Watercolor Effect Tile Coasters – An Easy DIY With Nail Polish and Ceramic Tiles

When we moved in to our house, 5 years ago, we found a huge box of plain white ceramic tiles in the far corner of the garage. It was a jackpot for a crafter. Slowly but surely I’ve been working my way through white ceramic tile crafts. 

So far this craft using ceramic tiles has been my favorite. 

Why? Because the results have no guarantee. You do not know how these tiles will look until they dry.  

It’s somewhat messy but inexpensive and chances are that you already have everything you need except a few small white ceramic tiles. 

Do you want to learn how to make these watercolor effect tile coasters? You’re in luck.

Let me show you how to make them.

Most importantly you need is something to protect your surface with. I used an old tea towel.  This can be messy as is any project using nail polish and water.

Gather a few bright nail polish colors. We used everything from the expensive brands to the cheap under $1 brands of nail polish and it all worked perfectly.  However nail polish with glitter did not work although my daughter did try! 

You’ll also need an old plastic container that is slightly larger than your tile and at least two inches deep. 

Fill your container with water and then slowly drip a few drops of nail polish into the water. You only need a few drops of polish. If you pour it straight into the container most of the polish will sink to the bottom and stay there. Slowly dropping a few drops simply works better.

The drops of nail polish will spread out on the surface of the water.

You can see where my daughter poured too much nail polish into the container and it all settled at the bottom.

Once the nail polish has spread out on the surface you need to work quickly. 

Dip the tile, shiny side down directly into the water.  You can also just dip one corner or do a rolling motion into the water for different effects. 

Immediately pull it back up out of the water and turn it over. 

Now it’s my favorite part – you get to see what you’ve made. 

It’s gorgeous. 

They’re all gorgeous. 

But what if you want to do more than one color on a tile such as the ones above? Run the handle of a paintbrush through the water to collect any excess nail polish. Then repeat the same process with another color. 

It’s that simple.

A few other details you need to know:

• Do not dry the tiles! Let them dry naturally. If you wipe them or blot them, the nail polish will pull off.
• Do not try to pop air bubbles. Trust me on this one, If you see lumps or bubbles after you remove it from the water, leave them alone. In about 30 minutes to an hour you can try to press down on them. Sometimes this will push the air out from under them. If you can’t get the air out, just leave them alone and they will go away or seal as they are without problems.
• Let dry for 24 hours before use. The water under the nail polish drying actually helps seal the nail polish and tile together. Do not try to rush this process. Just let nature take its course.

Once all of the water is fully dried off of the tile, about 24 hours later, the tile is ready to use! You do not need to seal these any further.

Glue felt squares on the back of the tile and use them as a coaster! 

You kids can make these and present several of them to their teacher as an end of year gift. 

It’s time to take back your beautiful furniture from water rings. Make coasters. Spread the nail polish love. 

It’s a win-win situation.