How to Mosaic Walls Using Broken Dishes

Broken antique dishes can serve as a wall mosaic material.

A kitchen or bathroom backsplash can get a custom treatment with a mosaic made from broken dishes. The process of applying the broken pieces of crockery to the wall is similar to the traditional method of tiling a wall, which utilizes grout to hold the pieces in place. You can find inexpensive dishes at thrift stores to match your room decor. Breaking the curved edges off the dishes with a tile nipper will help keep your dish pieces flat.

Things You'll Need

• Protective goggles
• Tile nippers
• 30 dishes
• Pizza box
• Hammer
• Epoxy glue
• Rubber gloves
• Ceramic tile grout
• Plastic bowl
• Wooden craft stick
• Large sponge
• Spray grout sealant

Instructions

1. Put on protective goggles. Cut the outer rimmed edge off a dish with the tile nippers, leaving the flat center portion of the dish. Cut the rimmed edge into small pieces.

2. Place the flat portion of the dish in the pizza box and cover it with the box lid. Pound the dish with the hammer firmly to create the broken pieces. Repeat with all dishes.

3. Attach the larger pieces of broken dishes to the wall with the epoxy glue in a random pattern. Fill in the spaces between the large pieces with the smaller pieces. Let the epoxy glue dry for three hours.

4. Put on the rubber gloves, and mix the ceramic tile grout with water in a plastic bowl according to the manufacturer’s directions. Apply the grout over the mosaic with the craft stick. Press the grout firmly between all pieces of broken dish with your fingers.

5. Dampen the sponge with water and wipe off all excess grout from the surfaces of the broken dishes. Let the grout dry for 24 hours.

6. Spray the grout sealant on the completed wall mosaic. Let the sealant dry for 24 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful working with the shards to avoid cutting yourself. You may want to wear thick leather gloves while breaking up the dishes.

References

• “Beyond the Basics: Mosaics”; Elizabeth Duval; 2006
• “Making Bits & Pieces Mosiacs”; Marlene Hurley Marshall; 2000 Page 24