Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
I have done a few of these and had success with it. 1. I stamped and heat embossed a large butterfly on a 4x4" inch white glazed ceramic tile and then I painted it with Glass & Tile paints. The paints can be baked to heat set, or you can use the special spray or wet sealant instead of baking. Because I had heat embossed, I used the special spray. If you want to take a look at the Glass & Tile paints, I got them from Dee at Rubba-Dub-Dub:
http://www.artsanctum.com/RubbaDubDub_Glass_Tile_Metal_Paints.htm
I LOVE these paints. 2. Once again, I stamped and heat embossed the same butterfly, but this time I used Pinata Inks to paint it with. Truthfully....on both pieces it was not really "painting". Because I heat embossed, the lines were raised and created small "cells/open areas" where the paint could be put down to fill in the area. This would probably work extremely well with stained glass image type stamps too. If you heat emboss, it WILL come off the tile if you pick or scratch at it, as would the paints and various other inks as you have already noticed. TIP: DON'T PICK OR SCRATCH AT IT A good sealant of some type will help protect it, but won't keep the inks/paints from coming off if the tile is abused. I would suggest using the tiles for "decoration" purposes...to hang on a wall, put in a frame or shadow box....something like this. If the tile will be used as a coaster or something like that which is intended to withstand abuse, then I would probably suggest using a product like Envirotex or Envirotex Lite as your final "sealant". I've never used Envirotex or Envirotex Lite, but I'm sure others on our list have and will chime in with their ideas. I tend to stamp/paint ceramic tiles to be used decoratively, not functionally...therefore I don't have to worry about paint or ink being scratched off the surface. A ceramic tile, in theory....is nothing more than a totally non-porous surface. The same can be said about dominoes, shrink plastic, transparencies and glass. ANY technique or product you can use with dominoes can be used with ceramic tiles. And honestly...there are literally a TON of techniques and products that are commonly used with dominoes, shrink plastic and transparencies. These same things can be used with cercamic tiles..(I'm repeating myself aren't I???) The problems you are experiencing are not specifically related to either product, surface or technique....but more specifically related to how the ceramic tile will be used, or displayed, as a finished product. I have found a way to create useable coasters and trivits using cearmic tiles!!! The hard part is always trying to find a way to seal them so that they aren't scratched or damaged under heavy use. Here's what I found that works for me: I used a 4x4 inch white ceramic tile (very cheap, about 15 cents at a home improvement type store). You'll also need: -Krylon leafing pen
-pinata inks
-some pieces of felt (the felt you buy off the bolt, not in sheets from the craft department)
-velcro (the hook type)
-small wood or acrylic block
-alcohol
-stamps of choice
-inks of choice (I used the new VersaMagic inkpads, but brilliance works as well) Prep your ceramic tile by wiping it off with alcohol to remove all oils and dust (oil from your hands is trasferred to the tile when you handle it and may create a resist to the inks). Now...take your block and press a piece of the velcro to it (the hook type, I used some self adhesive velcro I got from Walmart). Cut a small piece of the felt about the same size as your block and press it to the velcro. Now...add a few drops of alcohol to the felt, on top of that add a few drops of the two different colors of the pinata inks, maybe a few drops of the Claro Extender (comes with pinata inks) and add a small circle of "ink" from the krylon leafing pen. (just pump it up and down a few times, small dot, not a large one). Tap the felt block, ink side down, onto your tile over and over until it is covered with color. The krylon leafing pen should vein out a bit for you. This creates a really nice "faux polished stone" look to the tile. The ink on the felt goes a long ways, you may want to do a few dominoes or another tile at the same time so you don't waste the ink. Note: By adding alcohol, it "lightens" the color of the ink. If you want bold, dramatic color, don't use the alcohol. Note: The Claro Extender is NOT necessary, but I like how it makes the inks look and it extends the wet time a bit making it easier to work with. Now....use your heat gun to set the inks and quick dry them. (they do dry fairly quickly) Stamp your image on the tile using VersaMagic inkpads (I like how they look on the pinata inks, very opaque and quite bold). You'll have to use your heat gun to dry the VersaMagic ink (you'll know the ink is dry when it goes from being wet/glossy looking to more "matte" looking). Trim the edge of the tile with your krylon leafing pen. Now..the key here is to seal the tile with something so it will stand up under use/abuse. I used a spray sealant product called "Envirotex Spray". Spray 4-5 VERY LIGHT coats on the tile, allowing each coat to dry before adding another. Let it sit over night to fully "cure". If you want, you can glue something on the back side of the tile to protect any surface you lay it on from getting scratched up. Cork works nicely, as does fun foam (I've used both, affixing them to the back of the tile with E6000 glue). Now you can use it for a trivit or a coaster. I have two tiles I did for testing. One tile I created as above. The other tile I stamped and embossed. BOTH tiles have stood up under constant use for almost 5 days now. Even the one I embossed, the embossing has not chipped off, which I thought it would. I've been keeping my hot coffee cups on them and I'm quite pleased with how well they are working. I haven't put a hot pan on either tile yet, but I wouldn't emboss if you plan on it being used that way. The only place I know that is selling the Envirotex Spray right now is A.C. More's. However, if you do a web search and use "envirotex spray" as your key words, you'll turn up other sources. I also use the Envirotex Spray to seal any domino piece that will be used for jewelry. The Envirotex spray does not run your inks as long as you use VERY LIGHT coats of it. I've used it on Brilliance, Staz-On, VersaMagic and ColorBox Chalk inks with great success. Once again, the key is....SEVERAL LIGHT COATS, allowing each coat to dry before applying another. Be sure to use it in a well ventilated area, as you would with any other spray sealant. Another brand of spray sealant that works well, as long as you aren't making coasters or trivits, is called Polycrylic Spray Sealant, manufacturered by Minwax (I got mine from Walmart in the paint department). This works well for domino jewelry pieces, magnets, etc. Things that will only see minimum to moderate use/abuse. Once again, the key is several LIGHT coats letting each coat dry before applying another. This is GREAT for decorative items and it also does not run your inks. I'm working on scanning a few samples I finished, will load them up in shared files in a bit.

