This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.
Transform a dull bathroom with this cheerful rainbow tile DIY backsplash… grab your Cricut Maker and some permanent adhesive vinyl and create a beautiful (budget friendly!), completely custom backsplash.
Hi friends, I hope you’re having a great week!
With so much time at home lately, I’ve been tackling some home DIY projects that have been on my list of to-do’s for way too long (like since-we-moved-in too long!) Since we’ve lived here we’ve renovated every room/area on the main level. With the exception of doing our daughter Brighton’s nursery for the One Room Challenge, we haven’t touched the upstairs (other than paint). It’s definitely on our list to renovate her bathroom, but it hasn’t made it to the top of the priority list yet.
Here it is in all of its stark white and beige glory.
In the meantime until a full bathroom reno is in the budget, I love that I found a way to give it some color and flair for our girl with my Cricut Maker. Bye bye plain white square tile backsplash… hello whimsical and adorable rainbow tile DIY backsplash feature wall! Completely customized for my little sassy girl and totally budget-friendly!
Making this rainbow tile DIY backsplash was so easy with my Cricut Maker… I’m honestly kind of annoyed with myself that I didn’t think of it sooner. I love crafting and creating gifts with my Cricut Maker so much that I sometimes forget that it is a DIY workhorse. I was able to completely transform B’s bath tub for less than $100 and have saved countless dollars through the years on creating my own decor (wood signs, pillow covers, etc.) with my Maker that it has paid for itself many times over. Now I’m itching to redo my kitchen backsplash, too!
I wish that you guys could see the finishes of these monochromatic rainbows in person… the vinyl in the middle of each rainbow is a pearl metallic finish and it just glistens and dazzles! Every time Brighton walks by the bathroom she points at them and giggles with delight. I hope she will always love it so much and not get tired of it. But hey if she get tired of it, I can just make some more DIY backsplash with my Cricut!
How to Make a Rainbow Tile DIY Backsplash with the Cricut Maker
Materials
- Cricut Maker
- Cricut Permanent Premium Vinyl in Blush, Coral, Maize Yellow, Mint, Blue Green and Purple for the double rainbows and hearts
- Cricut Premium Vinyl Pearl Metallics in Pink, Maize, Coral, Mint and Bright Teal (for the middle of the rainbows)
- Cricut Transfer Tape
- Masking tape
- Scissors
- Rainbow tile backsplash cut file
- Portable paper trimmer
Directions
You can find a printable instruction card at the bottom of this post.
Open the rainbow tile backsplash cut file in Cricut Design Space and click Customize. Count how many rainbows and hearts you will need for the amount of tile backsplash you’ll be applying the designs and adjust quantity as necessary. My tiles are 4 ¼” so if you are using different sized tiles you can also adjust the size to fit your tile.
Once you’re design is ready, click Make it. The entire process of creating with a Cricut Maker is super intuitive and user-friendly… from actually setting up your machine to designing in Cricut Design Space on desktop or mobile to cutting your project. Design Space will give you a material dropdown menu when you’re ready to cut. Since there are over 300 MATERIALS (say whaaaat?!) that the Maker can cut, you can easily find the material you’re looking to cut by category or search. No more guessing the cut settings for a project or material ever again!
Choose Premium Vinyl for the cut box and double rainbow portion of the designs and the hearts. Even though the middle of the rainbows are being cut out of pearl metallic vinyl, for those cuts change your cutting material to Heavy Cardstock (I’ll explain why later).
Load the materials and cut.
Weed the excess vinyl from the cut boxes and double rainbow designs and gently peel the middle of the rainbows off of the cut mat.
Position the middle of the rainbow where you want it on the double rainbow (don’t remove the liner yet) and secure at the middle with masking tape. This is the easiest way to layer vinyl when you have a simple shape, then you can easily position it without worrying about mistakes.
Remove the liner one half at a time with the hinge method (if you aren’t familiar with this method you can check it out here). It’s a total game changer (and sanity saver!) when working with transfer tape.
