Paint Your Own decorative Tile Pot Rest

Decorative Tile Pot Rest

When I set out to experiment painting on a plain tile I wasn't quite sure what would come out of it, but as my design evolved, so did my idea for what I would do with this decorative piece - a pot rest. Not only can it be handy in the kitchen, but would be a great design piece for the centre of the table at your next dinner party or a beautiful hand-made gift for some one special.

The finished design

For this project you will need:

• a 30cm X 30cm plain ceramic tile (they are relatively inexpensive to buy singularly from hardware stores such as Bunnings, so I recommend buying a couple and having one to practice on.
• Stick on surface protectors, so the bottom of the tile doesn't scratch any delicate surfaces

• A pencil, eraser and ruler for drawing your design
• A selection of Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paints and Markers in your desired colour scheme. The colours I used were Parma Violet, Turquoise, Malachite Green, Citrine Yellow, Olivene Green, Ming Blue, Lapis Blue, Black (paints) and Amazonite Green, Peacock Blue, Marseille Yellow, Peridot Green, Lapis Blue, Black (Markers)

I began with my design with both a Mandala and Zentangle in mind, but nothing specific. I started by making some pencil markings radiating from the centre like below.

Then I made up pattern instinctively as I went along.

You can copy my design, make up your own, or follow one of the many instructions for drawing mandalas that are on the internet.

Once I was pretty happy with design I used a combination of the Black Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker  and Fine Liner to mark in the lines I wanted to keep and few extra ones here and there.

Your design could look equally effective in Black and White, or just one extra colour or many colours like me. Once your marker pen is dry you are ready to paint.

TIPS

* Use a baby wipe to wipe off the pencil lines you know longer require. A baby wipe will also remove the Pebeo paint while its still wet. 

* Use Isopropyl alcohol such as ISOCOL or DIGGERS to remove dry paint marks that you don't like, smudges or mistakes. Cotton wool balls and buds are handy for this.

* A tooth pick is also handy for scratching off errors in tiny areas

If you find yourself getting brush marks you don't want, try using the paint sparingly with a very soft brush. Do light layers, allowing to dry thoroughly in between, to build up the colour.

In small areas you can try "flooding" the paint, dropping a lot of paint into the area and sort of using it around without creating brush strokes. Practice on your "practice tile" to see what effects you like.

with pink area

Pink area removed

Remember if you do something you don't like you can remove it using Isopropyl alcohol, like I did with the pink area left.

You can mix colours together on your pallet (for example I mixed a bit of Parma Violet with Black to create and Egg Plant Purple) layer one colour over another in order to create new colours. You can also combine your markers and your paints such remember to let the layers dry well in-between.

Once I was finished with my design I went over my black outlines with the marker again to make them more prominent. I then decided I wanted a border...

When you are happy with your finished design clean it up with you baby wipes and isopropyl alcohol before baking as per instructions on the packaging as you won't be able to remove the paint once its cured. 

Stick your surface protectors on last and you are done!