Introduction: How to Make a Unique Tile Picture for Less Than $3!
Want to make a unique piece of art to decorate your empty walls? Or to make the perfect gift for the grandparents or in-laws?
Here is a simple way to make this modern and minimalistic design using just tiles, tissue paper and a laser printer.
It is time to amaze your friends...
Step 1: Getting Started
You will need:
1. Nice photo
2. Computer
3. Nine pieces of 10x10cm tiles
4. Five sheets of printer paper
5. Five strips of 10x20cm tissue paper
6. Double sided adhesive
7. Printer
8. Exacto knife
9. Decoupage glue
10. Paintbrush
Step 2: Picking and Editing You Photo
First you have to pick a nice photo. Make sure you pick a photo in which you will not cut away vital parts (such as eyes) later on.
Chose which part of the photo you want to use and cut out a square. Put the square in a new document.
On this new document you can:
Change image size to 30cmx30cm.
Desaturate the image.
Change brightness and contrast until you get the desired result.
You might want use the paintbrush to get rid of unwanted details in the background.
You might want to reverse the picture, otherwise you will end up (like me) with a mirror image of your original photo.
Step 3: Dividing Your Picture Into Smaller Elements
In order to print your paper you will have to take a few extra steps.
Make lines on your edited photo at 10 and 20 cm. This is just to make the next step easier, if you find it hard you can skip this.
Cut out the squares between the lines. Cut 0,5 cm away from the lines! Otherwise you will end up with a distorted face in the end. If you did not make the lines just check the ruler and make the cutting free hand. Each square will measure 9cm in each direction.
Paste the squares into 5 new documents, 2 in each except for the last one which will have just one square.
If needed, rotate the new documents to make them printable.
Step 4: Printing Your Photo on Tissue Paper
Obiously it is hard to put tissue paper into an ordinary laser printer. This is a nice trick to make it work.
Take your strips of 10 x 20cm tissue paper. Put double sided adhesive on upper and lower side.
Attach to middle of printer paper.
Do NOT use common tape as it will melt in your laser printer and make it useless (take my word for granted, I have tried)
Print the 5 documents on the 5 pieces of tissue paper
Step 5: Cutting the Parts
No need for longer explanation. Cut all nine squares. Try not to cut your fingers as well.
Step 6: Time to Use the Glue!
Put decoupage glue on tiles. Adhere tissue paper.
If you want a softer look, adhere pieces with printed side facing tile. (That is the reason you might want to reverse it earlier). For a more detailed look, adhere printed side out.
When dry, add at least two more layers of decoupage glue on top of tissue paper.
Step 7: Finished!
Now you might want to put tiles into a frame or just stick to a piece of board and put on your wall.
Good luck!

Participated in the
The Instructables Book Contest
367 Comments
Question 1 year ago on Introduction
what is this software? did you use photoshop?
13 years ago on Step 4
The Tissue paper I found was slightly shiny on one side so was able to iron the shiny side (just around the very edges)to the computer paper....it stayed there long enough to print....also tried ironing it(tissue)to freezer paper....works well to BUT don't use too hot iron wont be able to get it off......The picture I saved off the internet...D
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I used Spray Adhesive to attach the pics to the tiles....did a coat of spray Clear acrylic paint before sticking the pictures to the tiles and 4 coats before I glued them to the board..(used Sellys Aquadhere to glue the tiles to the board...Must say Thankyou to Yngla for the instructions...I can feel another larger one happening soon...:-)
Reply 3 years ago
Did you wrap the picture pieces around the tile pieces? Or did you cut the pictures a little larger to cover the whole tile?
Thank you
Reply 3 years ago
What did you use for the black background? I really like that effect.
Thanks again.
Reply 3 years ago
Hi Cynlouise The background is just a piece of ply wood which I gave two coats of Flat black acrylic paint ...I like the contrast also.. These ones I played around with and made the photos into mini posters of my granddaughters....The rose one is just on plain printer paper...Cheers Dianne
Reply 3 years ago
Can't get photos to load sorry..
Reply 3 years ago
Yes I did wrap them ..the gap between them gives the illusion that they match perfectly..
Reply 8 years ago on Step 4
Thank you! I realized I had fused the tissue paper to the deli paper completely. I'll try your suggestion.
Reply 8 years ago on Step 4
Still having trouble because the tissue is fusing to the butcher paper. Will try a low heat setting.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Printer.....inkjet...Canon ip1000
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Linda Matthews Demonstrates: Printing on Tissue Paper.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUT2OTqCkzs ALSO Print on Tissue Paper http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzKJJTiP-pU&feature=related
7 years ago
I have been meaning to do this as a gift for my mother for years. I have tried rasterbating other images, but nothing permanent like this. I really like your application method, and wonder how well the images would work if I tried just heat transferring the printer-toner directly onto the tile from glossy printer paper. It looks as though I have some experimentation to do.
Reply 7 years ago
Use iron-on transfer paper. It is designed to make T-shirt iron ons from standard ink jet printers.
Reply 7 years ago
any luck?
Reply 7 years ago
It turned out patchy. It was better with regular copy paper. I tried with some cardstock too, because I figured that my little printer wouldn't bond the image to the paper as well. I was right about that, but I couldn't transfer the toner off it particularly well either. I haven't even thought about this for a while, but now my mind's racing again... I might try putting some clear-coat on the tile first so that the toner has something to bond to. Then just hope that the paper releases.
7 years ago
Will it work the same way with color?
7 years ago
Great that was awesome
7 years ago
great, great job you should start a small Business, Have customer send you the photos you send them back the tissue paper with the photos on them. Keep up the great work.
Jerry
7 years ago
Nice job!