Create a landlord friendly kitchen DIY backsplash + FREE Cricut SVG

My new Cricut Maker was sponsored by The Wholesaler, sole importer of Cricut products to South Africa. But all opinions are my own.

You have seen my DIY backsplash in my kitchen and even though I do not sell the vinyl stickers to create it anymore I have decided, thanks to my new Cricut Maker to share the FREE .svg with you to create your own!

Note that this pattern is FREE for a limited time and is PERSONAL USE ONLY. Please contact me should you want to purchase the commercial rights to this file.

When we updated our kitchen I did not want to use a different tile behind my ELBA Vintage range cooker that I totally loooooove. Instead, I wanted to create a removable accent that I could change and update as my taste changed. (My taste has however not changed and I still have it some three years later!)

The Cricut Maker is a life changer for me and I finally had the courage and newfound skills to create this pattern for you to use with your own Cricut smart cutter. So if you are ready to make some changes to your kitchen or any other space that has smooth tiles, you can follow the DIY below. I have set up the scaleable svg pattern for a 15 x 15cm tile and my tiles were laid in a grid-like pattern with 1mm grout lines in between.

What you will need for this DIY backsplash

• A Cricut cutting machine (see a list of Cricut suppliers in South Africa)
• A quality adhesive vinyl, I would suggest a gloss black or something that would accent your tile color
• Cricut Essential tools that include a weeding tool and pair of scissors
• Transfer paper

How to create the DIY backsplash using this free svg download file

1. Download the zipped file that contains the SVG, PNG and JPG image of the design
2. Import the SVG file into the Cricut Design Space software and re-size it if neccesary.
3. Cut the amount of tiles that you need. Weed the vinyl and then use some transfer paper to secure it to your tiles.

These vinyls can easily be applied to any square tiles and can just as easily be removed, but unfortunately not re-used. Vinyl is a great, non-permanent, decor solution. It can easily be wiped with a damp cloth and updated when needed.

About the tiling process

I received a new tile adhesive product to try out from Saint-Gobain Weber, a well known brand when it comes to tiling products, called RENOVATE, available at Builders Warehouse and some other tile retailers. It was also essential to have an almost black grout from them to complete the look I wanted to achieve with the backsplash.

About RENOVATE tile adhesive

RENOVATE literally takes the hassle out of renovating and has some really awesome attributes:

1. This adhesive allows renovators to tile directly onto existing substrates without priming or chipping of the existing tiles. I was totally chuffed to hear this as I had it up to my ears in dust for a few weeks already.
2. This product is also waterproof and is available in both grey and white to match with tiles. I never knew this, but using a dark tile adhesive on light tiles, especially ceramic tiles can lead to discolouration over time, so we made use of the white adhesive for the white tiles.
3. In addition to two points mentioned above the product only needs 6 hours to dry completely. This means less downtime, if you work fast you can have a room tiled and ready for use in less than a day. It is the perfect solution for companies or shop fronts that are planning renovations. If you have small kids this is also a great option.

TIP: When making use of this adhesive try to not mix the whole bag unless you have more hands to do the tiling because of the quick-drying characteristics. This product works like magic.

If you make use of this file and DIY please tag me that I can share in the pretty on Instagram @lovilee_za.

Thank you to Carike Ridout Photography for the lovilee images.

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