Ask Maria “Crafting With Tile Samples”
Posted by Maria on March 26th, 2010 at 11:04am
Dear Maria,
I have some tile samples 3″x3″x1/8″. Does anyone have any idea as what kind of craft they can be used in ????
Suellyn C, FaveCrafts.com
Answer
I don’t know if your tile samples are finished (sealed), unfinished, smooth, or with texture, but I’m going to try to give you some ideas. The first thing that comes to mind is to use decals. There are a wide variety of decals or transfers designed for porous (unsealed tile) and non-porous (sealed or finished tiles). Decals wouldn’t work for a tile that has any texture, but you could decal smooth tiles and create anything from a refrigerator magnet to a coaster to garden markers. Think of each tile as a mini canvas.
You can paint on tiles with glass paint. Sometimes glass paint requires you to heat set the paint in your oven, others do not. You could use an acrylic paint on the tile surface as long as you finish it with a sealer to protect the paint from chipping. Using acrylic paint is convenient, but remember this paint is not designed for painting on tile and shouldn’t be handled heavily.
Many of my friends use tile for mosaics. Usually the tile is broken into small pieces, then adhered to a surface and grouted. They create trivets, garden stepping stones, and more. I also have friends who break up the tile and use the shards (sanded with no sharp edges) as the base of pendants. You can paint, draw, or stamp on tiles with permanent markers or alcohol inks.
Mosaic Projects
Blue Willow Mosaic Egg (easy to adapt to any color tile)
Tile Tattoos (decals for tiles)
To the joy of crafting, Maria Nerius, Resident Craft Expert at FaveCrafts.com
Tags: mosaic
1 Comment for Ask Maria “Crafting With Tile Samples”
1. Robbie White | April 30th, 2010 at 6:58 am
I once “inherited” a box of white tile samples.
I really didn’t know what to do with them.
Somewhere I learned about the wonderful glass paints out there.
Suddenly I knew what to do with those tile samples.
So I painted cute little designs and scenes on them and used them for coasters!
That Christmas everyone I knew got a coffee coaster from me! Even though I didn’t have enough for a complete set for everyone,I used them in “coffee baskets”.
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