How to Make a Flowerpot Mosaic
Decorating a flowerpot with mosaic tiles is a creative way to get pots that match your decor or display your favorite motifs. A mosaic is also a great way to reuse broken and mismatched tiles or chipped and broken pottery. If you don't have any of these materials on hand you can purchase mosaic tiles at most craft stores or visit your local tile store and ask if they have any damaged merchandise you can buy at a discount.
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Instructions
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Sketch a design directly on the flowerpot with a pencil.
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2
Wrap large tiles or other pieces of flat pottery in a towel. Smash them with a hammer until you have bits approximately 1 to 2 inches in size.
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3
Apply an even layer of mortar on the back of a tile with a small trowel. Score the mortar once or twice with the end of the knife. Scoring will help the tile adhere better to the surface of the pot.
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Place the tile on the pot according to your design. Repeat until your entire design is complete, leaving approximately 1/8 inch between tiles.
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Allow the mortar to dry according to the manufacturer's directions, typically two to 24 hours.
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Spread a premixed unsanded grout over the mosaic with a trowel. Sanded grout is thicker than unsanded and is meant for applications where the space between tiles is 1/4 inch or larger. Hold the trowel at approximately 45 degrees and push the grout into all of the spaces between the tiles. Scrape of any excess grout with a clean trowel.
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Fill a bucket with water and wet a household sponge in it. Wipe over the mosaic design to clean off the grout. Rinse the sponge often and change the water if it gets dirty.
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Wipe the haze off the tiles with a soft, dry cloth after the grout has completely dried -- in approximately 24 hours.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose a grout color that contrasts with your tile colors if you want to highlight the lines of the mosaic and use a complementary color if you want to showcase the tiles.
Products that can be used as both mortar and grout are available at craft and home improvement stores. Using a two-in-one product can make the mosaic process even easier.
Experiment with unusual materials in your mosaic. Try pieces of mirror, unusual stones, shells or other found objects for a one-of-a-kind design.
Some people may be sensitive to the ingredients in mortar or grout and should wear rubber gloves while working with these materials.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
