Personalised things are always great for kids, but how much cooler will they think it is if it’s done with their own drawings? This past week we did some experimenting with Cricut Infusible Ink pens and I’m so impressed. I’ve had them for a while, not exactly sure what to do with them, but I wish I’d used them sooner. 

If you haven’t heard of Infusible Ink before it’s a really great product from Cricut that comes in transfer sheets and pens. It basically allows you to transfer ink actually into the blank (T-shirt, mug, coaster, tote bag etc) that you are using. No vinyl is left to crack or come off, the ink is actually IN the item you’re decorating. I’ve previously made some coasters with the transfer sheets here.

The great thing about the pens is that they come in a set with a lot of colours and you can then use them to do whatever you want. You simply draw on normal white printing paper and then transfer the image to the blank. Full details below.

I also tested out the ceramic coasters (which are gorgeous by the way) and didn’t have the yellow transfer sheets that I wanted for my sun in my scene. Using the pens I was able to just draw little yellow circles to make the suns myself.

Using Infusible Ink Pens for DIY Coasters

What you need

Infusible Ink Pens
Coaster blanks
Plain paper
Heat resistant tape
EasyPress

What to do

Start by lightly tracing the shape of the coasters on paper using a pencil.

Use your pens to draw, or let your children draw whatever design they want on the coasters. The design will be placed face down onto the coaster for transferring, so remember that the image will be mirrored. Writing won’t work unless you are able to write backwards.

Cut out the drawing along the pencil lines and gently erase the lines. 

Use the heat transfer tape to tape the drawing to the coaster, drawn side face to face with the top side of the coaster.

Place some paper/card on an EasyPress mat, then your coaster (face up), then some more cardstock.

Heat your heat press to 205C (400F) and set it for 60 seconds (Full details from Cricut here). 

Heat your design using the heat press and then allow it to cool before removing the design.

Just like that you’ve got custom coasters with your own drawings on them! How special could these be as gifts for grandparents or as keepsakes of your children’s drawing through various life stages?