How to Make a Mosaic picture or item

Making a mosaic picture or decorated item is fun and fairly easy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mosaic pieces of either glass or stone, jewelry etc.
• A pattern for your art piece.
• Base for picture, or use a bowl or vase, even a brick would work
• Adhesive, such as E6000 for glass or tile adhesive even just glue will work when dried fully
• Some easy to wear gloves that are not too think to work with.
• Grout for the area between the pieces, (grout lines)
• Tweezers for tiny pieces
• A clean damp rag to wipe excess glue or grout.
• Sponge
• Patience

1. 
   terra cotta pot with mosaic border

   Choose the item you want to do. Make it easy the first time.
   A small vase or flower pot, and don't try to do the entire thing if you don't feel comfortable with the process at first. A rim is a nice added touch to a terra cotta pot.
   
   A small piece of cement board, or plywood cut to the size you would like to do is nice for a picture.
   
   Draw the pattern out you would like to do, transfer it or draw it right onto the base piece. Or just go free hand. Tile marking pencils will work on slick glass to make an easy to follow line.
   
   You can always work in even patterns for a repeated style of just maybe alternating colors on a vase or brick.
   
   Use the clear drying glue for glass pieces that the color beneath you would like to show through. Otherwise prepare the surface the glass will go onto with a base coat of white gesso. Experiment before glueing down the individual pieces. Opaque glass will not usually show base color through.
   
   Broken china works well also. It is dense and covers well. Sea shells are nice, and glass jewels from the floral dept.
   
   Look at some mosaic sites on the web. See the way others are using or designing.
   
   My first mosaic was on a coffee table for my mom. But I was graduating highschool and had to let someone else finish it later. I wasn't home enough after that to complete the piece. A dragon I drew off the cover picture of a dish lid. I let mosaic go till recently.

2. 
   picture of bottles work in progress

   This is a cheap, unless you get hooked on expensive tiles and glass. I live near old desert dump sites and the glass is glorious that comes from digging a few feet down, or just picking it off the top. You can break up unmatched dishes of your own also. Just wear goggles and put them in a padded towel or bag while whacking away at the dish.
   
   After getting enough glass to cover your item, look to see if you need more colors or features like little pictures on plates or flowers.
   
   To start a picture you can lay out the pieces first, then go back and set them in the glue. I like to lay out an area on the sticky side of contact paper to get an idea of how it will look. A small picture could just have clear contact paper over the pattern, lay it all down and flip it over onto adhesive spread on the surface of the base board, and lightly on the tiles themselves. Remeber this will be a reverse picture when doing this and the glass needs to be face down with the design to the sticky side of the paper. Not too much adhesive. Spread it lightly and thin with a straight edge trowel or small spatula. Leave it so the grout lines are not filled up with glue or adhesive. I use toothpicks to take out excess after it dries a bit and clean off any on the top surface of the tile.
   
   Then let the adhesive dry out well. Twelve to 24 hrs. is good unless high humidity. We have little humidity here So my glues dry quickly.
   A
   If you are doing a container like the ones in the picture attached to this article. Remember gravity will try to pull the pieces down the sides. So I lay out the vase or cup on its side and work small areas at a time. Drying a while then turning more to a new area to cover. Broken glass plates and other glass wares are not often totally flat, this is ok, but the edges and corners will sometimes protrude away from the rounded shape of the cup or vase. I like to grind down the sharp corners and edges. Better done before if possible with a whet stone, or ground on a glass grinder for stained glass making. ( If you have one). They are somewhat costly if you don't plan to do much more mosaic work. Otherwise purchase one to simplify your life.
   
   The cups in the picture are assay cups for metal refining. I got them locally from a blacksmith in our area. The glass is old antique china from the town dump of a village that has long been removed.
   The bottle picture is a work work in progress on cement board.

3. Now that you have your item ready for grouting. It gets messy. I like to work on a plastic covered area that I can just toss away at the end of the grouting process. Gloves here, the grout is very drying to the hands. I have the picture of the bottles to this stage now, but have not added the grout as yet.
   
   I use unsanded grout, it can have a colorant added if you want it to be other than white. I will do a pastel color grout line in the bottle picture.
   
   Mix the grout to a consistancy of soft dough ball,(mud pie) not to runny or try it out on a sample piece of work with a few glued pieces on a aboard,gethe feel for it. Make this ahead and have it dried for practice piece. Remember if the items are vertical you don't want it to be too thick and fall out of the line, or too runny to stay in properly.
   
   Now spread the grout with your hands or a small flat spatula to the item. If you are using a flst board for a picture a trowel for tile will work to spread it evenly. Get it into all the grout lines, do not rub too hard and press it out. Later you can clean it to a recessed look if you want that or just leave it even with the top of the glass or tile. Some plates are thicker than others so some edges might show a little. I try to even my placement of such thicker ones so the lines come out near to even.
   
   Let the piece set for about 10 min. or more. Then take a soft wet, (squeezed out sponge). Not dripping. It needs to just be wet. Wipe the entire grouted area with the sponge, rinsing the sponge now and then.
   
   DO NOT POUR OR RINSE ANY GROUT INTO YOUR SINK DRAINS. USE A BUCKET THAT CAN BE DUMPED OUTSIDE IN DIRT.
   
   After wiping down, let it continue to dry. Do not try to wipe off all the film at this point on the glass. When it is dry it will wipe of easily. A few hours later.
   After wiping the final step of cleaning the tiles or glass on your piece, you are ready to frame it or use it. But remember there are no holds barred in the mosaic life of glass. Make your item as simple or elegant, or busy, or massive as you like. ThAT IS THE FUN OF IT.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy some mosaic cut squares at a hobby craft store for ease of working if you do not want to try to break or cut your own glass pieces.
• Reminder not to put grout in sink or drains. Rinse buckets with hose etc.
• Stay safe with gloves and eye protection.
• Anything will take glue and mosaic pieces look around your house for items that you might want to just try it on, something you aren't worried about how it turns out for a time or two. Even a flat garden rock will work. And that would be easy.
• I try not to breathe the dust of the dry grout when pouring it into the mixing container. I jsut make a small amount at a time. It drys fast and you don't want to waste it if it dries before you can use it all.
• Grout adhesive is sometimes added to some commercial made mixtures so you don't need the glue step. But I don't care for the way the work. Too messy while setting the tiles onto any object not flat. A picture would be a better choice fot using the combo type. Still keep the grout lines open till the base dries.
• I mix and use containers that will not be used for any other work, or food due to glass shards,and the grout materials. An insulated coffee cup from a coffee shop is good to put regular grout adhesive in for small amounts as you work the setting of pieces process. I fill all the air holes in the lid and cover when not in use. It can be used over. Grout adhesive is water soluable os it is OK to wash it in the sink.

[momoffourkids]

on 6/17/2008 I highlited the stars, did it work? Definitely use unsanded grout, sanded can scrath the glass pieces of dishes and ruin the look of your work.

[momoffourkids]

on 6/15/2008 Can't wait to try it. Sounds fun.