3 DIY Wedding Gift Tutorials for Gifts That No One Will Believe You Made! Part 3 of 3

Today we will finish up our wedding gifts by etching coaster using our curio. But remember the files you get can be used to cut faux etch vinyl with your cameo, so you are not left out!

Let's gather up our supplies, open the files and get started.

Supplies:Items with * have a link to the Craft Chameleon products

* Acrylic Coasters

  SVG Design Program ( Studio, Design Space, SCAL, etc)

* CB09Blade Holder with Etching Blade 

  Silhouette Curio

  Standard Curio Tray

* Double Sided Tape - optional

* Plastic Coaster Template -optional

I used the plastic coaster template which gives the ability to etch 2 coasters at a time with precision alignment. Also, your mat gets less sticky over time and the templates will help keep your acrylics from moving. Once the template is opened in the design program you will need to center it to the page. This video shows centering the template if you would like extra details.

Time to build your platform will use 2 layers marked 2 and the gridded layer marked 1.   

Then you put your craft chameleon template down making sure the word Front is facing the correct way so that when you put your coasters down they are in the correct spot to etch.

I recommend leaving the backing on one side of the coasters to help them stick to your mat.  Sometimes I use a little bit of double-sided tape to make sure the item I’m etching doesn’t move while etching.  You don’t want it to move or it can mess up the etching process.  

Since I wanted my coasters to correspond with the wine caddy butler and wine bottle stopper I once again opened up the wine caddy butler design provided by Craft Chameleon when I purchased the wine caddy butler from them.  

I ungrouped the design and just took the center portion of the design and placed it in the center of the coaster etching template opening. 

I thought it needed a little something more so I opened my text tool and picked a font that I thought looked good with the grapes.  I went with Brush Script MI.  I typed Cheers and angled it so it was diagonal through the middle of the coaster.  Depending on the font you may want to thicken it and or make sure you weld the letters together.

After completing the design, flip it horizontally as the design is etched on the reserve side of the coaster. Be sure not to flip the template. Duplicate the design and paste it into the second coaster template slot.

Now it’s time to set up the etching portion of the file.  Select your designs and open the embossing panel.  Choose the deboss option,  select the pattern you want to use.  I picked the crosshatch embossing pattern this time.  Adjust your spacing and angle.  I leave the angle at the predetermined setting but I adjust the spacing to the most fill which is .004.  

You’ll notice when you do these adjustments the design will change to a light blue color and show what the etching lines will look like.

The design should turn a darker blue color showing it is designated to etch.  You select your material and make sure your action is set to 'etch' and the etching tip is the blue tool holder.  Choosing to etch edge will not etch the whole design and just the edge.

Now for the fun part! Etching your coasters.  Click the send button towards the bottom and the curio will etch both coasters!  Once you complete these two you will need to repeat the steps again so that you have a complete set of four coasters.

Well, I hope you enjoyed making these wedding gifts as much I did. If you have more questions, join our Facebook Group where we have lots of curio users. This is the link and be sure to fill out the questionnaire. Tell Peggy, Faye sent you.  ;)