We first tried overstamping a leaf image by Rubber Stampede - using brown Stazon ink.

We liked the result, but wanted to pursue the idea of making a stamp that would come from the background design itself. This would assure harmony. So, here's how to proceed in that direction:

Step 1.
Study the leaf texture sheet, which was used to impress your foam printing block. Try to find an area that resembles a complete leaf.

We have found that the foam can be heated right on the block without harm to the block or the tape.

Use the Removable rather than regular double-stick tape because the foam can be removed more easily from the block without tearing.

Remove the foam from the acrylic block and cut out the leaf design using a sharp scissors.

We cut notches into the outline of the leaf to give it a more interesting edge.

Ink the stamp with Inkredible Royal Burgundy, and overstamp your tile in whatever fashion you desire.

To finish off your coaster, heat set the Inkredible ink by heating it with your heat gun for a minute or so. Then cut four small squares of the adhesive backed felt and apply to the back of the coaster as protective “feet”.

Your coasters will still absorb moisture because so many little open spaces have been left in the paint.

The coaster shown lower left of these three was our first result. Then, we decided to experiment with placement of the leaf images to see if we would find anything we might like better.

Obviously, the possibilities are endless - and you can test them on some of the extra cardstock backgrounds you made earlier.

And then. . . we started to think of all the other textures and other colors of glazes and other stamp images, and we were off and running. Shown below right are some of the alternate coaster designs we came up with.

On all three of these, we used Italian Sage as the background color (Glaze Vernis) and Green Stazon Ink to overstamp.

We have a great set of four leaf design stamps from Hero Arts and this is one of them. You could make a set of 4 coasters using each of the four designs in the set. In fact, we did, and gave them away as birthday gifts.

Here’s how the backgrounds were made (clockwise from the top):

1. Overall application of glaze using the foam packing sheet.

2. A cut piece of the mezzotint heat foam from the Texture Tools Package, mounted on an acrylic block and stamped lengthwise, then widthwise, overstamping itself. Glaze Vernis was used as the ink - sponged on the stamp.

3. Penscore block heat impressed with the Moonrock Texture Sheet. Glaze Vernis was sponged onto the block, and then, just the end of the block was used to stamp the same distance in from each side.

We were cleaning off our leaf stamp by spritzing it with water and stamping on a paper towel. Every time we spritzed and stamped, the image was different - and more ethereal.

We switched to card stock and started over by reinking the stamp and spritzing every other time we made an impression.

Once the stamp was clean, we turned it over on the mount and now had a shadow stamp - with which we tried the same thing.

Then we started building designs using both sides. And look at how the ink resists itself and lets the designs behind show through! Ideas started flowing which we could not follow at the time because this article just had to get finished.

But, we’re going back for more. Maybe we’ll make leaf stamps of different sizes, or from the backside of the embossed leaf texture sheet - which will give us a reverse of the image.

Maybe we’ll make Christmas cards or wreath designs or. . . . who could even guess what.