Once the rainbows are assembled, apply transfer tape over the tile designs. I created cut boxes the size of my tiles and centered the designs in Design Space. Using a portable paper trimmer, trim just inside each cut box so that you can easily slap them on the tiles without worrying about centering them. This saved sooo much time! You’ll do the same process for the hearts.
Smooth around the rainbows with your fingers to ensure that the entire design is secured to the transfer tape.
Ensure that the tile for your DIY backsplash is clean and dry. Swipe with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry to ensure the tiles are free of any oils.
Position the rainbows and hearts (with the liners and transfer tape) onto the tiles where you want them and secure with masking tape down the center. Apply with the hinge method, ensuring that the vinyl is firmly adhered to the tile before peeling the transfer tape back.
Peel back transfer tape to reveal a beautiful rainbow tile!
Can you believe how easy it is to create completely custom DIY tile backsplash with a Cricut Maker?
Note: Even though this is Permanent Vinyl, it should be sealed if being used for a shower or bathtub. You can seal with 3 – 4 coats of clear urethane sealer or a coating of epoxy.
Ok, who’s ready to tackle a DIY backsplash?!
For all of my DIYers out there, the Cricut Maker will be your new best friend. Pinky promise. To be honest, when I first got my Maker I didn’t think I would need it because I already was able to create so many amazing projects with my Explore Air 2. Little did I know how much I needed/loved being able to cut things like basswood, chipboard, leather, fabric, crepe paper, matboard, felt, tissue paper and so much more.
And the Maker can do more than just cut… with its adaptive tool system it can also draw, score, deboss, engrave and create perforations and wavy cuts. Cricut continues to expand the suite of tools for use with the Maker, any guesses on what will be next?
For more DIY inspiration be sure to check out the Cricut blog where you can find weekly home renovation project inspiration and tutorials. If you decide to give any of them a go (or your own backsplash of course), I’d love to see it! Tag me on social (@lydioutloud) and use #CricutatHome so the Cricut peeps can see it as well!
Rainbow Tile DIY Backsplash with the Cricut Maker
Equipment
- Cricut Premium Vinyl Pearl Metallics in Pink, Maize, Coral, Mint and Bright Teal (for the middle of the rainbows)
- Masking tape
- Scissors
- Rainbow tile backsplash cut file
- Portable paper trimmer
Instructions
- Open the rainbow tile backsplash cut file in Cricut Design Space and click Customize. Count how many rainbows and hearts you will need for the amount of tile backsplash you'll be applying the designs and adjust quantity as necessary. My tiles are 4 ¼" so if you are using different sized tiles you can also adjust the size to fit your tile.
- Once you're design is ready, click Make it. Choose Premium Vinyl for the cut box and double rainbow portion of the designs and the hearts. Even though the middle of the rainbows are being cut out of pearl metallic vinyl, for those cuts change your cutting material to Heavy Cardstock.
- Load the materials and cut.
- Weed the excess vinyl from the cut boxes and double rainbow designs and gently peel the middle of the rainbows off of the cut mat.
- Once the rainbows are assembled, apply transfer tape over the tile designs. Using a portable paper trimmer, trim just inside each cut box
- Remove the liner one half at a time with the hinge method.
- Ensure that the tile for your DIY backsplash is clean and dry. Swipe with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry to ensure the tiles are free of any oils.
- Position the rainbows and hearts (with the liners and transfer tape) onto the tiles where you want them and secure with masking tape down the center. Apply with the hinge method, ensuring that the vinyl is firmly adhered to the tile before peeling the transfer tape back.
- Carefully peel back transfer tape.
Notes
Savanna says
Cute, fun and stylish in all of its glory!
Lydia says
Thanks so much Savanna, that’s so sweet!
Rebecca Payne says
How cute. So creative. Thank you for sharing.
Lydia says
Thank you so much Rebecca, that’s so sweet of you! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
Sydney says
So fun!!!!
Lydia says
Thanks so much Sydney!