I've made a few of these coasters out of ceramic tile, scrapbook paper, and stamps. I also made a set for Brenda with pictures of Dave Grohl. These are fun and easy to make and I've been using this one as the coaster on my desk to make sure it holds up to everyday use (it does!).
When I first thought about what I could use a laser for, I looked over at my cat coaster and thought,
"etching on ceramic tile!" I can't just make stuff up, though, so I needed to do a test run to see what I could do with it. So I took a tile out to my drill press, made some shallow holes and filled them up with resin. I think the results look pretty cool. The laser would allow me to do more intricate, or larger, designs and the resin should fill in the cuts nicely. I brought this to my friend's house the other day and she said this was proof that my mind works in an odd way. I take it as a compliment! :)
If you use the laser to etch fine details, a cheap (both in terms of labor and supplies) way to make the details pop is to paint with a wash (which is a standard technique in miniatures painting, if you know anyone who does that sort of thing).
ReplyDeleteIt remindes me of dice! You could put stuff in the holes before you fill them with resin. Like glitter or those little carnival balls. I'm not sure if this is practical, but could you conceivably etch a shallow square to put a picture in so it sits 'down in' the coaster, instead of on top? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteVery cool, love the coaster idea
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my Dave Grohl coasters that you made for me. I use them every single day with big, sweaty iced tea glasses and they are 100% waterproof. I love that you used 4 different photos so I can choose which "Dave mood" I'm in on a daily basis.
ReplyDelete:)