Instead of paying heaps for patterned border tiles, make your own. Just stencil this design on white ceramic tiles, fire them in the oven and put them up. Easy!

You'll need:

Materials
White ceramic 200mm x 95mm tiles
Water-based glass and ceramic paints in light blue and yellow

Enlarge the image by 138%.

Tools:

Carbon paper
Pencil
Cardboard
Cutting mat
Scalpel
Metal ruler
Masking tape
Fine kitchen sponge
Cotton buds
Paintbrush round no. 3
Oven thermometer (optional)

Here's how:

1. Enlarge the pattern for the tiles. Check the pattern is the right size for your tiles. Using carbon paper, transfer the pattern onto a piece of cardboard. Cut the cardboard the same size as the tiles.

2. Carefully cut out the pattern with the scalpel and metal ruler. Take care that you don't cut through the connecting 'bridges' on the finer parts of the stencil.

3. Tape the cardboard stencil on the tile. Dip the sponge in the blue paint and dab the excess off onto scrap paper until the sponge leaves a fine, even texture. Sponge over the stencil twice to build up an even colour. Carefully remove the stencil and place it on the next tile; sponge the remaining tiles. Clean up smudges with damp cotton buds, or allow the paint to dry and scrape off any boo-boos with a scalpel.

4. Paint in the background using the round brush and yellow paint. Leave a small white gap between the blue pattern and the yellow background. Allow to dry before applying a second coat to any patchy areas.

5. Allow the tiles to dry for 48 hours and then fire them. Remember to do a test run by baking one or two tiles before you fire your whole set. Place the tiles in a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 150-160C and bake for 35 minutes, timing from when the oven reaches the desired temperature. (Use an oven thermometer to double-check the temperature. ) Turn off the oven and allow it to completely cool before removing the tiles from the oven.

Note: You can stencil plain tiles already on the wall, but remember that the paint may scratch as you won't be able to fire the pieces.

Source: Glass & Ceramic Painting (Murdoch Books)