So after making about a dozen 4"x4" slate coasters, as well as a few other random items, I figured I should clean my forge…bad I know to wait that long. Man, let me tell you, slate is messy! Lots of dust on everything. Laser was still cutting just fine and the lenses were all clean but, man, I can’t wait that long again lol. Shame on me lol
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Do rubber stamps 
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Yeah, I have heard that makes a mess lol
Where buy slate from??
OMG rubber is nasty - I did 50 gaskets for an aerospace company’s new maintenance tooling thingy (it’s a technical term - I don’t have clearance but they didn’t have a laser so I made a “thingy gasket” 
). Serious soot - I had to clean in between sheets of 4 so it would do the kiss cut.
I had done a clear silicone rubber version and that sooted up black too.
(You should not worry that at any time you might be flying on a plane where a gasket made by a schmoe in his basement was used in the outfitting and maintenance of the engines - I’m a conscientious schmoe 
).
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I purchased blank slate coasters on amazon then prepped them and engraved them
Thanks I ve only have my gf for one week Ive have gotten 2 project to work so far excited to do slate any adsive be great on setting and power. Or file of ideas. I am having buyer remose I am an art teacher I bought it to teach but raise money for art suppies for my class. But think slate would be a good sell iteam. Hope to buy computer next week for class so they and my self can learn photo shop and AI. Inkscape. Been years so I am behind on computer skills.
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Welcome 
There’s a lot to learn for sure but it’s a fun process.
As for slate settings, that is easy. Lots of people have posted about it, so if you search for slate settings like this:
You’ll find a lot of posts about it.
Beyond that there are some great posts about getting started, tutorials for inkscape and photoshop and AI and GIMP. You can learn so much so quickly, it’s pretty amazing.
Here’s a great “getting started” post. It’ll get your brain going
As for ideas, the entire “made on a Glowforge” category is full of them! It’s a great way to get some inspiration. Design files? That’s what free laser designs category is for.
Beyond that google is an amazing resource here too. Searching for “laser cutter projects” or “laser cutter files” is an entire afternoon of surfing by itself.
I keep a notebook where I jot down my ideas as I have them. Some I don’t get to, some I come back to, but I get ideas in bursts, and when they come I have to make a record or I will forget.
I hope you get past the buyer’s remorse stage. There are so many ways to enjoy the Glowforge and many of them don’t require a deep knowledge of software. I can’t wait to see what you make with it.
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I bet tiles would sell well. If you search for tiles, you can see some gorgeous examples. They aren’t as messy as slate and the kids could help with the coloring.
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Thank you so much for taken the time to send me info. I hope to have down time this weekend and put togother project. Its scary but fun. I know my students are going to love it. Specail if u can get trace funcation to work to move there art on to wood or anything
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Have you seen any of the threads on ceramic tiles? They are cheap, at least in the US, and require a low level of computer knowledge. While they are very easy technically, to do the very best ones requires a lot of artistic talent. Be warned that the sharpies many people use to color their tiles is not UV safe; they fade quickly if left in sunlight. Presumably you can spray the tile with a UV protectant. Here is a link to the main tile thread:
There are many ceramic tile threads, with some amazing work that I think would be perfect for you and your art students.
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Thank you, ill check it out.
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