Eileen Ejaangel@aol.com
I have stamped on the glazed tiles using any permanent inks and colored in the images with Sharpies. I let this dry overnight. Cut window glass the size of the tiles. Clean thoroughly to remove fingerprints, lint, etc. cover tile and seal edges with the sticky stained glass tape. Great look and will withstand just about anything. Be sure to burnish the sealed edges of tape for great adhesion.

Jan jhoyt1012@aol.com
I have found that I prefer the tumbled stone absorbent tiles for the reasons outlined below but I did find a way to stamp on the glazed tiles and have it survive on coasters, which get wet! I used the new craft inks from Stampin' UP! (very similar to the Fabricos which would also work) and stamped on the tiles then heat set them. After that they but will still rub off so you have to seal them. I used a spray on clear acrylic waterproof sealer, mine was by Krylon. The trick is that you need to apply the first coat or two VERY LIGHTLY and from at least 12 to 15 inches away or the ink can still bleed. After the light coat dries, you can apply more coats and with a heavier hand. I ended up with at least half a dozen spray applications of the sealer "just to be sure!" as I made over 50 tiles for Christmas gifts this past year and didn't want any of them to rub off later. All that spray sealing was a real pain ---especially since it was winter and cold and breezy outside and I had to do the spraying on the back deck! Can you understand why I prefer the absorbent tiles? I did find that bold stamps don't work well at all as the ink prefers to stick to the stamp however, finely detailed images came out very nicely! I was totally blown away by that as I figured the detail would be lost. I do have a scan of a very detailed stamp done on a tile which I would be happy to share with anyone who would like to see it, just send me a note and ask. The tumbled stone are more expensive (about $6 at Home Depot for a box which contains 9 or 10 tiles) as compared to 13 cents each at Lowes for the 4x4 white glazed matte tiles. If you apply a thin coat of the pearl white Lumiere paint to a tile, you will have better luck with a bold stamp adhering but still not as easy as a detailed stamp. I did some mini-tiles this way and they came out fine for fridge magnets and/or pins but am not sure how well they would hold up for everyday use as coasters or trivets. Again, have a scan of that which you are welcome to ask about. I had lots of fun working with the sheets of mini-tiles and the price is right. A sheet of 36 of the white glazed tiles is $2.15 at Home Depot and the yellowish-tan colored DalTile mini's (often used for bathroom floors, I think) come in a sheet of 36 for $2.59. They are labeled glazed but have a rough texture so the nice thing about them is that you can get away with either using StazOn inks or SU craft pads (or Fabricos). If using the craft pads, I still heatset anyway even though they will air dry nicely. A little trick for heatsetting a large quantity of tiles? I used my broiler pan from the oven. Seems like every time we move, the movers pack the broiler pan so I have three or four of them...lol! Anyway, they make nice "double decker" pans for heatsetting tiles. I stamp them downstairs in my craft room. Fill up the bottom of the pan, then put the broiler rack on and put tiles on that. I can fit several broiler pans in the oven at once so can heatset quite a few tiles. And you know what they say, 'nuthin' says lovin' like something from the oven! lol! Somehow I'm not sure that is what the Pillsbury Doughboy meant by that but it's about the only time I ever use my oven lately.

