Stampin' up coasters

I took my stamps to stone — instead of paper — for a recent craft project. Here is how I made some gift coasters for our immediate family. 

These stone tiles went from dishwasher to my craft room to the stove (where they stunk up our kitchen a lil bit.) I went through some trial-and-error with the project but my process in the end worked for me. Your experience might vary but nonetheless I will share what I did.

Supplies:

StazOn solvent ink pad

4" x 4" Tumbled marble tiles with a smooth surface (but not glossy!)

Rubber stamp

3/8" light duty felt pads

Optional: Spray sealer

StazOn ink pads are a few bucks more expensive but they are worth it ($7-$8 at Michaels). For my first trial (below), I used a simple pigment-based rubberstamp ink. But even after sealing it, the ink smears or rubs off when the coaster is wet. StazOn says it works on more surfaces right on the box.

Coaster fail!

I found 9-packs of 4x4 marble tiles at Home Depot for about $8. Try to pick a type with a smooth surface. My white ones were almost perfect. But I won't be able to use half of the slate ones because the surface was too chipped. And those glossy glazed ones won't absorb the ink.

Steps:

1. WASH — Your coasters will be dusty so toss them in the dishwasher or sink for a good scrub down. If you handle them quite a bit after washing, wipe them with alcohol as well to remove oils. Allow them to dry for a few hours.

2. STAMP — Pick out your desired rubberstamp, sink it into some ink and press down with a gentle pressure (just enough to make contact with the stone). The StazOn ink bled a bit into the stone after setting. If you press down too hard, it will be a blurry mess.

3. BAKE — Heat your oven to 250 degrees and set them inside for about 20 minutes. It might get a little smelly but it's nothing a fan won't air out. Remove and let them cool.

4. SEAL — (Optional) For that first trial, I sprayed a Krylon sealer onto the coaster to keep the ink from blurring. But as you can see above, it didn't work very well. I don't know if that's the fault of the pigment ink or sealer. But I realized if you seal the stone, it could lose its absorbant properties. That doesn't make for a very useful coaster when you have a sweaty glass. So with my final batch, I did not seal them. My second coaster did not bleed in the few days I tested it.

5. PAD — Place the furry little dots onto the bottoms so they sit nice on your table.

This was a rather inexpensive craft project that I believe anyone can do. You could even borrow stamps from a friend to save a few more bucks. Personalized gifts are the best kinds. ;-) So stamp away!