A friend of mine gave me ceramic tiles she had left over from her bathroom. She knows I paint on anything that stands still! Word Art is so popular right now. I decided to make the tiles look like stones. They can then be hung individually or in groups.
Paint entire top surface of tile with enamel paint. I usually use a darker shade to add depth to the crevices of the grout. Let dry.
Paint tile again with a lighter shade. This time, do not push paint into tile crevices, just brush over the top. This leaves the dark to add depth. Let dry.
You may need more coats depending on how thick your coats are. Make sure the center surface is smooth for the words.
Take the tile grout and put small blobs in a line, smashing them on with your finger. These will be your leaves. Before these dry, take a toothpick and shape into leaf shapes. Use toothpick to "draw" veins in leaves. Let dry.
Paint leaves. (You can add shadows around leaves if you desire.) Paint the vines to connect the leaves to each other. Let dry.
Paint words of your choice with script brush.
Optional: you can spray with satin finish for more protection.
For Hanger: Cut a 24" piece of black wire. I usually buy this by the spool at the hardware store. It's much cheaper than the craft store. A spool usually costs about $3.00 and lasts me for a couple of years!
Fold wire in half and make a loop for the hanger by twisting a couple of turns. You should have two ends, one for each side of the tile.
Place tile on top of wire and bend loops around the top corners of the tile from back to front. Push these down and they will hold the tile.
Take remainder of wire and fold under the bottom corners of the tile coming back up on top with a loop to hold the bottom.
Optional: you can glue felt strips on the back to protect your wall from the wire.
By Artlady from Edmond, OK
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This is a great idea! I like simple crafts that don't require too many "ingredients." The only item I need for this is grout, because we have lots of white tiles we took off our bathroom wall (that is, the ones that hadn't fallen off already!), and I have paint & wire on hand. Thanks for the inspiration, Artlady!
This is a very cute idea. I make alot of mosaic tile things and I was kind of getting burnt out on them a little bit but I still have a garage full of old tiles so this will be a very cute idea for making Christmas presents. I always make all my presents and I can't wait to get started
I've seen this done, but didn't fully understand the best way to do it. Now, how about for the outside of the home, such as on a piece of polished granite? Any ideas?
God bless you. : )
Lynda, I'm not sure how tile grout would hold up on polished granite. I would think it would because it's kind of like concrete when dry. You'd need to be sure to use the enamel paints for outdoor use. I'd put on several coats of clear sealer on top of it all. If it's something you could re-do as it weathers, I'd try it! Good luck.
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