Joy's Life

Food, Recipe, DIY & Craft Blog - With Tons of Helpful Tutorials!

Cricut Kate’s ABCs Vinyl Travertine Tile Drink Coaster

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How do you learn to make these?  By TILE and error.  LOL!

I made this drink coaster for my sister-in-law.  It’s her birthday and she loves butterflies.  I’ve decorated other tiles with vinyl, I show you how to make several in my Cricut Vinylology DVD, but this is the first time I’ve used travertine (which absorbs water GREAT).  It’s also the first time I planned to use the tile as a drink coaster.


I’ve also used images from the Kate’s ABCs Cricut cartridge to make this vinyl canvas scene.

I am just too paranoid about giving a drink coaster gift with vinyl on it, so I added a coat of polyurethane as a sealant over the top of the vinyl.  You might find this to be an unnecessary step since I was using outdoor vinyl, but it set my worries at ease. 🙂  I didn’t want spills and long periods of hot coffee or cold sweating glasses to ruin the coaster.  An ounce of prevention is worth me not having to drive myself crazy with worry a pound of cure.

Need vinyl?  I like to buy mine from Expressions Vinyl.

I cut everything just under 4″.  I used my Gypsy to help me position the different cuts so that I could cut the pieces without having to remove the mat, add vinyl and cut everything one at a time.  You can do this with any Cricut whether you have a Gypsy or not, just use the buttons to move your blade over to the next piece of whatever you are working with, then press cut.

After weeding the vinyl I layered it.  I use transfer tape to make this process MUCH easier.

I decided not to use the little orange piece that goes in the center of the lid.  This photo is BEFORE I added the polyurethane and the one at the top is AFTER I added it, but before it was completely dry. I hope she likes it.  I’m going to make a whole set for her. 😀

P.S. I bought that box of travertine tiles at my local home improvement store for about $7.  Woo hoo!

Happy Crafting!

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Comments

  1. Hi Joy, I just want to say "Thankyou" for welcoming me with your lovely message. It ment alot to me as i'm new to all this blogging lol. You create so many wonderful projects and you inspire so many people, like me who live across the pond. It's so hard for me to get all these great crafty items here in the UK, I feel that we are so behind in the crafty world. Oh well I have you now my dear friend, that means more!! Have a great day. Love and Hugs Julie UK xx

  2. I was "on the fence" about getting this cart. but seeing the jar and the cute butterflies. I am "off the fence" now and gonna order it now!!! TFS!!!

  3. Joy,Great project.After looking at your canvas bag project I ordered the Cricut word collage cart and got the flower shoppe cart also.Now I got to order some iron on vinyl!Thanks for all your great Ideas! Joy

  4. A great gift Joy! I must try this. I've been 'scared' to use vinyl! I must get your DVD! Love the butterflies! Thanks for sharing, Joy!!

  5. Joy, the coaster is so cute! Love the butterflies! Did you use any cork or felt or anything on the bottom of the tile to keep it from scratching the table it's used on? Just wondering. I'd like to try making some coasters with vinyl, too. Thanks for sharing!

  6. I love decorating tiles, I have done many over the years as a teacher or with local scout groups but you know I have never tried with the Cricut!! Shock horror I will definitely give this a go now I know you can seal it. Kim xXx

  7. Love, love, love your project. I may just have to scraplift this idea. Thanks for sharing your ideas and your talents with us.

  12. Joy I will be using your vinyl idea for my grand babies they love to collect bugs in a jar. I am going to make each of them a jar with this idea it is awesome.

    • Lizmarrero56, Oh, that will be soooo sweet! What a beautiful thing to do to capture that wonderful memory of your grand babies and their bug jars and have it on display. WONDERFUL!! Thanks for leaving me a message. :) I hope you enjoy creating your tile! :D ~Joy~

  13. Joy, I just finished watching your Cricut Vinylology DVD's. Love them and know I will refer to them often. So many projects and no time to do them. This is a new way for me to do tiles. I've been hand stamping, coloring, and sealing tiles for several years now. I make the 4" ones into coasters and the 6" ones into trivets. I will have to experiment with the trivets with your vinyl method. Like you, I don't want to give any to anyone to put a hot pot on and have everything melt and stick. I can't wait to try these. Thank you for a wonderful video experience and, once again, I will be looking at it again and again.

    • Imbigrnu, Thank you so much for letting me know what you thought about my Cricut Vinylology DVD's! I am so glad you enjoyed them and will use them for a reference. I'm so excited that you've got a new idea for how to make your coasters and trivets using vinyl. I think you're really going to enjoy making them with vinyl! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you thought of the DVD and am even happier that it was helpful and useful to you! Thank you and continued happy crafting! ~Joy~

  14. Cute project; quick question. If you seal the travertine tile, will it still absorb the water or will it bead up and run off? Want to try this myself and would like to know before I purchase the tiles. Thanks

    • Hi Michelle, I have some mixed results with the tiles. Mine are not sealed and the water sometimes absorbs, I think, but often it pools. It's not as bad as other slick topped tiles. It's not slippery and I don't have water just running off of it. However, it could also be the cups I'm using. I suggest testing an unsealed tile by sitting a sweating cup on it for a while and seeing if the outcome from that is what you're looking for. ;) That being said, I still don't seal mine. LOL! Here's a link to one I use all the time (even though it's really a Christmas one). Happy crafting! ~Joy~