Good morning blog readers!! Today’s ‘theory tHursday’ and I thought it would be fun to do a hybrid project today!

I’m going to be showing you how to make a Layout Tile. I made one of these for my sister-in-law for Christmas with a photo I scrapped of her family, and she LOVED it. So, these make GREAT gifts, but I wanted to make one for ME!

To Make this Project, You Will Need:

1. 8×8 print of your LO
2. paper cutter or trimmer
3. 8×8 ceramic tile*
4. paintbrush
5. Modge-Podge (I prefer matte finish)
6. rubbing alcohol
7. a cotton swab

Tips to remember while scrapping & printing your LO:

8×8 tiles are in reality about 7 ¾ x 7 ¾ . Just keep in mind when you are scrapping that you will lose at least an 1/8 of an inch if not more from the edges.

Also remember that depending on what your easel looks like, if you place your finished project in an easel with a big base, there’s a chance that some of the bottom of your LO might get covered. Just something to keep in mind when scrapping your LO.

I had my 8×8 print made at Costco (only $1.50!), and the edges get trimmed down there too. Don’t scrap anything important (photos, dates, etc.) along the edges!

Step One:
Use the cotton swab and rubbing alcohol to give your tile a good cleaning, just to make sure there is no residue on the tile. Wipe it down and let it dry (it dries really fast).

Step Two:
Lay your print on the tile to see how much you’ll need to trim off. I knew I would have to trim some off, but I didn’t realize HOW much it would be! It was MORE than an 1/8 of an inch off each edge. I ended up losing ALL of my cute black and white polka dot paper around the edges! ? BUMMER! Oh, well . . . live and learn!

Step Three:
Once you have exactly the right size print, it’s time to glue it down. I think a craft sponge brush actually works better than the brush I used, but I couldn’t find my sponge brushes! Brush a medium coat of Modge-Podge all over the tile. Work quickly. Make sure that the edges and corners all have a good coat. Don’t let it start to dry. Keep it all wet!

Step Four:
Lay the print onto the tile, holding it by the edges. I used the sides of my hands (as they were the cleanest) to press the print down firmly, but not letting it slip and get crooked. Make sure it stays lined up. Make sure there are no air bubbles and that the edges and corners are glued down well. If you get a little smudge on it, don’t worry, you really won’t be able to tell once its done!

Let it sit for about 10 minutes to make sure its securely glued down.

Step Five:
Time to seal it! Decide on a direction, and only brush in that one direction. I brushed up and down. Put a nice thick coat of modge-podge all over the tile. You sort of have to work quickly. With this light colored LO, the process looked a LOT less scary than it did the first time I tried this. If you are doing a darker LO, don’t freak out if it starts looking really bad. It’s ok if you can see brushstrokes or if it doesn’t look perfect. The Modge-Podge is white before it dries. You’ll be surprised how good it looks once its dry.

Your’e done!
Let it sit overnight. Even if it sort-of feels dry, Modge-Podge stays a little tacky for a while, and can stick to things or get gauges in the finish if you don’t let it dry long enough.

In the morning, it should be dried nice and hard!

Display!
Place your tile in a cute easel and your project is complete! I haven’t gone out and picked an easel yet, I just borrowed a little plastic one from something else in my house, but I will get a cute black one very soon!!

Here’s my finished project! Isn’t it so cute?! I just love it!!

So there you have it. A really simple project that is really hard to mess up!! I swear, everytime I do this, I feel like I messed it up, but it always turns out perfect! ANYONE can do this!

I was thinking it would be really fun to have seasonal tiles to rotate each season. Like a Christmas one, a Valentine’s one, Easter, Summer, Halloween, Fall, etc! They would be so fun to see each time that season rolled around. Just another idea.

If you make a Layout Tile, take a picture of your finished project and link us up here in the comments! I would LOVE to see your projects!!

Have a great Thursday!

xoxo,
Britt