I like to make things. Simple sentiment, and this is nothing new to anyone that knows me at all. Something else that is also true about me and not news to anyone is that I like to make smaller projects, because (with a few exceptions) I tend to get bored in the middle of larger projects and never end up finishing them, no matter how excited I was to begin the project.
How does someone combat this? This depends on where your priorities lie. In my case, my priority lies in having fun during my hobby. My creative hobbies are where I choose to relax and not necessarily to push the limits of my rather short attention span. While I do occasionally start a larger project, I have learned to not expect to work on it straight through, but rather acknowledge the fact that it will likely be months or even years before I finish it (if I ever do). I find satisfaction and enjoyment from making quick progress on a project and seeing it completed in only one or two sittings.
One project that I have found to fit this category are these hand painted ceramic tile coasters. I bought these plain white matte 4″x4″ tile coasters from Home Depot as my base, and paint them with acrylic paint. Making coasters also allows my art to serve a practical purpose, which also helps spur me on to complete the project (that’s not to say that art for the sake of art is unappealing, beauty in itself serves a purpose in itself as well).
I usually paint them in matching or coordinating sets of 4, which allows me to let three of them dry at a time while I’m working on another one, so that I do not have to wait long, if at all, between coats or adding new elements to each design.
Occasionally I just want to experiment with techniques or am not looking to make a whole set and I’ll paint individual tiles.
I do make sure that the edges and a little bit of the underside of the tile is painted with at least the base color.
Once the acrylic paint is completely dry and cured, which to be safe I usually allow at least 24 hours (this is where more than one crafting session is unfortunately necessary), I like to give the coasters 1 or 2 coats of a clear spray sealer, to help give the coasters a more finished appearance and to help protect all the work I put into painting the design. I usually quick spray the tiles and set a timer on my phone to check on them later, and go work on another project.
Once the clear sealer is completely dry, I put a cork backing on the underside of each tile. Then voila! They’re done!
