I tested with one tile. Now I made signs for my whole garden.
To start, I covered each marble tile in painter’s tape.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/001_tape-1024x528.jpg)
Then, I used double-stick tape to attach labels.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/002_labels.jpg)
I cut out the words using an x-acto knife, and removed the paper and cut-out portion.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/003_cut_out-1024x685.jpg)
I spray painted them. I chose a higher-contrast color because of my one-tile test.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/basil-colors-226x300.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/004_spray_painted-1024x368.jpg)
I peeled off the tape, and voilà:
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/005_tape_removed-1024x480.jpg)
Lessons learned:
- Doing a test tile was a good idea
- It takes almost as much time to peel out the letters as cut it. I was thinking of using a laser cutter to speed things up, but it could at most halve the manual labor.
- You should switch x-acto blades more often than you think.
- I should have spent even more time on an easy-to-cut font. The “a”, “e”, and “r” are too hard in this font.