DIY Camping Gift Idea- Cricut Infusible Ink Coasters

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Use your Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore to make a one of a kind camping gift idea! These DIY Cricut Infusible Ink Coasters have campers and camping quotes on them and are the perfect handmade gift for someone who loves to camp!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

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When I was a little girl my family and I used to take a camping trip together every summer. Those camping trips are some of my fondest childhood memories. I loved being on the lake, swimming, fishing, watching the stars at night, sitting by the campfire reading, roasting marshmallows and spending time with those I love.

Camping is an incredible way to bond with your family and friends. I think there are two types of people in the world– Those who love to camp, and those who just don’t know they love to camp yet!

There are 4 different kinds of campers:

The real back to nature, “roughing it” campers– They are the ones with everything they need strapped to their backs and they hike out into the back country to find the perfect piece of paradise.
The “fit it in my hatchback, set up in 5 minutes” campers– These are the people that campers like me are envious of. They are usually a young couple without kids, or an older couple camping without kids. They pull up with a tiny hatchback with a pop up tent, their sleeping bags, a backpack that they share with their clothes inside, two camp chairs, two books and a cooler. They set up their campsite in 5 minutes, light a fire, and spend the rest of the afternoon reading. They often stay just one night and pack up just as quickly as they set up. Meaning that they can wait until the last possible minute to pack and still beat you to the ferry lineup even though you’ve been up packing since 6 am.
The “Be prepared for any situation” campers– (This is the camp we fall into). They pull up to their campsite in their minivan and have every square inch of that baby packed to the gills. It takes them three hours to set up, and six hours to tear down. You’ll never see them staying for just 1 night. No, these are the campers that stay a week to ten days. Need a cheese grater? Check with them! Run out of mosquito repellent? You know they’re going to have it (and probably a store bought version, an essential oil DIY kind, mosquito patches and calamine lotion in case you already got bit)! Sprung a leak in your air mattress? Pop on over. They are sure to have duct tape inside their giant camping toolbox. Feeling bored? Go for a visit! They’re sure to have bocci ball, cornhole, baseball bats and mitts, frisbies, a unicorn shaped pool float and a canoe that you can borrow!
The “Glampers”– These are the people you want to be friends with. Why? Because if you experience bad weather, or are just getting tired of the great outdoors this is where you can go to escape for some home comforters. These campers camp in tent trailers, campers, RV’s or in those super fancy yurts up on the hill overlooking the other campers. They are all set up with running water, a toilet, charging stations for charging ipads and phones, heck they might even have a TV and a blender for making margaritas! They have heaters inside their campers for when it gets cold, and fans for when it gets hot. Swing by in the morning for a cup of coffee so that you don’t need to light your camp fire and get your perculator going… you know they have a coffee maker (or maybe even an espresso machine) in there!

No matter what category a camper falls into, here’s one thing that I know to be true– When campers are not camping, chances are they are already planning their next camping trip.

Just last week I booked our our yearly camping trip, to the same place that I camped when I was a kid for 9 months from now.

Campers love to camp, and be surrounded by camping memories. It’s with that in mind that I made my project for today! They make an excellent DIY camping gift idea! They are Camping Themed Infusible Ink Coasters!

I have a friend who we go camping with each year, and she loves handmade gifts, so I decided to make this project for her.

You all know how much I LOVE my Cricut Access Subscription— it makes personalized gift giving easy! I searched “camping” under images and so many fun ideas came up!

I decided which images I wanted to use and then changed the images from “cut” to “draw in the linetype section of the toolbar. I decided to use round Infusible Ink Coasters for this project which are 3.5 inches in diameter, so I selected a circle from the shapes section, sized it to 3.5 inches and then duplicated it 4 times. Next I centered my images on the circle, attached them and I was all ready to go!

You can find the cut file as well as instructions on how to make your own DIY Camping Coasters below.

