Kat,

What I meant by durable has to do with the bond. When it's heated it makes the enamel hard, but does it also make it stick indelibly to the tile? You said something about fixing it later--which makes me wonder if you can scrape it off? I know that when you apply paint to plastic, like painting a company logo on a plastic drink cup, that the paint can scratch off. But if you use paint (probably a different sort, but I don't know) on a mug and bake it for however long, that ink is there permanently. (I learned this in my newspaper days when I interviewed the owner of a new company setting up to print promotional items and containers). So is there a type of paint perhaps or a type of tile (or glaze on that tile) that works to bond it all together permanently?

Part two to that question--you've probably seen the tiles in gift shops and the airport, etc. that have a three-dimensional look because the paint is beaded on the tile surface. It is a low-profile contour that makes the colors stand out all the more. How is that achieved? Could you do it with your "fossil" tile by using a thicker mix of your paint and letting it dry that way before baking?

Just curious. I don't think I'm getting into tile painting now. But I am considering tiling my porch in the future and a few accent tiles would look good. You can buy all sorts, and just buying a few doesn't make them prohibitively expensive, but I'd like to have something unique to the house that speaks to the nature here. (I'd paint a few tarantulas and toads on tiles! I found a nice spider, but it's a mosaic, which isn't bad either.)

SRS