Gift Cheery Ceramic Coasters with Cricut Joy
Coasters are a fun and useful gift idea, and with Cricut Infusible Ink, this set brings bright cheery messages sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face all year long!
Disclaimer: Cricut supplied some materials and equipment used in this post. Links in this article are affiliate links that pay this site a commission at no cost to the reader when a purchase is made after a click.
Supplies Used:
white cardstock
You’ll need to ensure you have both cardstock (minimum 80 lbs) and butcher paper to use as part of your pressing stack. I used some generic craft chain store white cardstock for my cardstock. A starting quantity of butcher paper came in the box with the ink sheets, but you might want to have a roll on hand in case you find it isn’t enough.
Cutting Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets is pretty much the same as cutting iron-on vinyl for t-shirts and other projects. The design has to be mirrored, kiss cut, and then weeded. On the Cricut Joy, Ink Transfer Sheets are cut by putting them carrier side down on the Joy’s green mat and loading them into the machine the same way things are cut on the Cricut Maker.
Below is an example of what not to do when cutting your Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets on your Cricut Joy…I was having so much fun playing with my little mini green mat and Cricut Joy that I totally spaced and put the Infusible Ink sheet ink side DOWN on the mat. Major dope moment…I haven’t made that mistake with any iron-on in years, since way back when I was a rookie Cricut-er!
Although cutting Infusible Ink is a pretty familiar process to iron-on vinyl users, ironing it onto the coasters is a very different process. The Infusible Ink requires much more heat and time, and the stack of layers you press is in a different order than you might be used to with iron-on vinyl.
The Infusible Ink was also a bit more time-consuming than doing regular iron-on. This is because in addition to the longer pressing time you also have to wait to peel it until it is cool. I found in my trials that it was best to wait to move it off of the Easy Press mat until it was ready to peel, which meant I couldn’t start my next piece until it was cool enough to peel. It did cool way faster than I expected however, even during a hot Florida summer. And if you have enough space and multiple Easy Press Mats, you could switch back and forth between the two - press on one while the other one cools.
All of that said, however, as long as you carefully follow the instructions in the Cricut Heat Guide, it is very easy to get beautiful results!
One last thing - Please take seriously the Cricut advisory to work in a well-ventilated area with this material!
The finished ceramic coasters make the perfect addition to my teenaged daughter’s bedroom, and will hopefully protect her new bedside table from getting water rings on it!
These are a bright spot of color and an oh-so-useful gift for a teenager or college kid! Or just make them for yourself to perk up a gray winter day! I look forward to seeing who you will share them with!
