Painted Tiles: Space Invaders Coasters

In yet another installment of "crafts for guys" I made these Space Invaders coasters for my husband using the same technique of tile painting I used for these. The husband and I are total video game nerds, but I don't think anyone would turn these little guys away. The straight lines of 8 bit video game graphics really help give this project more ease if you aren't so handy with an Xacto knife, as a ruler can be used as a guide if needed. I personally like being able to tell my projects are handmade, so when a line isn't perfect, I don't freak out. As I didn't really give clear instruction in the other post here goes:

You will need:

A ceramic tile (or tiles) from the hardware store
Enamel paints
an image you like
contact paper
an X acto knife

*If your image doesn't fit on your tile, you can always crop it any way you like or use a copy machine to change the size to fit.

To start, I clean my tile with rubbing alcohol and then cover it with contact paper (any color will do), make sure to smooth out any bubbles.

Next, I placed my image onto the contact paper and taped it into place.

Then, using an Xacto knife, I cut around my image pressing firmly so I would cut through both my paper and the contact paper.

Remove your image from on top of the contact paper and then carefully remove the area of the contact paper you will be filling in with paint. I used the tip of my blade to help pull up a corner of the contact paper so it could easily be peeled. Peel slowly so that if needed you can redo any cuts that didn't go all the way through without distorting your image.

I then re-cleaned the exposed areas of my tile with rubbing alcohol and dryed it before applying my paint.

If only applying one coat of paint, I try to remove my contact paper guide while it is still wet to avoid messing up the paint edges. If I use more than one coat, I will score around the edges of my design again with my Xacto blade to prevent rough edges or paint peeling off with the contact paper.

Then, depending on your type of enamel paint, bake as directed to set your design permanently.

To make the coasters I used a sheet of craft foam, cut to size and glued onto the back to protect my tabletops from the rough tile back. You could, also frame these to use as wall art, simply add a hook to the back, use as a regular tile, place them into concrete pavers, etc.