Cindy Crushes Programming: Tile Art

I love doing drafts with tiles. They are super cheap and it is easy to do many projects with them. I get my tiles from Home Depot, Menard’s or Lowes. I purchase the white ceramic tiles. The size depends on the price and type of tile available. I will discuss two of my favorite tile crafts below.

Book Mod Podge Tiles

Supplies

• Tiles
• Book cover images
• Mod Podge
• Brushes

Steps

1. Print out and cut book images. If you have old School Library Journal issues that you were going to recycle, they would be perfect for this craft.
2. Position the images on the tile to see how it will look. You can do one big book cover or many smaller book covers. I love doing many book covers.
3. Place a layer of Mod Podge under the image and then place another layer on top. Next glue all of the book images at once with another layer of Mod Podge. Then you will want to put a few layers of Mod Podge on top of the whole tile. Be very careful when explaining this step to the teens they will want to us  too much Mod Podge. Gentle layering works best for this project.

Thoughts: I love this craft for Teen Read Week. It is a simple craft and teens can celebrate their favorite books. They can make lovely coasters or a work of art.

Nail Polish Tiles

Supplies

• Tiles
• Nail Polish (avoid glitter nail polish)
• Water
• Aluminum Half Size Deep Foil Pan
• Stick

Steps

1. Pour a layer of water into the foil pan.
2. Put nail polish in the water. Pour it in gently. Try to swirl it when you put it in the water. Use multiple colors.
3. Put the tile in the water, but do not submerge it. It should be just deep enough so it hits the nail polish layer that is floating on the top. Pull the tile out quickly and let it dry.
4. Use your stick to get rid of the extra nail polish in the water so you can keep your pan nice and clean
5. You can add a little more nail polish by hand if you missed a spot on the tile.

Thoughts: This is a really pretty craft and also super cheap. I did learn, however, that glitter nail polish does not work well on this craft.

Cindy Shutts, MLIS

Cindy is passionate about teen services. She loves dogs, pro-wrestling, Fairy tales, mythology, and of course reading. Her favorite books are The Hate U Give, Catching FIre, The Royals, and everything by Cindy Pon. She loves spending times with her dog Harry Winston and her niece and nephew. Cindy Shutts is the Teen Services Librarian at the White Oak Library District in IL and she’ll be joining us to talk about teen programming. You can follow her on Twitter at @cindysku.

Filed under: Teen Program in a Box, Teen Programming, Teen Programming in a Box, Teen Programs in a Box