The Faux Tile Picture Project

For some reason, my sister and I were discussing the tile picture in this 1977 magazine (which my sister owns). You can see it on the cover and in the photo below.

Between my sister, my daughter, and I, we thought it would be interesting to tackle. However, I wasn't too keen on buying tiles or using them-- can you imagine how heavy the finished picture is? It was adhered in a wooden frame besides. So we concocted using board instead.

I was drafted to sketch the whole thing out which took some time and patience. We decided the bare trees would look better full (plus that was less "house" for me to sketch!).

Here is the sketch completed. I then cut it apart to transfer it onto our boards. That worked pretty well.

My daughter and I each drew random "tiles" with markers. We used three similar shades of brown (in case one ran out).

I glued and used double-sided tape to mount them to foam core. My daughter and I couldn't agree on how to do the border. I kept pushing for a subtle color and a simple outline, and she wanted bolder colors. I finally decided we would each do two sides, however we wanted. Yes, my daughter did the top and bottom. Yes, I like it. Yes, kids have good ideas! Her colors and the width of her borders really brighten the whole picture. By the way, this is fairly large. The "tiles" are 4 1/4" inches square. The finished size is 20" x 24".

Have a nice day!!