Vinyl Decal Decorative Tile


I'm still a bit of a newbie when it comes to using my Silhouette (even though I've had it for ages), but I keep on making projects, and I learn something with each one. I had a couple of these 6 inch ceramic tiles with a subtle pattern on them that I picked up on clearance at the hardware store. I used one of them for a decal a while back,  and it worked out perfectly with black vinyl, so I thought I'd try it again.


I started out by setting up a few designs in the Silhouette studio. I found a couple through Google searches and a couple were freebie designs from ages ago that I pulled from my library. I set them all up to cut on black vinyl. I used the default settings and let her rip (...er cut).


After my vinyl had cut, I used a scissors to cut apart each of the different designs.


Then I carefully peeled back the vinyl. There were a couple of thin letters that didn't want to stay on the backing, but I managed to get the design freed from the rest of the vinyl.


I didn't realize it at the time, but I managed to lose an apostrophe at some point in the peeling process. Since I was oblivious, I carried on with the weeding. I used a little hook (though the point of a craft knife works well too) to pluck the vinyl out of between the letters that was leftover.


After I had weeded my design, I realized I was missing the apostrophe. I looked for it among my discarded vinyl, but to no avail, I ended up having to cut one out of scraps of vinyl. It's not perfect, but did the trick until I have a chance to cut out another one (the next time I cut out something in black vinyl). Then I cut a square of paper transfer tape the size of my design. If the design is simple, you can sometimes get away with using painter's tape, but for larger or more complex designs, the transfer tape helps a ton.


I applied my transfer tape onto the top of the design, being careful to center it so it would be easier to place the design on the tile evenly. Then I used the back of my thumbnail to burnish the vinyl onto the transfer tape to make sure all of the letters stick to it. Then I peeled the backing away from the vinyl design, being careful to make sure all of the letters stuck to the transfer tape.


Then I applied the transfer tape to my tile and burnished the letters once again. Then it's my favorite part of every vinyl project, peeling back the transfer tape to see what it looks like.


Even though the apostrophe wasn't quite perfect, I was really happy with how the design turned out. I look forward to finding a good place in my office to display my new decorative tile.


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