Paving tiles 101

I've had so many comments on the tiles, I thought you would like to know how I made them.  The tiles themselves are made from DAS air dry clay.  This package was a terra cotta colored clay.  I purchased the package at a Michaels Arts and Crafts store.

I made a jig from a vinyl tile that I glued 1/8" high wood strips around the edge.  This was a technique I got from all the people who posted instructions on using Paper Clay.  I think it's a technique that Rik Pierce uses to make the walls for his miniature houses.

I tried using a pasta maker to flatten out the clay, but it was too inconsistent.  Using the jig I made and running a roller over the clay, the wood strips kept the clay at a consistent 1/8" thickness.  The I used a clear plastic quilters ruler to cut out 1" square tiles. 

I cut some of the tiles in a diagonal shape for the edge of my walkway also.

I laid them out on my walkway to see if I had enough.  I turned them over once the top was dried to allow the bottoms to dry.  You can see in the picture how they started to dry a lot lighter.  I still felt they were too bright, so I aged the tiles with a mixture of diluted white paint, and some raw umber diluted.  I just painted a few spots on, and immediately wiped it off to get an inconsistent look.

This was the finished results BEFORE I tried to add the sand and grass.  That's when all my problems started.  I am working on the PVA glue that was recommended now, hopefully I will have more positive finished results afterwards. 

For now, I am still at this stage...

So wish me luck with today's endeavors.  In the meanwhile, I've been busy making lots of flowers for the garden.  It's very tedious work but the finished results are looking great.  These pictures are for another posting.

Hope the clay tile tutorial helps those trying to make their own paving tiles!

Until the next time..........

Wanda