I can’t wait to give this handmade, personalized gift to my dear friend. I hope that when she sees it she knows how special she is to me, and that every time she uses them she thinks of our camping adventures together!

DIY Camping Gift Idea- Cricut Infusible Ink Coasters

Materials:

–Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore

–Laser copy paper (see note below)

–Light Grip Cutting Mat

–Cricut Infusible Ink Pens (I used the Markers in size 1.0 and the pens in size 0.4)

–Cricut Infusible Ink Coasters

–Cricut EasyPress 2 (see note below)

–Lint Roller

–Butcher Paper

-Cardstock

–Cricut EasyPress Mat

–Cricut Heat Safe Tape

A Note About Laser Copy Paper: Laser copy paper you ask? But I just have regular copy paper! Friends, I was in the same boat. I spent a bit of time digging around and this is what I found out. Regular copy paper is not recommended because of the high temperature that this project is heated at. Laser copy paper can withstand the heat. I’ve heard rumours of people who have tried regular copy paper but apparently the colors in your finished coaster don’t come out as intense. Laser copy paper can be on the pricier side, but I found this great deal for 500 sheets or Laser Copy Paper for $7.99 on Amazon (that’s 1.6 cents a sheet!!!) and if you have Amazon Prime it will get to you as quick as a bunny. I’d hate for you to ruin your pretty coaster blanks, and 500 sheets will make you a TON of coasters! Make sure you grab a roll of Butcher Paper while you are at it!

A Note About Cricut EasyPress 2: Please do not attempt to do this with an iron. You will not be happy with the results. The Cricut EasyPress 2 has an even heat plate that let’s you set an exact temperature (up to 400F) that will leave you with perfect results every time. Not only is it great for iron-on materials, it’s also the perfect companion for Infusible Ink. I also love how portable it is so I can bring it with me when crafting with friends!

Directions:

Step 1: Log into Cricut Design Space and then open my Camping Coasters Cut File here.

Click “Make It” in the upper right hand tool bar. Change your material size to 8.5X11″. Slide the “mirror” slider to mirror your image.

Select laser copy paper as your cutting material, load your Infusible Ink Pen into your machine, load your cutting mat into your machine and click the cute little Cricut C on your machine to start cutting! Sit back and watch your Cricut draw, that’s one of my favorite things to watch my Cricut do!

Carefully remove your coaster coloring sheets from your cutting mat.

Step 2: Use your Infusible Ink Pens to color in your coaster coloring sheets. Note: Don’t be fooled if the color on the paper appears darker than you expect especially when wet. The color of the marker itself is the color that your infused ink will be!

Step 3: Set the temperature of your Cricut EasyPress 2 to 400F and the timer to 240 seconds. Lay out your EasyPress Mat and cover it with a piece of cardstock.

Set your coaster on your EasyPress Mat with the shiny side facing up. Use a lint roller or a lint free cloth to wipe any dust or lint from your coaster. Don’t skip this step, it’s an important one to make sure your design infuses into the coaster properly.

Lay your design onto your coaster with the colored side facing down. Use your Cricut Heat Resistant Tape to tape the design into place.

Flip your coaster so the design is facing down, cover your coaster with butcher paper and press using your Cricut EasyPress 2. Do not move the EasyPress around. Keep it as still as possible.

When your EasyPress beeps that the timer is done, carefully lift your EasyPress being careful not to disrupt the coaster. Your coaster is going to be VERY HOT, so don’t touch it. Leave to cool and for your ink to finish infusing until your coaster is cool to the touch.

Remove the tape and paper and reveal your design! Voila! You’ve created a beautiful coaster! Tip: Use a larger EasyPress 2 to infuse ink into multiple coasters at once!

I love how this project turned out so much! I know my friend is going to love them, and they feel so personal just for her! I’m excited to see if she uses them at home, or in her camper!

Disclosure: Thank you to Cricut for working with us on this post. As with every article on Hello Creative Family all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own. We only share things we love and we definitely love Cricut!