Supplies:
- Permanent vinyl in your choice of colors
- Tile. You can purchase single tiles from hardware stores.
- Transfer tape
- Tools to help you weed and transfer your vinyl
You will first need to make your design. I made my design first in a free program called Inkscape. However, with Cricut Design Space’s offset tool you can now easily make these there as well. I will show you how to make them in both programs. I made two different versions of these Mother’s Day tiles, or other occasions. I made one using the offset features where the word in the background (MOM) is cut out. The other version the names or words in the front are just placed over the words in the back.
If you want the letters to just be layered on top of one another, then you simply need to type your words and size them to your liking. Then have your Cricut or other vinyl cutting machine cut the words out. Also make sure to weld your letters so they are joined and come out in one piece, which will be easier to work with and transfer.
Inkscape
Select the insert text button on the left-hand side (A|). Then type your word. I recommend typing the background word in all capital letters so it is easier to read. When you are selected on words a text box will appear at the top of the page that will allow you to change the font size and style. The size does not matter to much, because Cricut Design Space will change the size when you upload it to have the vinyl cut. For the background font I used Microsoft JhengHei UI. Next create another text box and type the words you want to go over the background text. I used the I Love Glitter font. Joseph Sophia is another similar font, that is a little easier to work with. These fonts allows you to make hearts and things. Below I will tell you how to make different hearts and things with this font. Once your fonts are to your liking, you will want to size them so they look nice against each other. You can also center the two texts in the align section on the left-hand side. If this is not already on the left-hand side, then click on the small arrow at the bottom left of the page, just above the colors. Then select Align and distribute. Once your letters are in a position you like, select the words in front and right click, then click duplicate. It will not look like anything happened, but if you move these letters, you will see another copy of these letters are there. With the front words selected hit path (top of page), then outset. You can keep hitting outset as many times as you like, and it will make the outset larger each time. I clicked outset twice for the one I made. Now select both the front and back words (hold down shift as you click on both sets of letters) and click path (top of page), then difference. This will cut the offset form of the front letters into the background letters. Now you can save and upload it to Cricut Design Space or other program you use to cut your vinyl.
Cricut Design Space
First open Design Space and start a new project. Then, select the text button on the left-hand side of the screen. Type the word you want in the background. Next, make another text box and type what you want for the front of the tile. When the text is selected you can change the size and font style. The font style is in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Once your text, style of font, and size in comparison to each other (we will size it according to the tile at the end) is to your liking, it is time to make the offset. Click on the words in the front, and select offset (top of page). If you ever have trouble selecting something, you can always select it on the menu on the right-hand side of the page. To select more than one item at a time, hold down the shift key while selecting all the items you want to select. Make the offset as larger or small as you would like. Then select apply. If your computer or device is still processing this action, then it may take a little bit for the apply button to light up so you can select it. Now, select on the offset and the background words (I found it easier to do this by selecting these items on the menu on the right-hand side). With the offset and background word both selected hit the slice button in the lower right-hand section of the page. My computer froze a little, and I had to wait just a little bit for this action to process. Move all the items out of the way, and delete everything except for your background word that is not missing sections of it, and the words that go in front of it. You can select both of these and then hit align (top of page), center to line them up. To insure the correct size before cutting my item I like to make a sample of what I am making. So, I made a rectangle in the same size as my tile, which was 6 x 3 inches (shapes and then size it to the correct size of your tile). To resize the square into a rectangle you will need to unlock the size restrictions. Now move the rectangle over your design and hit arrange (top of page) then move to back. This will make the rectangle move behind your design so you can see it. You can now adjust your letters (make sure you select both and adjust them at the same time so your sizing is not off) to fit to your liking on your tile. You can also select everything and click align, center to line everything up. You can also change the color of the letters and box to see how your project will look. Once everything it to your liking do not forget to hide or delete your rectangle before hitting the make it button.
Once your vinyl is all cut it is time to weed out all the unwanted pieces of your design. So, remove the background pieces/the pieces you do not want. It also helps if you cut your piece of vinyl down to a smaller easier piece to work with. Next, you will want to transfer your design onto transfer paper. This will make it easier to place your design. If your vinyl does not transfer well, then you may need to help it along with a pointy tool. Once both the background and front designs are weeded out and on transfer paper, transfer them to your tile. You should start with the background word first, and make sure you line it up nice and straight. On my work desk I have a self-healing mat that has measurement grid on it. I used that to help me line up my design. You could also use a ruler. I hold my transfer paper above my tile until I line it up, because once the vinyl touches the tile it will not want to come back up. Once the background is placed remove the transfer paper, then line up and place the words that go in front.
This is a simple piece, but it makes for a beautiful gift. You can use this same technique to make other designs, like for graduation or wedding. I used this technique on a glass tile as well as a smaller stone tile with some sparkle in it. I am not sure which one I like better. It worked well for both. You can get little stands to set the tiles on to display them. I seem to always lose the dot to my I. So, try to remember not to forget about your dots like I do. I do not think to many people will realize the dots are missing if you lose yours.
For the I love glitter font you can make some hearts and squiggle lines and I will tell you how.
Type * (asterisk) for a solid black floating heart
Type | (vertical bar) for a solid black heart that is connected by squiggles
Type _ (underscore) for an open heart connected by squiggles
Type [] (brackets) for the squiggles
I used two different types of tile for this project. One was the typical glass tile you see everyone using. This is what I put the grandma on. I also liked this smaller sparkly tile I found, that I put the mom on. Just about any tile will work for this project.
