I'm thinking of making my own backsplash tiles for my kitchen. Anyone have experience with this? I was thinking of making a series of 4x4 molds for each kiln shelf. The bottoms would stay flat right?I don't mind if the tops are rounded or uneven. I just want to make my own designs and colors. Any ideas or experience with this?

My granite supplier advised using tile from the granite up (no granite back splash). She could have advised the other way and made a little more money, so I think she advised based on her honest opinion. I also like the "no granite back splash" look better. Just guessing, I'd say the only reason to use the 4" granite back splash would be if you weren't going to use any other back splash at all (a more low-budget option, in my opinion).

I'm not the barkeepers wife...I'm the beekeeperswife! lol The tile is Beveled Arabesque tile from Mission Stone & Tile. Available in white and ivory. They are really great to work with. If you do request a sample, let them you know you saw my kitchen on GW--since I won the tile from them, they like to hear this kind of feedback! If you do decide to order it, I have about 8 pieces of the 1/2 round pieces left (they were still in the package all wrapped up when we were cleaning out the garage months later!), I can surely make you a deal on them! Installation was slower than expected due to the shape of the tile. They were installed on an angle, I can show you a photo of the "during" stage so you can see what I mean. We worked very hard at getting them as tight as possible while keeping the horizontal and vertical lines. Since they are handmade, they do vary a bit. Here is photo, 1/2 grouted, 1/2 not: We used Permacolor for the grout, since I wanted white, and according to Bill V., other "white" grouts have bit of a yellowish tint to them, this one is a true white. Hasn't been a problem at all to clean. If sauce gets on it, I just wipe it with a solution of oxyclean that I keep on hand. Let me know if you have any other questions. Here is a link that might be useful: Mission Stone and Tile's website

I'm not sure how I came across this post, I think it was displayed on the right side and I clicked on it being intrigued by the tile making. I was at one time interested in working with papercrete and hypertufa. But after enlisting my brother, who wasn't as enthusiastic, and my niece, who poured cement down my laundry room sink, which original to the house had lasted 70 years, and ruining three blenders, my interest waned. True to form, if I come upon difficulty in a project, I think of it as a sign for me not to continue. And really, after all these years of trying various crafts that result in crap, I should know better. I also should have known better than to ask my brother, who always says it can't be done to any of my unique design ideas. And I should have known better than to ask my niece, who once stayed up all night before having to drive to LA for an art show, cutting mat after mat after measuring once, twice, sometimes ten times, but always coming out with the wrong size. I think we both have math dyslexia. I should video us trying anything crafty to see where we go wrong. I think both of us having ADHD might have something to do with it. Sorry for the backstory and run on sentences. So, I just wanted to see if you continued with your venture. And to say sorry for whatever tragedy occurred to cause you to have to move to Florida. Not that there is anything wrong with Florida, but it isn't Panama. Which is one of my favorite places in the western hemisphere. I hope no one is upset that I brought up a seven year old post.