How to Make Decorative Glass Tiles

Decorative glass tiles are made through the process of fusing glass tiles. Therefore a working kiln is necessary in creating such tiles. Glass tiles can be used to decorate kitchen countertops or even used as coasters. It is generally not a good idea to used glass tiles as floor tiles since they are extremely slippery when wet.

Things You'll Need

• Glass cutter
• Running pliers
• Straight edge
• Honey or glue
• Glass paint
• Glass shards or flakes
• Stringers
• Kiln

Instructions

1. Cut the glass. Measure and cut a sheet of glass using a glass cutter. Score the glass against a straight edge with a glass cutter. Press hard enough to hear a "ripping" sound. Then align the scored line of the glass with the line on the running pliers and break off the glass. Cut out two clear tiles of glass.

2. Decorate the glass. Use glass paint, confetti (glass flakes), glass shards or stringers to decorate the glass. The decorations will be placed in between the two glass tiles like a sandwich. Do not pile up the decorations. Apply honey or small dabs of thinned out glue to hold in place.

3. Heat up kiln. Heat the kiln to is 1450°F. Let the heat rise slowly at about a rate of 600°F per hour.

4. Insert glass. Place the glass tiles into the kiln and heat for approximately 20 minutes. Some kilns vary so check the glass tiles through the peeping hold of the kiln every 10 minutes or so, making sure not to fuse so much that the tiles no longer retain their square shape.

5. Remove tile. Remove the tile when the kiln has reached room temperature.

References

• Glass Fusing Made Easy: Fused Glass Tile
• Art Glass 2: Fusing Glass