Decoupage Coasters on Tile and MDF Wood Surfaces

In this blog post, we explore how to decoupage coasters for beginning crafters. This simple yet rewarding project is a fantastic way to add a personalized touch to your home or create thoughtful gifts for friends and family. We've collaborated with Donna from Mason Creations, etc., who has shared her expertise in a concise video tutorial. Although we'll briefly touch on the video, our main focus is guiding you through the process of decoupaging coasters using both tile and MDF wood. Let's embark on this creative journey.

Many of our customers have been inquiring about the best decoupage medium to use on coasters, particularly concerning issues like sweating or stickiness when the coaster gets wet or hot. While many crafters opt for Mod Podge and then try various sealers like Rustoleum or engine spray sealants to create a heat-resistant surface, we recommend professionally formulated Polyvine Heavy Duty Wood Varnish for an all-in-one solution. It serves as both a decoupage adhesive and top coat sealer in one.

Polyvine Heavy Duty Wood Varnish is eco-friendly, has a rapid 16-hour cure time, is non-yellowing, and has low VOC. Its ease of use, water-based formulation, and high resistance to heat, water, and stains make it our #1 choice. Additionally, it dries with a crystal clear, diamond-hard finish and is food-safe (after a 5-7 day cure time). This fabulous product is available in Gloss, Satin, or Dead Flat sheens. It's a must-have for crafters who enjoy making coasters.

When decoupaging on non-wood surfaces such as ceramic, tile, plastic, metal or stone surfaces use Polyvine Multi Surface Lacquer as a primer coat to create a bondable base-layer. This dramatically improves adherence of your paint or decoupage paper, preventing subsequent flaking or peeling. 

Materials You'll Need:

• Ceramic tiles or MDF coaster sets are available at Decoupagenapkins.com
• Sandpaper, alcohol wipes, and a sponge
• Polyvine Multi-surface Lacquer and Polyvine Heavy-duty Wood Varnish
• Decoupage Rice Paper with your chosen design
• Pentart paint for additional coloring

Step-by-Step Guide to Decoupage Coasters:

1. Preparation: Ensure a clean surface before beginning your project. For tiles, sand the edges to smooth any roughness and clean the surface with alcohol wipes.

2. Priming: Apply a base coat of Polyvine Multi-surface Lacquer as a primer on both ceramic tile and MDF coaster to ensure your paint and glue will adhere properly. Choosing a dead flat finish will eliminate any shine.

3. Decoupage:

   • For the tile, Donna chose a beautiful decoupage rice paper pattern. Napkins and other decorative papers can also be used. However Decoupage Rice Paper is the easiest to work with. It does not tear as easily as the top-layer of a 3-ply napkin and is therefore great for beginners. 
   • To begin, lay your rice paper on the top of the tile, using multi-surface lacquer as the adhesive. After positioning the paper, apply another layer of lacquer, smoothing out any bubbles or wrinkles, and let it dry. Excess paper overhanging the edges was then sanded off.
   • For the MDF coaster, Donna painted the base with white Chalk Paint and selected an image from rice paper, cutting it out with a water pen. She adhered the paper with Polyvine Multi-surface Lacquer, using the same smoothing technique.

4. Personalize: After the decoupage layer dries and any excess paper is removed, add personal touches with paint. Donna painted the sides and portions of the coaster bottom, choosing colors from Pentart paints that complemented her design. Donna notes that Pentart Acrylic Paints are thick and creamy and often only a single coat is needed. They have great coverage.

5. Final Touches: Apply Polyvine Heavy-duty Wood Varnish as a top coat for a durable, moisture-, heat-, and stain-resistant finish. While this product has "wood" in the name. You can use it as a top coat for any project.

Special Thanks to Donna: We're extremely grateful to Donna for sharing her decoupage expertise. Her tutorial not only inspires but equips our community to create personalized home decor.

Your Crafting Companion: Visit Decoupagenapkins.com For all your crafting needs, remember that Decoupagenapkins.com is just a click away. With an extensive collection of crafting supplies, we're here to support your paper-craft endeavors.

Embark on your decoupage journey today and transform ordinary items into extraordinary treasures. Happy crafting!