Kim Jolley kimjolley@hotmail.com
Last year I made a couple of different types of coasters from tumbled marble tiles. Some I used Lazertran on, some I stamped. On the stamped ones, I used Crafter's ink & Brilliance ink to achieve different colored backgrounds (which I applied with sponges or dtp) and I stamped my main images with Staz-On inks. Some of them I stamped images and painted them in with Crafters ink mixed with a little bit of water. I made several of these at once, instead of heating them with the heat tool (which I agree would work), I just put all on a cookie sheet and baked them to set the ink. Then I sprayed them with Krylon Matte sealer for a little protection and put cork on the bottom. I made one for each staff member at my office (about 13). Anyway, here are the results of "wear" after about 9 months of use: all are used everyday for cold drinks and hot drinks. No, they do not really absorb, but I don't think the marble did before I stamped and inked it up anyway. All of them look good with no surface scratches, and the images all look crisp, but I probably won't use Brilliance again for background color, as those appear to have faded a bit. Hope that helps.

Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
I have found a way to create useable coasters and trivits using cearmic tiles!!! The hard part is always trying to find a way to seal them so that they aren't scratched or damaged under heavy use. Here's what I found that works for me: I used a 4x4 inch white ceramic tile (very cheap, about 15 cents at a home improvement type store). You'll also need: -Krylon leafing pen
-pinata inks
-some pieces of felt (the felt you buy off the bolt, not in sheets from the craft department)
-velcro (the hook type)
-small wood or acrylic block
-alcohol
-stamps of choice
-inks of choice (I used the new VersaMagic inkpads, but brilliance works as well) Prep your ceramic tile by wiping it off with alcohol to remove all oils and dust (oil from your hands is trasferred to the tile when you handle it and may create a resist to the inks). Now...take your block and press a piece of the velcro to it (the hook type, I used some self adhesive velcro I got from Walmart). Cut a small piece of the felt about the same size as your block and press it to the velcro. Now...add a few drops of alcohol to the felt, on top of that add a few drops of the two different colors of the pinata inks, maybe a few drops of the Claro Extender (comes with pinata inks) and add a small circle of "ink" from the krylon leafing pen. (just pump it up and down a few times, small dot, not a large one). Tap the felt block, ink side down, onto your tile over and over until it is covered with color. The krylon leafing pen should vein out a bit for you. This creates a really nice "faux polished stone" look to the tile. The ink on the felt goes a long ways, you may want to do a few dominoes or another tile at the same time so you don't waste the ink. Note: By adding alcohol, it "lightens" the color of the ink. If you want bold, dramatic color, don't use the alcohol. Note: The Claro Extender is NOT necessary, but I like how it makes the inks look and it extends the wet time a bit making it easier to work with. Now....use your heat gun to set the inks and quick dry them. (they do dry fairly quickly) Stamp your image on the tile using VersaMagic inkpads (I like how they look on the pinata inks, very opaque and quite bold). You'll have to use your heat gun to dry the VersaMagic ink (you'll know the ink is dry when it goes from being wet/glossy looking to more "matte" looking). Trim the edge of the tile with your krylon leafing pen. Now..the key here is to seal the tile with something so it will stand up under use/abuse. I used a spray sealant product called "Envirotex Spray". Spray 4-5 VERY LIGHT coats on the tile, allowing each coat to dry before adding another. Let it sit over night to fully "cure". If you want, you can glue something on the back side of the tile to protect any surface you lay it on from getting scratched up. Cork works nicely, as does fun foam (I've used both, affixing them to the back of the tile with E6000 glue). Now you can use it for a trivit or a coaster. I have two tiles I did for testing. One tile I created as above. The other tile I stamped and embossed. BOTH tiles have stood up under constant use for almost 5 days now. Even the one I embossed, the embossing has not chipped off, which I thought it would. I've been keeping my hot coffee cups on them and I'm quite pleased with how well they are working. I haven't put a hot pan on either tile yet, but I wouldn't emboss if you plan on it being used that way. The only place I know that is selling the Envirotex Spray right now is A.C. More's. However, if you do a web search and use "envirotex spray" as your key words, you'll turn up other sources. I also use the Envirotex Spray to seal any domino piece that will be used for jewelry. The Envirotex spray does not run your inks as long as you use VERY LIGHT coats of it. I've used it on Brilliance, Staz-On, VersaMagic and ColorBox Chalk inks with great success. Once again, the key is....SEVERAL LIGHT COATS, allowing each coat to dry before applying another. Be sure to use it in a well ventilated area, as you would with any other spray sealant. Another brand of spray sealant that works well, as long as you aren't making coasters or trivits, is called Polycrylic Spray Sealant, manufacturered by Minwax (I got mine from Walmart in the paint department). This works well for domino jewelry pieces, magnets, etc. Things that will only see minimum to moderate use/abuse. Once again, the key is several LIGHT coats letting each coat dry before applying another. This is GREAT for decorative items and it also does not run your inks. I'm working on scanning a few samples I finished, will load them up in shared files in a bit.