If you have some ceramic tiles left over from a recent kitchen or bathroom remodeling project, put them to good use as coordinating picture frames or wall hangings in just a few simple steps.
| Ceramic tiles
Scrapbook frames Craft cord Decorative stones or other embellishments of choice Duct tape Hot-glue gun and glue sticks (and tacky glue as a possible reinforcement) Scissors |
Check out the photo illustrations for examples of single- and double-tile picture frames, plus a triple-tile wall hanging.
To make the small single-tile frame, you’ll need a 4-by-4-inch tile, craft cord and a scrapbook frame.
Begin by pressing the scrapbook frame onto the face of the tile. If the frame has an adhesive back, just peel off the protective covering and press; if not, apply glue to the top and bottom edges (leave the sides open so you can slide the photo in) and let dry.
Using a hot-glue gun, glue a length of craft cord to the top edge of the tile, then glue craft cord to the remaining edges of the tile, beginning at the bottom, then up both sides, leaving enough chord to tie into a hanger.
To make the large single-tile frame, you’ll need a 6-inch square tile, craft cord, a decorative scrapbook frame and decorative stones.
Follow the same instructions as for the small-tile frame, but add decorative stones to the corners of the frame, tile and where the cord is knotted at the top to form a hanger.
Fray the top of the hanger by unraveling the cord strands.
To make the double-tile frames, you’ll need two 4-inch-square tiles in coordinating colors or designs, duct tape, craft cord, two matching scrapbook frames and decorative stones.
Tape the tiles together with duct tape (on the back), leaving a cord’s width space between tiles.
Cut lengths of cord equal to the width of the tiles and glue them to the top of the top tile and in the center, between the two tiles.
Next, glue a long length of chord, beginning at the bottom of the bottom tile and up around both sides of the two tiles, leaving enough cord on each side to tie at the top to form a hanger.
Cut three lengths of cord longer than the width of the tiles and attach to the top of the top tile, the center between the two tiles and the bottom of the bottom tile; leave about an inch extending beyond the width of the tile on both sides.
Glue decorative stones to the top, center and bottom tiles, and to the top of the hanger as shown in the photo illustration.
Fray the ends of the cord as described in the large single-tile frame instructions.
To make a three-tile wall hanging, you’ll need three coordinating tiles of any size, craft cord and decorative stones.
Tape the tiles together (on the back) with duct tape and follow the same instructions as for the double-tile frame above.
Note: If you don’t have leftover tiles, you can buy individual tiles at home decorating stores for 75 cents a piece and up. The tiles used for our samples cost between 75 cents and $4 each.
Craft cord comes on gigantic rolls for about $10, and decorative stones run about $3 for an ample bag.
The scrapbook frames range from inexpensive ($1.99 for two) to pricey ($3.99 each), depending on materials and quality.
And one more hint: You may have to reinforce the decorative stones with a stronger, tacky glue after the initial hot-glue procedure. When making our sample frames, some of the stones held, but others dropped off quite readily.
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