Stars & Swirls Coasters with Iron-on-Ink

Hi everyone! I’m Pia from Stitches n Scraps, and I’m so excited to be back on the blog without another guest post! I'm a knitter & crocheter by nature, but have really enjoyed branching out into sublimation craft. For those of us here in the USA, 4th of July is right around the corner. Dress up your celebration with Stars and Swirls Coasters.

What is Iron-on-Ink?
Create any image you like on regular copy paper with Artesprix Sublimation stamps, markers, and paints. As if by magic (or you know, chemistry), it becomes an iron-on design! 
Use a heat press or even a regular household iron to transfer your masterpiece onto specially prepared surfaces called “blanks". Artesprix has a wide array of blanks to choose from, including the textured coasters I used for this project.

Materials:
Protective Project Mat
Sublimation Markers 
Red and Blue Sublimation Stamp Pads
Acrylic Stamp Block
Heat Tape
Protective Paper
Textured Coasters Blank
A heat press or iron 
A pencil
Plain copy paper
Star shaped clear stamps
A paintbrush or sponge brush
Scissors

Step-by-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Place your coaster blank on top of a piece of paper and trace around it. This gives you an idea of the area you want to cover.

Pro Tip: This is a good time to turn on your heat source for it to pre-heat while you create. For this blank, the transfer specifications call for 400℉.

Step 2: Arrange a few star-shaped stamps on your stamp block. If you do one color of stamp at a time, you can just press the stamps into the stamp pads directly. 

For one of my stamps, I wanted multiple colors on the same stamp. To do both red and blue at the same time, use the paintbrush or sponge to apply color from the stamp pads to exactly the sections you want. 

Now press the stamps onto the paper. Be sure to go over the edges of your traced template so you don’t have to worry about centering it perfectly when you transfer it. 

Repeat this process to fill in any blank spots. Give the ink a minute to dry while you clean your stamps and stamp block.

Step 3: With a pencil, draw a few swirls around the stars. It’s just pencil so you can re-draw them as much as you need to until you love it! 

Feel free to add a few dots or other embellishments as well. If you have an idea, try it and see what you think! 

Step 4: Choose the blue or red marker from your marker set and trace over your swirls. The colors are not exactly the same as the stamp colors. Depending on the stamps you use, you may also want to trace around the edges of your stamped designs for added dimension.

Step 5: Cut down your paper if necessary, leaving enough extra paper on the edges to tape it down. Secure your coaster face down to your design with heat resistant tape. 

Step 6: Create your "Sublimation Sandwich". Cut two pieces of protective paper that are each slightly larger than your blank on all sides. Put these pieces on top and bottom of your secured design. 

Step 7: Press your design with your heat press or iron, according to the instructions for the blank. My heat press surface is narrower than the blank, so in my case I pressed half the blank at a time, using 400℉ for 90 seconds on each half for my Textured Coasters. 

Step 8: Carefully peel back a corner of your paper for a “peek test” to see if the ink has transferred fully. Don’t burn yourself – it’s hot! Let it cool a bit first if needed.

If the design has not fully transferred, replace the paper and continue pressing until it looks good. Because I pressed my blank in sections, I did a peek test at each corner, one at a time, to make sure each section had transferred nicely.

Step 9: It's time for the reveal! Take apart the layers and admire your lovely new Stars and Swirls Coaster! Double check that you turned off your heat press or iron.

Thank you for following along with this tutorial. These coasters would be great as a hostess gift for an upcoming Fourth of July celebration, or use them yourself while you watch the fireworks! If you enjoyed this project, check out my Personalized Pet Bandana project too! You can find more fun ideas and tutorials on Stitches n Scraps.

Keep on crafting! 

Pia Thadani

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